Shaw vs. Shakespeare I: The Character of Caesar

Directed by John W. Barnes

This is the first film in Barnes' 'Shaw vs. Shakespeare' series, considered by experts to be among the finest educational films ever made. Here is wonderful introduction to Barnes as an insightful and witty interpreter of Shakespeare on film, the opening film of the triptych focusing on George Bernard Shaw’s belief that, although Shakespeare’s play was superior to his own, the treatment of the character of Caesar was not. Shaw, as written by Barnes, prefers a Caesar whose strength-of-purpose is more in keeping with a conqueror, than Shakespeare’s pessimistic, indecisive leader. Starring Donald Moffat, Susan Grossman, Richard Kiley, and Frances Sternhagen. This is the first in a 3 part series.