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The Crucible

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The setting is 17th century Salem, Massachusetts. A group of teenage girls meets in the woods at midnight for a secret love-conjuring ceremony. But instead of love, Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) wishes for the death of her former lover's (Daniel Day-Lewis) wife. When the ceremony is witnessed by the town minister, the girls are accused of witchcraft. Soon the entire village is consumed by hysteria, and innocent victims are put on trial, leading to a devastating climax!

Director: 
Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
02:03
The Crucible

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

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Starring Tony Award winner Brent Carver and Rachelle Lefevre, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow faithfully recounts the classic Washington Irving tale, successfully capturing the mystery and romance that have eluded other screen efforts. Connecticut Yankee Ichabod Crane (Carver) arrives in the rural Dutch community of Sleepy Hollow and assumes his post as the new schoolteacher. Though the outsider is widely regarded with suspicion, the daughter of the area's wealthiest farmer, Katrina Van Tassel (Lefevre), is charmed by his manners and education.

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Grade Level: 
Middle
High
Length: 
01:31
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The Birds

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The fair distribution of water has long been a worldwide problem, and it is one that the United States may increasingly experience in the future. The Great Lakes contain 20% of the world’s fresh surface water, but that water is currently available to only a small portion of the U.S population. Should water-scarce regions of the country have access to this water, and, if so, should they have to pay for it? What effect would the piping of Great Lakes water to other areas have on the lakes and Midwestern environments?

Director: 
Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
02:00
The Birds

The Tempest (1980)

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This playful romance weaves fantasy and realism into a plot that still relates to today's audiences. This timeless, comedy play is set on an enchanted island where an exiled Duke and two young lovers encounter the occult, finding good and evil within themselves.

Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
02:30
The Tempest

The Taming of the Shrew (1980)

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This comic confrontation between the sexes is one of the most frequently-staged Shakespeare plays. Its sparkling wit and rich characterizations are matched with an outstanding portrayal of Petruchio that has won unanimous critical acclaim, praised as "an object lesson in serving Shakespeare to a present-day audience."

Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
02:07
The Taming of the Shrew

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1981)

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Three plots intertwine: the entangled love affairs of Demetrius, Helena, Lysander and Hermia; the comic performance of a "play within a play" by the tradesmen of Athens; and the antics in fairyland of King Oberon and Queen Titania.

Grade Level: 
Middle
High
Length: 
01:52
A Midsummer Night's Dream

As You Like It (1978)

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Shakespeare at his funniest, posing serious questions in the most lighthearted tone. Is there a "natural difference" between a Duke's daughter and a commoner? Are men really stronger than women or is it just their roles in society? Some of these characters briefly discard the roles they've played in life, while others adopt new ones. In the end, they all learn something about themsleves.

Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
02:30
As You Like It

The Merchant of Venice (1980)

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The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare's most well-known comedies. Blending tragedy and comedy, Merchant of Venice presents contrasts and ambiguities, the complexities of which lie in the character Shylock, the play's captivating villain. Is he a villain, a buffoon or a tragic hero?

Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
02:37
The Merchant of Venice

Romeo & Juliet (1978)

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Considered the greatest love story of all time and a bona fide "hit" for over 400 years, Romeo & Juliet is full of passion and oration, Shakespeare's most popular tragedy, it expresses love and death better perhaps, than any work in the English language.

Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
02:47
Romeo & Juliet

Othello (1981)

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Jealousy in love is one of the most common human emotions. In Othello, Shakespeare combines this universal theme with perfectly structured scenes, a storyline that lingers in the memory and a prime example of a tragic hero, Othello himself. The result is perhaps his greatest triumph as a stage play.

Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
03:28
Othello

Macbeth (1983)

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This savage tragedy is one of Shakespeare's most enduringly popular. Told by a trio of witches that he is fated to become King of Scotland, the warrior Macbeth, aided by his wife, in his quest for power murders his king and assumes the throne. The two embark on a guilt-ridden reign of terror.

Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
02:28
Macbeth

Julius Caesar (1979)

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Breaking all conventional rules of drama, shakespeare creates neither a clear-cut hero nor a villain. Instead, this great tragedy presents complicated human beings in agonizing conflict with one another, and themselves.

Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
02:41
Julius Caesar

Hamlet (1980)

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This richly costumed production maintains all the tension of a murder mystery as it examines the fundamental issues of justice, guilt and death.

Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
03:42
Hamlet

Hamlet

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Mel Gibson and Glenn Close star in Shakespeare's tale of treachery, madness and murder. Follow the prince of medieval-era Denmark as he faces the treachery behind his royal father's death. Supporting cast includes Alan Bates as Claudius and Paul Scofield as the ghost of Hamlet's father. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli.

Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
02:15
Hamlet

Ethan Frome

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Frome, a lonely, poverty-stricken, nineteenth-century New England farmer, has long and faithfully cared for his bitter, invalid wife, but when his wife's distant young cousin comes to take over as housekeeper, she and Frome succumb to forbidden passion with tragic results

Director: 
Grade Level: 
Middle
High
Length: 
01:39
Ethan Frome

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