Of course, this passion for Shakespeare is nothing new. Film directors have themselves been in love with Shakespeare for decades. A director especially attracted to Shakespeare was Orson Welles. This became a beautiful black and white rendering of the Falstaff story called Chimes at Midnight. In typical style, Welles contrasts the white of snow with black silhouettes of figures, or the starkness of bare trees against a grey sky with the bawdy crush of the Boar's Head Tavern.
Castles loom cold and prison-like.
With narration by Ralph Richardson and appearances by Jeanne Moreau and John Gielgud, there is a feast of fine acting as well as mesmerizing Wellesian photography. True to tradition, Welles encountered the usual drawbacks when shooting. When snow was unavailable, he moved the scene indoors around a fireplace. Welles' Othello was similarly hampered and took several years to film in a multitude of locations. It was later put to film and if anyone can find this, please let me know.