By Olivia Stover | Contributing Writer

Blood, love and Shakespeare are classic themes of cinema.

You can see all of this and more in the Shakespeare Film Series, sponsored by the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies in the English Department. The program shows a Shakespeare-themed film twice a semester at the Bama Theatre. However, they will screen four out of eight films on campus. Admission is free to all and the films start at 7:30 p.m.

The series will begin Monday with a showing of “Titus” at the Bama Theatre.

“Titus” is an adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s least popular plays. The film tells the story of a Roman Patriarch returning from war and the resulting family drama. The showing is free and open to the public, but tonight’s film may not be suitable for anyone quick to turn queasy: “Titus” depicts cannibalism and beheadings.

However, the film has gained respect because of its surreal and visually striking details. While the film is set in ancient Rome, the characters speak Shakespearean English. To further blend together different time periods, tanks and guns are used in the film.

“We try each semester to think of films and plays that are crowd pleasers and then one or two films that challenge the general audience in some way,” said Marvin Sasser, organizer of the Shakespeare Film Series. “’Titus’ is the film that will challenge the audience this semester and we thought it would be fitting because Halloween is coming up.”

Next month, on Nov. 13, the series will show “10 Things I Hate About You,” perhaps taking the more crowd-pleasing route.

“Some people may not come to every film, but the idea is that different movies have different appeals,” Sasser said. “There’s a dual purpose with the series in that since it’s a part of our program it has to do with Renaissance studies, but it’s also for people who love cinema and film and not mainstream movies.” 

This year’s lineup includes the films “Titus,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” “Still Dreaming,” and “The Merchant of Venice.”

The Shakespeare Film Series have previously shown movies such as “She’s the Man,” Orson Welles’s “Chimes at Midnight” and Akira Kurosawa’s “Throne of Blood.” 

Last year the Hudson Strode Program decided to show the newer adaptation of “Much Ado About Nothing” from director Joss Whedon and a kung-fu version of “Hamlet” called “The Legend of the Black Scorpion.” 

The Hudson Strode Program is an independent program within the English department. It is named after Hudson Strode, who was a celebrated scholar of Shakespeare at The University of Alabama. 

Strode left a large endowment to the English department for Renaissance studies when he died in 1976. The Hudson Strode Program then began in the early 1990’s. 

While the program is aimed at graduate students who are studying to get a master’s degree or Ph.D.s, it supports a wide range of programs at all levels of the community.

Director of the Hudson Strode Program, Michelle Dowd, is in charge of programming and works as the primary advisor for all students in the program. She also works collectively and individually with students on their research.

“The Shakespeare Film Series pre-exists me, but I was happy to continue to support it because it has been very successful in continuing to make connections between the program and the community,” Dowd said. “The lineup is really exciting this year and I look forward to seeing ‘Titus’ again.”