La Story and Shakespeare
In American comedian/actor/writer/director Steve Martin's L.A. Story, there are many Shakespearean references. This is displayed on multiple levels. Sometimes it is subtle, like a borrowed plot device that bears a tiny resemblance to the play it was borrowed from. At other times, there will be a direct quote credited to Shakespeare himself. Or there will be a scene directly taken from a Shakespeare play, almost verbatim. The movie itself serves as a model of the influence that Shakespeare has had on filmmaking.
The movie is credited with being a variation on A Midsummer Night's Dream. This is a more subtle lifting of the works. The similarities are limited to the device of the confused lovers, and the possible use of magic in order to bring the lovers to their correct partner. The similarities would probably have gone unnoticed were it not for the production notes that came as a supplement on the DVD, wherein Steve Martin bluntly says that he took the idea from A Midsummer Nights Dream. But as previously stated, the theme is slight. Only two sets of lovers end up with each other in the end. Steve Martin and Victoria Tenant's characters finally fall for each other by the end of the film, due to the machinations of an electronic freeway billboard which sends them personal messages.
In the beginning of the film, Steve Martin states that his favorite Shakespearean quote goes : "This other Eden, this Demi Paradise, this precious stone set in a silver sea, this Earth, this realm, this Los Angeles." This is his intentional misquoting of:
"This other Eden, this Demi Paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the head of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in a silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England"
Richard the Second, Act II Scene i.
Ten
The movie is credited with being a variation on A Midsummer Night's Dream. This is a more subtle lifting of the works. The similarities are limited to the device of the confused lovers, and the possible use of magic in order to bring the lovers to their correct partner. The similarities would probably have gone unnoticed were it not for the production notes that came as a supplement on the DVD, wherein Steve Martin bluntly says that he took the idea from A Midsummer Nights Dream. But as previously stated, the theme is slight. Only two sets of lovers end up with each other in the end. Steve Martin and Victoria Tenant's characters finally fall for each other by the end of the film, due to the machinations of an electronic freeway billboard which sends them personal messages.
In the beginning of the film, Steve Martin states that his favorite Shakespearean quote goes : "This other Eden, this Demi Paradise, this precious stone set in a silver sea, this Earth, this realm, this Los Angeles." This is his intentional misquoting of:
"This other Eden, this Demi Paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the head of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in a silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England"
Richard the Second, Act II Scene i.
Ten