Unsurprisingly, given his stature as one of the greatest writers in the English language, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) has directly or indirectly inspired a huge number of films. In addition to the countless film adaptations of classics like “Hamlet,” “The Merchant of Venice,” and “Henry V,” many others are surprisingly based on his stories. We will look at some well-known films like “West Side Story” (based on Romeo and Juliet), “The Lion King” (based on “Hamlet”), and “Forbidden Planet” (based on “The Tempest”).