The British Invasion presents Shakespeare in Love

This week, The British Invasion presents Shakespeare in Love .

Endlessly witty, visually rapturous, and sweetly romantic, Shakespeare in Love is a delightful romantic comedy that succeeds on nearly every level. The film depicts a fictional love affair involving playwright William Shakespeare (Ralph Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) while Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet. Several characters are based on historical figures, and many of the characters, lines, and plot devices allude to Shakespeare's plays.

Shakespeare in Love received acclaim from critics and was a huge box office success, grossing $289 million worldwide and becoming the ninth highest-grossing film of 1998. The film was noted for its highly skilled plotting and balancing of comedy and drama and for the high quality of its dialog, performances, and production design. It received numerous accolades, winning three Golden Globe Awards (including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Best Actress - Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for Paltrow), two Screen Actors Guild Awards (Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for Paltrow), and four British Academy Film Awards (including Best Film).

The film ultimately won seven Oscars out of thirteen nominations at the 71st Academy Awards: Best Picture (Parfitt, Gigliotti, Weinstein, Zwick, & Norman), Best Actress (Paltrow), Best Supporting Actress (Dench), Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Norman & Stoppard), Best Original Musical or Comedy Score (Warbeck), Best Art Direction (Childs & Quertier), and Best Costume Design (Powell).

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