This pressure by the foreign companies eventually persuaded New Line Cinemas to keep the dialogue in the film unchanged and distribute the original finished product. But, the foreign distributors apparently loved the Shakespeare and wanted as much of it in the final product as possible. At the behest of the executives at film distributor New Line Cinemas, who hated the Shakespearean dialogue and felt that it would draw ridicule to the film, they ordered Van Sant to cut out as much of the Shakespeare as possible.

Perhaps my favorite anecdote from learning more about the creation of this film was the fact that the Shakespearean element was almost cut out entirely by director Gus Van Sant. The Shakespearean element, rather than taking away from the realistic portrayal of the independent film, actually adds to the picture in how it helps to justify the eccentric art cinema effects and underline the central themes of the film. Categorized and hyped as a queer-road-western film by the press, the Shakespearean element was largely overlooked in favor of the then-shocking reality that beloved teen heartthrob and James-Dean-lookalike River Phoenix was portraying a gay street hustler type.Īchieving cult status after the untimely and premature death of River Phoenix in October 1993, the film has been ranked and met with critical acclaim by many critics as one of the best films of the 1990s and the best performances actors Keanu Reeves and Phoenix will find in years. When I had first watched the film My Own Private Idaho (1991), I was unaware of the specific references to Shakespeare’s Henry IV Parts I and II and Henry V.

William shakespeare henry iv