Shakespeare: The Truth Behind the Name (2021) User Reviews

Creatively Executed!

[mungiaa · 8/10 · 20 September 2021]

This film was no only educational, but so entertaining and fun to watch. Robin is able to bring you into the era with her humor, costumes and facts, she really knows how to keep you engaged!

So much you would have never known about!

[alberto-32103 · 10/10 · 20 September 2021]

Robin does an amazing job telling the story about the true identity of Shakespeare. There are so many twists and turns and it really makes you rethink what you know about that name.

Brava!!!

[missinnayang · 9/10 · 20 September 2021]

Robin Phillips is an absolute gem who brings the untold story of Shakespeare's true identity to life in the most entertaining and magical way. You will learn SO much by watching the documentary and undeniably have a wonderful time doing so.

Clever way of teaching history

[livrobert · 9/10 · 21 September 2021]

Robin Phillips cleverly uses theatrical performance to bring the story of William Shakespeare's identity to life. It is clear that she has done thorough research on this topic. This film had me reexamining what I knew about Shakespeare.

Save your time

[bobpoo-76533 · 1/10 · 26 February 2024]

This is one of the worst documentaries I have ever seen,the editing is so bad its like a novice done it the narrator is really annoying,and the claim of proof is poor people are to stupid to write anything so this was the cover name for a rich person very near the queen , avoid this trash at all costs you'll learn more from grass growing. This is the type of documentary a person would write and film if they were in school for a project they didn't care about.how this junk ever got released and so highly reviewed by some people goes to show that people will believe any nonsense if it's on TV .go do some real learning as this will teach you nothing worth knowing.

Such an informative film!

[bainesalexis · 9/10 · 20 September 2021]

I learned so much from this film. Robin is able to explain factual evidence in a lighthearted and entertaining way This film is a game changer and I highly recommend.

Annoying self-obsessed narrator a turn off

[wpeake-27682 · 1/10 · 6 August 2023]

I have never encountered a narrator of a documentary who was so self-obsessed. Total turn off. She may well have been arguing a plausible case, but I was so annoyed by her 'look at me' approach that it was lost on me. And her not very professional reading of idiot cards. And all her costume changes. And the snide asides. Who was this documentary really about? She or Shakespeare or Oxford? It could have been so good with an off-the-centre-stage host. In the end, I was not convinced that Shakespeare was not the author of the plays and sonnets. So far as discourses on Shakespearian identities go, I much prefer the Oscar Wilde short story the Portrait of Mr WH.

Beyond. Reasonable. Doubt.

[brennanhale-18602 · 10/10 · 14 June 2022]

Finally!

This documentary is easily the best breakdown of Oxfordian research to date by the wonderfully talented Robin Phillips. Her narration and acting skills bring this story to life in a way that is hard to refute.

It clearly shows how the man from Stratford could not possibly have written the works of Shakespeare, for many reasons, but mainly due to his age, his lack of education and lack of worldly experience. It also highlights exactly how and why the Shake-Speare mythology was created and why it has persisted for so long.

Last but not least, this documentary shows precisely how Edward DeVere, the 17th Earl of Oxford was our hidden literary genius. It describes how he fell in love with Italy during the Renaissance. How he brought the Renaissance back to England with him and forever changed our language, our politics and our world.

And to no one's surprise, while DeVere was the artist, it was the women around him who brought his genius to life, Queen Elizabeth and his daughter Susan DeVere.

What a wonderful film, highly recommended.

Stratfordians beware!

Silly but Intriguing

[alex-278 · 1/10 · 26 July 2023]

This is a rather silly presentation style, which has been perfected by the Americans - but it is an intriguing idea. Apart from Robin's poor acting and frivolous presentation it is highly repetitious and is fragmented insofar as it jumps all over the place and has been edited in a style that the transition between so called facts and a follow-up comment or justification(sometimes absent) are marked by a blank screen which leads you to expect a new section to the story, but results in a juxtaposition of stills with some silly woman, ringing bells all the time down in the lower right hand corner of the screen.

Apart from that the pronunciation of the same word can change over and over again, making the whole thing poorly acted and superficial with factual errors - I can assure Robin that Cambridge is not in Oxford - an unforgivable sin if one is trying establish credibility. All the flaws just point to poor research and adds to the overall implausibility of this whole documentary - it is just superficial with a lot of hand waving and pathetic bell ringing.