PBS - Last Will, and Testament: Uncovering Shakespeare (2012)

"There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true." – Soren Kierkegaard

It's a great literary mystery: who wrote the works of William Shakespeare? "LAST WILL. & TESTAMENT," an award winning documentary film will transform the way you look at Shakespeare.
Although the official story of a Stratford merchant writing for the London box office has held sway for centuries, questions over the authorship of the plays and poems have persisted. Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles are among the many famous figures who doubted that a grain-dealer from Stratford-Upon-Avon was England's 'Star of Poets'. Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship.
The first part of the film tells the orthodox story of William Shakespeare of Stratford and the longstanding views held by academia. Professors Stanley Wells and Jonathan Bate defend the orthodox position, while anti-Stratfordians Charles Beauclerk, Dr. Roger Stritmatter, Dr. William Leahy, Diana Price and actors Vanessa Redgrave, Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance question the orthodoxy.
The second part is a testament to an alternative Shakespeare — one presented to the world in the literary works themselves and in the testimony of his most insightful doubters. Through a series of interviews with scholars currently working in the field, the film fashions a profile of the elusive poet. During the last century, a field of more than 60 candidates for authorship has narrowed, with Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and group authorship becoming the most popular alternatives. "Last Will. & Testament" traces the life and literary career of this forgotten nobleman. Through on-camera commentary, a portrait of de Vere emerges: a real-life Hamlet, whose tragic experiences provided the raw material for the canon and gave birth to the anti-Stratfordian and Oxfordian movements.
The final segment of the film weaves together the major historical events of the late Tudor era, including the crisis of succession and the Essex Revolt. The power politics of the Elizabethan Age and the towering figure of the Queen herself are addressed by the film's commentators, who seek to connect Shakespeare's plays and sonnets to the turbulent world of the court. By the end viewers are challenged to explore the many unresolved historical, political and artistic issues that lie at the heart of the mystery of who wrote Shakespeare's works.
"Last Will. & Testament" is on quest to uncover the truth about an elusive author and discover a forgotten nobleman whose story could rewrite history.