Hamlet (1969 film)

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Hamlet
Hamlet (1969 film).jpg
Film poster
Directed by Tony Richardson
Written by Tony Richardson
Based on Hamlet
1599 play
by William Shakespeare
Produced byHans Gottschalk
Neil Hartley
Leslie Linder
Martin Ransohoff
Starring Nicol Williamson
Marianne Faithfull
Anthony Hopkins
Judy Parfitt
Cinematography Gerry Fisher
Edited by Charles Rees
Music by Patrick Gowers
Color process Technicolor
Production
companies
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • 21 December 1969 (1969-12-21)(New York City)
  • 9 April 1970 (1970-04-09)(United Kingdom)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$350,000 [1]

Hamlet is a 1969 British tragedy period drama film. It is a film adaptation of Shakespeare's play Hamlet , starring Nicol Williamson as Prince Hamlet. [2] It was directed by Tony Richardson and based on his own stage production at the Roundhouse theatre in London. [3] The film also stars Anthony Hopkins as King Claudius, Judy Parfitt as Queen Gertrude, Marianne Faithfull as Ophelia, Mark Dignam as Polonius, Gordon Jackson as Horatio, and Michael Pennington as Laertes. [4]

Contents

Plot

Cast

Production

The film, a departure from big-budget Hollywood renditions of classics, was made with a small budget and a very minimalist set, consisting of Renaissance fixtures and costumes in a dark, shadowed space. A brick tunnel is used for the scenes on the battlements. The Ghost of Hamlet's father is represented only by a light shining on the observers. The film places much emphasis on the sexual aspects of the play, to the point of strongly implying an incestuous relationship between Laertes and Ophelia. Williamson was only one year younger than Parfitt, who played his mother, and was one year older than Hopkins, who played his uncle.

Home media

Hamlet was released to DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on 3 July 2012 via the Choice Collection DVD-on-demand setup from Amazon.

References

  1. ↑ Alexander Walker, Hollywood, England, Stein and Day, 1974 p452
  2. ↑ "Hamlet (1969)". BFI. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019.
  3. ↑ "Production of Hamlet | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  4. ↑ "Hamlet (1969) - Tony Richardson | Cast and Crew | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.


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