''Hamlet'' is a 2009
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
adaptation of the
Royal Shakespeare Company's 2008
modern-dress stage production of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's
play of the same name, aired on
BBC Two on 26 December 2009. It was broadcast by
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
' ''
Great Performances
''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is p ...
'' in the United States on 28 April 2010.
Directed by
Gregory Doran
Gregory Doran (born 24 November 1958) is an English director known for his Shakespearean work. ''The Sunday Times'' called him 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'.
Doran was artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RS ...
, it features the original stage cast of
David Tennant
David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show ''Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...
in the title role of
Prince Hamlet
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
,
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...
as both
King Claudius
King Claudius is a fictional character and the main antagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle and later stepfather to Prince Hamlet. He obtained the throne of ...
and the
ghost of Hamlet's father,
Penny Downie
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
as
Queen Gertrude
In William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the king (young Hamle ...
,
Mariah Gale
Mariah Gale (born c.1980) is a British actress of film, stage and television.
Early life
She was born in Australia to an Australian mother and British father, both architects. She grew up in England. She studied at Birmingham University and the G ...
as
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama '' Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends u ...
,
Edward Bennett as
Laertes
In Greek mythology, Laertes (; grc, Λαέρτης, Laértēs ; also spelled Laërtes) was the king of the Cephallenians, an ethnic group who lived both on the Ionian islands and on the mainland, which he presumably inherited from his father A ...
,
Oliver Ford Davies
Oliver Robert Ford Davies (born 12 August 1939) is an English actor and writer, best known for his extensive theatre work, and to a broader audience for his role as Sio Bibble in ''Star Wars'' Episodes I to III. He is also known for his role ...
as
Polonius
Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. He is chief counsellor of the play's ultimate villain, Claudius, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Generally regarded as wrong in every judgment he makes over the course o ...
, and
Peter de Jersey as
Horatio
Horatio is an English male given name, an Italianized form of the ancient Roman Latin '' nomen'' (name) '' Horatius'', from the Roman '' gens'' (clan) '' Horatia''. The modern Italian form is ''Orazio'', the modern Spanish form ''Horacio''. It app ...
.
Production
The production was filmed with a
single-camera setup
The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, also known as portable single camera, is a method of filmmaking and video production.
The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema i ...
, using the pioneering
RED One camera technology.
Cast
*
Prince Hamlet
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
—
David Tennant
David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show ''Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...
*
King Claudius
King Claudius is a fictional character and the main antagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle and later stepfather to Prince Hamlet. He obtained the throne of ...
/
King Hamlet
The ghost of Hamlet's father is a character from William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. In the stage directions he is referred to as "Ghost". His name is also Hamlet, and he is referred to as ''King'' Hamlet to distinguish him from the Prince, ...
—
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...
*
Queen Gertrude
In William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the king (young Hamle ...
—
Penny Downie
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
*
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama '' Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends u ...
—
Mariah Gale
Mariah Gale (born c.1980) is a British actress of film, stage and television.
Early life
She was born in Australia to an Australian mother and British father, both architects. She grew up in England. She studied at Birmingham University and the G ...
*
Horatio
Horatio is an English male given name, an Italianized form of the ancient Roman Latin '' nomen'' (name) '' Horatius'', from the Roman '' gens'' (clan) '' Horatia''. The modern Italian form is ''Orazio'', the modern Spanish form ''Horacio''. It app ...
—
Peter de Jersey
*
Laertes
In Greek mythology, Laertes (; grc, Λαέρτης, Laértēs ; also spelled Laërtes) was the king of the Cephallenians, an ethnic group who lived both on the Ionian islands and on the mainland, which he presumably inherited from his father A ...
—
Edward Bennett
*
Polonius
Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. He is chief counsellor of the play's ultimate villain, Claudius, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Generally regarded as wrong in every judgment he makes over the course o ...
—
Oliver Ford Davies
Oliver Robert Ford Davies (born 12 August 1939) is an English actor and writer, best known for his extensive theatre work, and to a broader audience for his role as Sio Bibble in ''Star Wars'' Episodes I to III. He is also known for his role ...
*
Rosencrantz
Rosenkranz is the German word for rosary.
Rosenkranz, Rosenkrantz, Rosencrance, Rosencrans or Rosencrantz may refer to:
* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two characters in Shakespeare's ''Hamlet''
* ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'', a 1966 ...
/ Second Gravedigger —
Sam Alexander
*
Guildenstern
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. They are childhood friends of Hamlet, summoned by King Claudius to distract the prince from his apparent madness and if possible to ascertain the cause of ...
—
Tom Davey
*
Gravedigger
A gravedigger is a cemetery worker who is responsible for digging a grave prior to a funeral service.
Description
If the grave is in a cemetery on the property of a church or other religious organization (part of, or called, a churchyard), ...
—
Mark Hadfield
*
Player King —
John Woodvine
John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles.
Early life
Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, Engla ...
*
Osric Osric is an Anglo-Saxon name and may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People Anglo-Saxon kings
* Osric of Deira, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Deira in the 630s
* Osric of Northumbria, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria in the 720s
* Osric of ...
/
Player Queen —
Ryan Gage
*Dumbshow King —
Samuel Dutton
*Dumbshow Queen /
Priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
—
Jim Hooper
Jim or JIM may refer to:
* Jim (given name), a given name
* Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James
* Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy
* OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism
* ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring
* ''Jim' ...
*
Reynaldo / Dumbshow Poisoner —
David Ajala
David Ajala (born 21 May 1986) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Manchester Black in '' Supergirl'' (20182019), Captain Roy Eris in ''Nightflyers'' (2018), and Cleveland "Book" Booker in '' Star Trek: Discovery'' (2020present).
...
*
Marcellus —
Keith Osborn
*
Barnardo Barnardo is an Irish surname, and may refer to:
* Freeman Barnardo (1918–1942), British cricket player
* Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo (1879–1955)
* Thomas John Barnardo
Thomas John Barnardo (4 July 184519 September 1905) was an Irish-b ...
—
Ewen Cummins
*
Francisco
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...
/
Fortinbras
Fortinbras is either of two minor fictional characters from William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. The more notable is a Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play, who delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future ...
—
Robert Curtis
*
Voltemand
What follows is an overview of the main characters in William Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', followed by a list and summary of the minor characters from the play.Character list collated from Spencer (1980, 61–2) and from Thompson & Taylor (2006a, 140 ...
— Roderick Smith
*
Cornelia —
Andrea Harris
*
Lucianus —
Ricky Champ
Ricky Champ (born 1 July 1980) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Paul Parker in the BBC Three sitcom ''Him & Her'', and Stuart Highway in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Champ has also appeared in ''Crims
''Crims'' is a ...
*Lady-in-waiting —
Riann Steele
*Lady-in-waiting —
Zoe Thorne
DVD release
The film was released by
2 Entertain
2 Entertain (stylized as 2 , entertain) is a British video and music publisher founded in September 2004 by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004. Under CEO Richard Green, the company operated as a joint venture b ...
in the United Kingdom and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on 4 January 2010 and on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
on 19 April 2010 and on DVD and Blu-ray on 4 May 2010 in the United States and Canada.
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
Archived Site-
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...