The Gravediggers
The Gravediggers (or Clowns) are examples of Shakespearean fools (also known as clowns or jesters), a recurring type of character in Shakespeare's plays. Like most Shakespearean fools, the Gravediggers are peasants or commoners that use their great wit and intellect to get the better of their superiors, other people of higher social status, and each other. The Gravediggers appear briefly in Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet'', making their only appearance at the beginning of Act V, scene i. They are first encountered as they are digging a grave for the newly deceased Ophelia, discussing whether she deserves a Christian burial after having killed herself. Soon, Hamlet enters and engages in a quick dialogue with the first Gravedigger. The beat ends with Hamlet's speech regarding the circle of life prompted by his discovery of the skull of his father's beloved jester, Yorick. Detailed summary The penultimate scene of the play begins with the two clowns digging a grave for the la ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (theatre), play depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, King Claudius, Claudius, who has murdered Ghost (Hamlet), Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Gertrude (Hamlet), Hamlet's mother. ''Hamlet'' is considered among the "most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language", with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others." It is widely considered one of the greatest plays of all time. Three different early versions of the play are extant: the Hamlet Q1, First Quarto (Q1, 1603); the Second Quarto (Q2, 1604); and the First Folio (F1, 1623). Each version includes lines and passages missing from the others. Many works have been pointed to as possible s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hamlet (1948 Film)
''Hamlet '' is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, adapted, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier. ''Hamlet'' was Olivier's second film as director and the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed (the 1936 ''As You Like It'' had starred Olivier, but had been directed by Paul Czinner). ''Hamlet'' was the first British film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the first sound film of the play in English. Olivier's ''Hamlet'' is the Shakespeare film that has received the most prestigious accolades, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Actor and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. However, it proved controversial among Shakespearean purists, who felt that Olivier had made too many alterations and excisions to the four-hour play by cutting one-and-a-half-hours' worth of content. Milton Shulman wrote in ''The Evening Standard'': "To some it will be one of the greatest films ever made, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Almereyda
Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He studied art history at Harvard University but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on the strength of a spec script about Nikola Tesla. His film ''William Eggleston in the Real World'' (2005) was nominated for a Gotham Awards, Gotham Award for Best Documentary from the Independent Filmmaker Project.Gotham Awards Nominations Announced ", Filmmaker (magazine). Accessed 8 August 2014.'Broke ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hamlet (2000 Film)
''Hamlet'', also known as ''Hamlet 2000'', is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Michael Almereyda, set in contemporary New York City, and based on the Shakespeare play of the same name. Ethan Hawke plays Hamlet as a film student, Kyle MacLachlan co-stars as Uncle Claudius, with Diane Venora as Gertrude, Liev Schreiber as Laertes, Julia Stiles as Ophelia, Steve Zahn as Rosencrantz, Bill Murray as Polonius, and Sam Shepard as Hamlet's father. In this version of ''Hamlet'', Claudius is the CEO or "king" of the Denmark Corporation, having taken over the firm by killing his brother, Hamlet's father. This adaptation keeps the Shakespearean dialogue but presents a modern setting, with technology such as video cameras, Polaroid cameras, and surveillance bugs. For example, the ghost of Hamlet's murdered father first appears on closed-circuit TV. Adaptations * Elsinore Castle, the seat of power of Denmark's crown in the play, is re-imagined as Hotel Elsinore, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jeffrey Wright
Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. Wright began his career in theater, where he gained prominence for his role in the Broadway production of Tony Kushner's ''Angels in America'' (1993), for which he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He reprised his role in the acclaimed HBO miniseries adaptation (2003), earning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. His first starring film role was as Jean-Michel Basquiat in '' Basquiat'' (1996). His other notable films include ''Syriana'' (2005), ''Lady in the Water'' (2006), ''Cadillac Records'' (2008), '' The Ides of March'' (2011), and '' Rustin'' (2023). He has also acted in the Wes Anderson films ''The French Dispatch'' (2021) and '' Asteroid City'' (2023), and has played Peoples Hernandez in'' Shaft'' (2000), ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of awards and nominations received by Kenneth Branagh, His accolades include an Academy Award, four British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTAs, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Laurence Olivier Award, Olivier Award. He was appointed a Knights Bachelor, Knight Bachelor in 2012, and was given Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018. In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Branagh has directed and starred in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, including ''Henry V (1989 film), Henry V'' (1989), ''Much Ado About Nothing (1993 film), Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993), ''Othello (1995 film), Othello'' (1995), ''Hamlet (1996 film), Hamlet'' (1996 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hamlet (1996 Film)
''Hamlet'' is a 1996 British epic historical drama film serving as an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as Prince Hamlet. The film also features Derek Jacobi as King Claudius, Julie Christie as Queen Gertrude, Kate Winslet as Ophelia, Michael Maloney as Laertes, Richard Briers as Polonius, and Nicholas Farrell as Horatio. Other cast members include Robin Williams, Gérard Depardieu, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Rufus Sewell, Charlton Heston, Richard Attenborough, Judi Dench, John Gielgud and Ken Dodd. The film is the first unabridged theatrical film version of ''Hamlet'', running more than four hours. The setting is updated to the 19th century, but its Elizabethan English text remains the same. Blenheim Palace is the setting used for the exterior grounds of Elsinore Castle, and interiors were photographed at Shepperton Studios. ''Hamlet'' was the last major ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is known as a standup comedian and for his film and stage roles. Crystal has received List of awards and nominations received by Billy Crystal, numerous accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award as well as nominations for three Grammy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2007, the 27th Critics' Choice Awards#Lifetime Achievement Award, Critics' Choice Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2023. Crystal gained prominence for television roles as Jodie Dallas on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Soap (TV series), Soap'' from 1977 to 1981 and as a cast member and fr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Franco Zeffirelli
Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019) was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II era, gaining both acclaim and notoriety for his lavish stagings of classical works, as well as his film adaptations of the same. Films he directed included the Shakespearean adaptations '' The Taming of the Shrew'' (1967), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1968), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director; and '' Hamlet'' (1990), starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. His Biblical television miniseries '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977) won both national and international acclaim and is still frequently shown at Christmas and Easter in many countries. A member of the party, he served as the Senator for Catania between 1994 and 2001. A Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hamlet (1990 Film)
''Hamlet'' is a 1990 drama film based on the Shakespearean tragedy of the same name, directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Mel Gibson as the eponymous character. The film also features Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Dillane, and Nathaniel Parker. An international co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy, the film was the first produced by Icon Productions, a company co-founded by Gibson. Plot The film largely follows the plot of the original play, albeit omitting certain dialogue and minor characters to fit the average length of a feature film. This version also makes no modern adaptations. Cast Production Zeffirelli announced production of the film in April 1989 at a press conference in Los Angeles. Mel Gibson was at that same press conference, where it was announced that he would play Hamlet. Zeffirelli had set out to make a Shakespearian adaptation that would be accessible and appeali ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trevor Peacock
Trevor Edward Peacock (19 May 1931 – 8 March 2021) was an English actor and songwriter. He made his name as a theatre actor, including for his roles in Shakespeare. He later became known for playing Jim Trott in the BBC comedy series ''The Vicar of Dibley''. His song " Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" was a number one hit for Herman's Hermits in 1965. Early life Peacock was born on 19 May 1931 in Edmonton, Middlesex, the son of Alexandria and Victor Peacock. Prior to his acting career, he was a teacher for a few years in North London, including spells at Cuckoo Hall School in Edmonton and Carterhatch Junior School in Enfield. Film and television career Peacock's many television roles include Jim Trott in ''The Vicar of Dibley'', Rouault in ''Madame Bovary'' (opposite Keith Barron), Quilp in ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' and Old Bailey in ''Neverwhere''. He appeared in a wide variety of programmes, such as ''EastEnders'' (playing Sid, a war veteran Alfie Moon met ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tony Richardson
Cecil Antonio Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director, producer and screenwriter, whose career spanned five decades. He was identified with the "angry young men" group of British directors and playwrights during the 1950s, and was later a key figure in the British New Wave filmmaking movement. His films ''Look Back in Anger (1959 film), Look Back in Anger'' (1959), ''The Entertainer (1960 film), The Entertainer'' (1960), ''A Taste of Honey (film), A Taste of Honey'' (1961), and ''The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'' (1962) are considered classics of kitchen sink realism. He won the 1964 Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director and Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture for the film ''Tom Jones (1963 film), Tom Jones''. He was also a two-time BAFTA Award winner, and was twice nominated for the Palme d'Or. With his wife Vanessa Redgrave, Richard ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |