Royal Deceit (1994)
"Prince of Jutland" (original title)

This re-telling of Hamlet goes back to the original Danish source material. The opening scenario remains the same: Hamlet's father murdered by his brother who then weds the widowed mother. ... See full summary »

Director:

Gabriel Axel

Writers:

Gabriel Axel (screenplay), Erik Kjersgaard (screenplay),

Stars:

Gabriel Byrne, Helen Mirren, Christian Bale

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabriel Byrne	...	Fenge
Helen Mirren	...	Geruth
Christian Bale	...	Amled
Brian Cox	...	Aethelwine
Steven Waddington	...	Ribold
Kate Beckinsale	...	Ethel
Tony Haygarth	...	Ragnar
Freddie Jones	...	Bjorn
Tom Wilkinson	...	Hardvendel
Saskia Wickham	...	Gunvor
Brian Glover	...	Caedman
Mark Williams	...	Aslak
Andy Serkis	...	Torsten
Philip Rham	...	Aelfred
Ewen Bremner	...	Frovin

Storyline

This re-telling of Hamlet goes back to the original Danish source material. The opening scenario remains the same: Hamlet's father murdered by his brother who then weds the widowed mother. Hamlet must discover his strength and leadership that will allow him to regain his rightful throne. Don't expect an ending which matches the Bard's though, this is more like a true Viking epic.

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Plot Keywords:

begins with narration | apple | starts with narration | rope | dead body | 

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Taglines:

His Quest for Vengeance... May Cost Him Everything.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and scenes of nudity

Details

Country:

Netherlands UK Denmark France Germany

Language:

English Danish

Release Date:

23 February 1994 (France)

Also Known As:

Royal Deceit

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Ariane, Woodline Films Ltd., Kenneth Madsen Filmproduktion A/S

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first of two movies pairing Christian Bale and Kate Beckinsale.

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Crazy Credits

"I would like to thank my Mother for introducing me to, and teaching me to love these ancient Chronicles." - Gabriel Axel

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Connections

Version of Hamlet (1948)

User Reviews

Most talent turkey ever?

A very strange film. It's main worth being to illustrate to those who make films that, despite having a enviable amount of talent, a recognised composer, a director with previous reputation, access to great locations and some significant budget a real turkey can still result. A look at the cast list reveals a true wealth of acting talent. From Helen Mirren, Gabriel Byrne and Brian Cox to Andy Serkis and Christian Bale. But with many others of note including Mark Williams, Tom Wilkinson, Tony Haygarth, Saskia Wickham, Ewen Bremner, Brian Glover, Kate Beckinsale and Freddie Jones one can be excused from buying the DVD in the belief that 'it can't be that bad with all these in it'. It can. It's worse. Plodding pace, clunky direction, a dreadfully incongruous musical score and some really woeful dialogue. The battle scenes, at best, resemble a poor historical re-enactment. Oh, and there's a man in a bear suit! It's reminiscent of an early 70's ITV drama but with better acting. Nobody acts badly, in fact some of Christian Bale's performance shows his promise, but the question should be asked of those who can so indisputably act 'why are you acting in this?' All in all you will find it a waste of time to watch it. You know the basic story anyway, so there's little to learn - unless you're studying media, especially with a view to entering the world of film making, then it may be truly of value to you.