In the Bleak Midwinter (1995)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writer:

Kenneth Branagh (written by)

Release Date:

16 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The drama. The passion. The intrigue... And the rehearsals haven't even started.

Plot:

Out of work actor Joe volunteers to help try and save his sister's local church for the community by putting on a Christmas production of Hamlet...

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Actor | Play | Homosexual | William Shakespeare

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Richard Briers	...	Henry Wakefield (Claudius, the Ghost, and the Player King)
Hetta Charnley	...	Molly
Joan Collins	...	Margaretta D'Arcy
Nicholas Farrell	...	Tom Newman (Laertes, Fortinbras, and messengers)
Mark Hadfield	...	Vernon Spatch (Polonius, Marcellus, and First Gravedigger)
Gerard Horan	...	Carnforth Greville (Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Horatio, and Barnardo)
Celia Imrie	...	Fadge
Michael Maloney	...	Joe Harper (Hamlet)
Jennifer Saunders	...	Nancy Crawford
Julia Sawalha	...	Nina Raymond (Ophelia)
John Sessions	...	Terry Du Bois (Queen Gertrude)
Ann Davies	...	Mrs. Branch
James D. White	...	Tim
Robert Hines	...	Mortimer
Allie Byrne	...	Tap Dancer

Also Known As:

A Midwinter's Tale (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for some language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Germany:12 | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

Jimmy Yuill Was offered a key role but had to pass because of his commitments to Wycliffe.

Quotes:

Tom Newman: Hamlet isn't just Hamlet. Oh no, no, no. Oh, no. Hamlet is me. Hamlet is Bosnia. Hamlet is this desk. Hamlet is the air. Hamlet is my grandmother. Hamlet is everything you ever though about sex, about geology...
Joe Harper: Geology?
Tom Newman: In a very loose sense, of course.

Movie Connections:

Featured in To Be on Camera: A History with Hamlet (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Why Must The Show Go On

Gets ya where ya least expect it

This is a movie that will make you see that when things look their bleakest, as in midwinter, you have to push on. The characters undergo a long journey from strange actor-folk and emerge as people who are near and dear to us at the end. They are the light at the end of the tunnel. Anyone who's been involved with a difficult stage production will identify with this movie. I loved it! "Dear Hamlet, cast thy coloured nightie off..." -D