IMDb > In the Bleak Midwinter (1995)
In the Bleak Midwinter
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In the Bleak Midwinter (1995) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 9 | slideshow) Videos
In the Bleak Midwinter (1995) -- US Home Video Trailer from Castle Rock

Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   1,377 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 14% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writer:

Kenneth Branagh (written by)

Contact:

View company contact information for A Midwinter's Tale on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

16 February 1996 (USA) more

Genre:

Comedy more

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... more | full synopsis

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination more

User Comments:

Simply magnificent more (35 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:

A Midwinter's Tale (USA)
more

MPAA:

Rated R for some language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Filming Locations:

England, UK more


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

Shot in only 21 days. more

Quotes:

Vernon Spatch: You're doing wonderfully well. Tell me, are your nipples hard?
Fadge: If they were any harder, Tom could do chin-ups from them.
more

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Mule Train more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful.
Simply magnificent, 4 January 2005
10/10

Rating this movie, I gave it a 10 only because there wasn't a higher number allowed.

Never having previously heard of this, I decided to take a chance on it one afternoon, though I generally avoid HBO, partly out of the lack of anything else important to do and partly because I saw Kenneth Branagh's name.

How serendipitous.

This almost perfect cinema experience moved me to tears, made me laugh, brought me to my feet applauding and cheering -- right here, perhaps foolishly, in my living room.

Branagh is further evidence that God is no socialist: Branagh has looks, talent, and now deservedly has money and probably all the romance he wants to handle. In other words, he has everything, while so many of us have nothing. Proving, as I said, God is no socialist, equitably sharing the wealth.

The cast of "In the Bleak Midwinter" is just simply magnificent. I can accept a quibble that some performances are a bit stereotyped (and one director wrote in this forum that anyone believing that just needs to accompany a troupe), but even if true, so what?

I love theater people.

I love theater people and that is perhaps the main reason I loved "In the Bleak Midwinter." As much as any film and more than most it shows stage actors in all their quirks and foibles, and in all their inherent humanity; it shows how the love for their craft, for their heritage and traditions, motivates them far more than does money or the chance of it, more than fame or the lack of it, and much, much more than does security.

Actors portraying actors often can be seen shifting into another gear, but that doesn't happen here. Director Branagh and the excellent cast of superb performers provide a nearly seamless, nearly perfect production, beautifully written by Branagh.

If there were room, each and every cast member should get a glowing tribute. Each and every one was great (even Joan Collins was great, though I can't help wondering: Is she EVER going to show any age on her?), and each and every one was a standout -- which might seem to be a contradiction, a paradox, but watch "In the Bleak Midwinter." You'll see what I mean.

Bravo, bravo, bravo. "In the Bleak Midwinter" is simply magnificent.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for In the Bleak Midwinter (1995)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
On DVD at last!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! luckard
Sequel, Anyone??? beryl10001
obi wan KENobi capricor-1
Ooooh Ken! Why aren't you writing more like this...?? braavhart
Coming on Television chicken_bok
Directors Cameo? scary-man
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