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Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

  • TV Movie
  • 1980
  • TV-14
  • 3h 30m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
635
YOUR RATING
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
Drama

Hamlet suspects his uncle has murdered his father to claim the throne of Denmark and the hand of Hamlet's mother, but the Prince cannot decide whether or not he should take vengeance.Hamlet suspects his uncle has murdered his father to claim the throne of Denmark and the hand of Hamlet's mother, but the Prince cannot decide whether or not he should take vengeance.Hamlet suspects his uncle has murdered his father to claim the throne of Denmark and the hand of Hamlet's mother, but the Prince cannot decide whether or not he should take vengeance.

  • Director
    • Rodney Bennett
  • Writer
    • William Shakespeare
  • Stars
    • Derek Jacobi
    • Claire Bloom
    • Patrick Stewart
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    635
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Rodney Bennett
    • Writer
      • William Shakespeare
    • Stars
      • Derek Jacobi
      • Claire Bloom
      • Patrick Stewart
    • 27User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos29

    Derek Jacobi, Geoffrey Bateman, and Jonathan Hyde in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
    Romeo & Juliet (1978)
    Lalla Ward in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
    Claire Bloom in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
    Patrick Stewart and Claire Bloom in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
    Patrick Stewart, Claire Bloom, and Lalla Ward in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
    Derek Jacobi and Lalla Ward in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
    Patrick Stewart and Claire Bloom in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
    Derek Jacobi and Claire Bloom in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
    Patrick Stewart and Claire Bloom in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
    Derek Jacobi in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)
    Derek Jacobi and Patrick Stewart in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Derek Jacobi
    Derek Jacobi
    • Hamlet
    Claire Bloom
    Claire Bloom
    • Gertrude
    Patrick Stewart
    Patrick Stewart
    • Claudius
    Eric Porter
    Eric Porter
    • Polonius
    Lalla Ward
    Lalla Ward
    • Ophelia
    David Robb
    David Robb
    • Laertes
    Patrick Allen
    Patrick Allen
    • Ghost of Hamlet's Father
    Robert Swann
    • Horatio
    Jonathan Hyde
    Jonathan Hyde
    • Rosencrantz
    Geoffrey Bateman
    Geoffrey Bateman
    • Guildenstern
    Emrys James
    Emrys James
    • First Player (King)
    Jason Kemp
    • Second Player (Queen)
    Geoffrey Beevers
    Geoffrey Beevers
    • Third Player (Lucianus)
    Bill Homewood
    Bill Homewood
    • Player in the mime, King
    Peter Richard
    • Player in the mime, Queen
    • (as Peter Richards)
    Terence McGinity
    • Player in the mime, Lucianus
    Peter Burroughs
    • Player
    Stuart Fell
    Stuart Fell
    • Player
    • Director
      • Rodney Bennett
    • Writer
      • William Shakespeare
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sir Patrick Stewart played Sir Derek Jacobi's stepfather despite being two years younger.
    • Goofs
      When the grave diggers have dug the grave, they lay planks upon the hole and upon those planks spread straps. Upon these planks and straps Ophelia's body is laid. However, when the burial proceeds and her body is put into the grave, the planks have strangely disappeared and Ophelia's dead body is lowered into the earth.
    • Alternate versions
      The version shown on PBS omitted the scene in which Hamlet "baits" Polonius ("Do you know me, my lord?" "Excellent well. You are a fishmonger", etc.). It cut straight from Polonius and Claudius considering how to prove that Hamlet is mad to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's greeting Hamlet at the castle.
    • Connections
      Featured in Shakespeare's Women & Claire Bloom (1999)

    User reviews27

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Great Dane
    Let's make no bones about it: the primary reason to watch this BBC studio version of Hamlet, part of a monumental series in which all of Shakespeare's dramatic oeuvre was recorded for screen, is Derek Jacobi's performance in the title role. It's brilliant and piercingly human, it's worth the price of admission, and on its own makes this Hamlet something that should last. In addition, though, it is an all-over commendable performance of the full text of the play -- a rare element for which it is the more commendable.

    The minimalist sets -- basic dressings of a castle and pastel voids outdoors -- are inexpensive, but also draw, clean, bleak lines that draw out the essentials of the performances. Costumes are basically traditional and competent, as is the Dudley Simpson music, which only occasionally is a little too overbearing or notably reminiscent of the composer's Doctor Who scores.

    Speaking of Doctor Who, a regular from that series at the time, Lalla Ward, plays Ophelia. She has a kind of impish charm that served her very well in the science fiction series but here it is unevenly mixed with a stiffness that her performance as Ophelia less effective than it could have been. Patrick Stewart, however, is very good as a calculating Claudius who is smoothly duplicitous in public yet tautly pained by his sins in private. Eric Porter's Polonius is extremely likable and believable -- doddery but still reasonable.

    But in the end, it is mostly dressing to Derek Jacobi. He is a wonderfully expressive Hamlet, clearly a man of sardonic, world-weary wit and intellectual genius -- who insouciantly demonstrates that he knows he wiser than all those around him -- who yet is ruled by extraordinarily powerful emotions that he cannot govern. He as vast magnetism and presence and makes the role a complex, believable man who is the epitome of "passion's slave." His confrontation with Ophelia, played with the strong choice that he is just beginning to realize that he is becoming mad in spite -- or perhaps because -- of his false madness and has truly been tortured by Ophelia's coldness, is especially heartwrenching.

    This production is nowhere less than competent and in many places -- due to the great performance of its lead and strong support from many other -- is unforgettable.
    helpful•2
    1
    • hte-trasme
    • Aug 11, 2011

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 10, 1980 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
    • Production companies
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
      • Time-Life Television Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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