Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980)

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 (play)

Stars:

Derek Jacobi, Claire Bloom, Patrick Stewart

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Derek Jacobi	...	Hamlet
Claire Bloom	...	Gertrude
Patrick Stewart	...	Claudius
Eric Porter	...	Polonius
Lalla Ward	...	Ophelia
David Robb	...	Laertes
Patrick Allen	...	Ghost of Hamlet's Father
Robert Swann	...	Horatio
Jonathan Hyde	...	Rosencrantz
Geoffrey Bateman	...	Guildenstern
Emrys James	...	First Player (King)
Jason Kemp	...	Second Player (Queen)
Geoffrey Beevers	...	Third Player (Lucianus)
Bill Homewood	...	Player in the mime, King
Peter Richard	...	Player in the mime, Queen (as Peter Richards)

Storyline

Hamlet comes home from university to find his uncle married to his mother, and his father's ghost haunting the battlements and scaring the watch. Then his father's ghost directs him to seek revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

ghost | revenge | prince | denmark | man child | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Time-Life Television Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Derek Jacobi played, again with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1985), as translated by Anthony Burgess. In that translation, Cyrano's list of insults to his nose ends with "And finally, with tragic sighs and cries, the language finely wrought and deeply felt, 'Oh, that this too, too solid nose would melt,'" a parody of Hamlet's first speech, which begins with "Oh, that this too, too solid flesh would melt."

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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.

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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.

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Connections

Version of Hamlet Part 2 (1947)

User Reviews

The finest Hamlet

I've seen various Hamlets, and I've taught the play. As I watch Jacobi, I'm tempted to think that he's every bit as intelligent as Hamlet himself, so alive is he to every nuance of this character's wit. He deepens, rather than solves, every puzzle regarding Hamlet's character. He illuminates line after line, word after word, shining light into this sparkling mind. At the same time, however, we cringe at the horror Hamlet feels at his betrayal--far more than with any other actor--because Jacobi feels the pain more profoundly than anyone else. And we shudder at Hamlet's own betrayals, because Jacobi is not afraid of the baseness to which Hamlet can descend. In short, Jacobi gives us Hamlet in full, and Hamlet in full is the greatest character in literature. That's why I'm satisfied that Jacobi's Hamlet is the finest performance I've seen by an actor.