A Midwinter's Tale (1995)

A group of theater actors plays "Hamlet" in a provincial village, faced with their own temptations, disappointments, and joys.

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writer:

Kenneth Branagh

Stars:

Michael Maloney, Richard Briers, Hetta Charnley

1 win & 1 nomination.

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

Storyline

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, somewhat against the advice of his agent Margaretta. As the cast he assembles are still available even at Christmas and are prepared to do it on a "profit sharing" basis (that is, they may not get paid anything) he cannot expect, and does not get, the cream of the crop. But although they all bring their own problems and foibles along, something bigger starts to emerge in the perhaps aptly named village of Hope.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | actor | play | british renaissance | cross dressing | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Midwinter's Tale

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$346,839

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Midwinter Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first film that Kenneth Branagh directed in which he did not appear.

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Quotes

[Prepping Molly to play Hamlet]
Tom Newman: The fight! If it all goes wrong, drop the sword, take this off, and throw it at me. Then I say, "The boot! The boot was poisoned!" and die.

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Connections

References Star Trek (1966)

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Soundtracks

Heart of Glass
Written by Debbie Harry & Chris Stein
Published by Chrysalis Music Inc.

User Reviews

Wonderful film

This was really good. The coming together of a number of people who create a 'family' is so positive in an, at present, negative world. They support each other and offer positive strokes So much film and tv portrays our planet's inhabitants as violent and unpleasant. Children must have a strange idea of the environment in which they are to grow. This did have witty dialogue and no special effects because it had things to say and slightly exaggerated characters who were different from each other. Although it is British it is about eternal values of persistence, commitment which is not financially motivated and thinking about others beside self and therefore applicable to humanity generally. It certainly wouldn't do any harm in our modern world. It did no damage to the image of theatre and film either. No guns or knives, no car chases, no police or ambulances, how quaint, how rare but harder to write.