Home > Hamlet (1996 movie)

It is notable for being the first unabridged screen version of the play, running for slightly over four hours. (A shorter edit, approximately two-and-a-half hours long, was shown in some markets.)

The setting of the movie was less faithful, with 18th or 19th century costuming and furnishings ( Blenheim Palace, built in the early 18th century, became Elsinore Castle in the external scenes).

The film is very visual; most of the play's many monologues and soliloquies are accompanied by silent flashbacks or dream sequences depicting the events being spoken of. (Hamlet's famous reminiscence of the jester Yorick, for instance, is accompanied by a flashback depicting the man himself performing for the child Hamlet.)

Another notable aspect of the film was the large number of celebrity cameos; seemingly no role was too small to be played by a star ( Gerard Depardieu's turn as the servant Reynaldo, who appears only briefly in a single scene and is invariably left out of shorter versions of the play, is a case in point). Some of these cameos make a sort of sense ( Billy Crystal as a comic-relief gravedigger), while others seem pointless and inappropriate ( Jack LemmonJack Uhler Lemmon III ( February 8, 1925 June 27, 2001) was a consummate Hollywood actor. Born in Boston, Lemmon's father was a successful businessman in the Boston area. Lemmon attended Harvard. Though divorced, he was a devoted father, and one of the be as a palace guard with a jarring American accent). The flashbacks and dream sequences even allow for celebrities appearing as characters that usually don't appear in the play at all, including John GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud OM CH ( April 14, 1904 May 21, 2000) was an English theater and film actor, regarded by many as one of the greatest of his time. John Gielgud was born in Kensington, London, and had a head start in the theatrical profession, being and Judi DenchDame Judi Dench (born December 9, 1934) is a renowned British actress. She was born in York as Judith Olivia Dench''. In 1971, she married British actor Michael Williams, who died of cancer in 2001. They starred together in a British sitcom, A Fine Romanc as PriamIn Greek mythology, Priam ( Greek Priamos was the king of Troy during the Trojan War, and son of Laomedon. Priam had a number of wives (his first was Arisbe); his chief wife, Hecuba, bore him twenty children. Another wife, Laothoe, was the mother of Lycao and Hecuba108 Hecuba is an asteroid. Hecuba (also Hekuba or Hekabe was a Trojan queen in Greek mythology, daughter of Dymas. With her husband, King Priam, Hecuba had fifty children including Creusa, Hector, Antiphus, Deiphobus, Ilione, Laodice, Polydorus, Polites, (mentioned in the monologue performed by the First Player on his arrival at Elsinore) and Ken DoddKen Dodd born November 8, 1929, Liverpool, is a veteran British comedian and singer, famous for his buck teeth, frizzy hair, feather duster (or "tickling stick"), and his catchphrase, "How tickled I am!" He works largely in the music hall tradition, altho as the aforementioned Yorick. Other notable cameos include Charlton HestonCharlton Heston (born October 4, 1924), born John Charles Carter is an American film actor noted for heroic roles. Later in his life, Heston became famous as a conservative activist, especially as president of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Youth a as the First Player/Player King, Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams (born July 21, 1952) is a multi-award-winning American actor and comedian who was born in Chicago, Illinois. He first achieved notice for his stand-up routines in San Francisco. His first major acting role was in the television ser as the courtier Osric, and Richard Attenborough as the English Ambassador.

See also: Hamlet (the Shakespearean play and the many subsequent movies)