British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Hamlet

Synopsis
A version of the play, made for television, set in the late 19th-century in a post-Civil War setting. The film is based on Scott’s 1996 stage production of Hamlet at Boston’s Huntington Theatre, with several actors repeating their roles. Black actors play the parts of Polonius, Ophelia and Laertes.
Language
English
Country
United States
Medium
Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Year of release
2001
Duration
178 mins

Credits

Director
Campbell Scott
Producer
Campbell Scott; Jonathan Filley; Mary Frances Budig
Cinematographer
Dan Gillham
Screenplay
Campbell Scott; Eric Simonson
Music
Gary DeMichele
Costume
Michael Krass
Art Direction
David Scion
Cast
Campbell ScottHamlet
Jamey SheridanClaudius
Blair BrownGertrude
Roscoe Lee BrownePolonius
Lisa Gay HamiltonOphelia
Bill BuellBarnardo
Byron JenningsPlayer King
Byron JenningsGhost
Dan MoranGravedigger
Denis O’HareOsric
Eric SimonsonGravedigger (2)
Joan CampionMarcellus
John Benjamin HickeyHoratio
John Benjamin HickeyHoratio
Lewis ArltVoltemand
Maureen AndermanGuildenstern
Michael ImperioliRosencrantz
Roger Guenveur SmithLaertes
Sam RobardsFortinbras

Additional Details

Production type
Television and Radio Drama
Historical period
19th Century
Plays
Hamlet
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Multicultural casting

Notes

Notes
Available on DVD - region 1 only.
History
The film was first shown on American television as a cable TV mini-series on the Odyssey Channel beginning December 10 2000.
Reviews
Campbell Scott and Eric Simonson’s "Jazz Age" Hamlet distinguishes itself as perhaps the most improbably low-key imagining of rotten Denmark ever committed to film. Claudius (Jamey Sheridan) is faintly amused; Horatio (John Benjamin Hickey) is faintly perturbed; Hamlet himself (Scott) is faintly put-out. The hermetic interiors give off a musty Masterpiece Theatre odor; an aura of dust and mothballs evidently leaves a capable cast feeling woozy. (Jessica Winter, Village Voice August 15-21 2001).
Diana E. Henderson ‘The Artistic Process: Learning from Campbell Scott’s Hamlet’ in A Concise Companion to Shakespeare On Screen’ edited by Diana E. Henderson (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005).

Production Company

Name

Spare Room Productions

Archive

Name

Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division

Web
http://catalog.loc.gov/ External site opens in new window
Phone
(20) 707-8572
Fax
(20) 707-237’1
Address
Motion Picture & Television Reading Room
James Madison Building, LM 336
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C.
20540-4690
United States

Online Retailer

Name

amazon.com

Web
http://www.amazon.com External site opens in new window

Record Stats

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