British Universities Film & Video Council

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Swan Song

Synopsis
Short film. Adaptation by Hugh Cruttwell of Anton Chekhov’s one-act play Kalchas. A ageing actor wakes up in his dressing room long after the play has ended and walks on to the stage where he meets his prompter. They reflect on loneliness and death and the actor recites those lines from the tragic roles of Othello, Hamlet and Lear which he feels mirror his own regrets.
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Film; Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Transmission details
25 Dec 1993 at 20:30 (Channel: Channel Four)
Duration
24 mins

Credits

Director
Kenneth Branagh
Producer
David Parfitt
Cinematographer
Roger Lanser
Writer
Anton Chekhov; Hugh Cruttwell
Production Design
Bunny Christie
Cast
John GielgudSvetlovidov (Actor)
Richard BriersNikita (Prompter)

Additional Details

Production type
Fiction Films
Plays
Hamlet; King Lear; Othello
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

History
Shown in 1993 Venice Film Festival

Production Company

Name

Swan Song Film

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 0165
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN

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