Hamlet (2000)

Director:

Michael Almereyda

Writers (WGA):

William Shakespeare (play)
Michael Almereyda (screen adaptation)

Release Date:

12 July 2000 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

Modern day adaptation of Shakespeare's immortal story about Hamlet's plight to avenge his father's murder in New York City.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | New York City | Madness | Modern Day Adaptation | Ghost

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Ethan Hawke	...	Hamlet
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Claudius
Diane Venora	...	Gertrude
Sam Shepard	...	Ghost
Bill Murray	...	Polonius
Liev Schreiber	...	Laertes
Julia Stiles	...	Ophelia
Karl Geary	...	Horatio
Paula Malcomson	...	Marcella
Steve Zahn	...	Rosencrantz
Dechen Thurman	...	Guildenstern
Rome Neal	...	Barnardo
Jeffrey Wright	...	Gravedigger
Paul Bartel	...	Osric
Casey Affleck	...	Fortinbras

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | USA:R | Austria:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

double A Films

Trivia:

When Hamlet stops the limo after deciding not to kill his uncle, Claudius, he exits at a theater billing the Best Musical of 1998 - the live-action stage version of "The Lion King". "The Lion King" is reportedly inspired by "Hamlet".

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In his soliloquy, Hamlet says "The undiscovered country to whose bourn /No traveler returns." Shakespeare wrote, "The undiscovered country *from* whose bourn /No traveler returns," i.e. no one comes back from the next life to tell us what it's like.

Quotes:

Polonius: We are oft to blame in this, tis too much proved that with devotions pious we do sugar o'er the devil himself

Movie Connections:

Features Peace Is Every Step: Meditation in Action: The Life and Work of Thich Nhat Hanh (1998)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 1: First Movement

Bravo!

Nearly four hundred years after his death, Shakespeare continues to be the best screenwriter in the English language. This beautiful, moody, stylish adaptation of his greatest play is no exception. Another wonderful thing about the Bard is how his drama seems to elevate any actor willing to take on the challenge. I especially enjoyed Bill Murray as Polonius: his performance was all the more delightful because of the necessity of restraining his comic genius here; he appears always on the edge of cracking a joke, and of course doesn't, adding even more tension to an already extremely taught production.

But what I loved most about this movie was how it departed from the usual staging conventions (medieval costume, stone castles) to get at the heart of what the play is really about: a kid coming home on a college break and discovering that his uncle has murdered his father and is having sex with his mother. Ethan Hawke does a fantastic job in the role, giving us the brooding, confused, lovesick, and ultimately self-destructive adolescent that Shakespeare intended.

If I were a high-school English teacher, this is the Hamlet that I would want to show my students.