Hamlet (1996)

[balooga]

hamlet.jpg

No release date or tech specs yet, but there is an Amazon Pre-order:

Hamlet Blu-ray August 17

Hamlet Blu-ray Review

[Mordok]

Nice! I like this version the best...will definitely pick this up...

[SonOfArathorn]

Day one buy for me as well. Great news.

[42041]

Awesome... the last movie to be shot entirely in 70mm.
I wonder when the digital master was done? It'd be a real shame if they put this out with a mediocre transfer.

[leonardb]

Hopefully Henry V will be coming to Blu Ray too!

[Idioteque...]

How is this movie? The only rendition of Hamlet I've seen is the recent stage adaptation with Jude Law as Hamlet and Lion King LOL.

[that1guystudios]

Awesome! I have a feeling that like most recent Warner catalog titles this will be done right. Especially now that they've switched over to 24-bit DTS instead of 16-bit Dolby True-HD, and AVC instead of VC-1. Plus transfers are starting to show Grain, like Neverending Story and Clash of the Titans. Bring on the healthy grain! Death to DNR!

[42041]

Originally Posted by that1guypictures

and AVC instead of VC-1

I don't think that's happened yet. DVDbeaver said one of their recent releases was AVC but as far as I can determine it's just a misprint.

[jceperley]

Bought the DVD a few years back. Looks better than good for Standard Def. Perfect demo for Blu-ray for sure, considering that it's one of, if not the, last films to be filmed in 70mm (at least for now). Can't wait, definitely getting this one.

[Arkadin]

never seen this film, but I'm sure it's great.
he makes wonderful movies most of the time.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Idioteque...

How is this movie? The only rendition of Hamlet I've seen is the recent stage adaptation with Jude Law as Hamlet and Lion King LOL.

This one's....pretty underwhelming.
It's not so much that Branagh and Jacobi are miscast (along with an all-star cast, including Jack Lemmon as a guard, Billy Crystal actually pretty good as the Gravedigger, and Charlton Heston pwning as the lead Tragedian)--
Rather, the movie's four-hour "gimmick" of Kenneth giving us "the Compleat Hamlet", including every single Shakespeare scene that was ever cut out of various productions...And like most Deleted Scenes, you can SEE why they were cut.

As for a good Hamlet, Mel Gibson still beats out Ethan Hawke by a narrow win, just on "Romeo & Juliet" Franco Zefferelli period sets:
If you're going to play mad Hamlet, you need a mad actor...That's called acting from experience.

[Darth Lavender]

Excellent news and a Day 1 buy for me.

About the transfer, remember Hamlet didn't even come out on DVD until about 2007 or 2008. I wouldn't worry about an old transfer in this case.

[D-Blitz]

This movie is a masterpiece - terrific acting! Kenneth Branagh is unbelievably talented and IMO very underrated. All his Shakesperean roles are phenomenally acted. I've seen him (and Laurence Fishburne) in Othello as well and he was excellent in that one!

[Rhylliam]

This is great news! The film will look spectacular.

[stobbart]

http://www.amazon.com/Hamlet-Blu-ray...7868291&sr=8-1


As you can see there is no street date, but it shows us that it is a digibook.

I have been waiting for this blu release for a long time!


EDIT: DIDNT SEE THE OTHER ONE POSTED ON THIS SITE....cant figure out how to delete post, admin delete this post.

[Idioteque...]

Originally Posted by EricJ

This one's....pretty underwhelming.
It's not so much that Branagh and Jacobi are miscast (along with an all-star cast, including Jack Lemmon as a guard, Billy Crystal actually pretty good as the Gravedigger, and Charlton Heston pwning as the lead Tragedian)--
Rather, the movie's four-hour "gimmick" of Kenneth giving us "the Compleat Hamlet", including every single Shakespeare scene that was ever cut out of various productions...And like most Deleted Scenes, you can SEE why they were cut.

As for a good Hamlet, Mel Gibson still beats out Ethan Hawke by a narrow win, just on "Romeo & Juliet" Franco Zefferelli period sets:
If you're going to play mad Hamlet, you need a mad actor...That's called acting from experience.

Interesting, Billy Crystal is a odd choice.

4 Hours that's tedious.

[AintNoSin]

Originally Posted by EricJ

This one's....pretty underwhelming.

This is the best version of Hamlet ever committed to film. Visually stunning and, with a few exceptions **cough** Jack Lemmon **cough** superbly acted.

[nametag]

This is the only Hamlet film I've seen (apart from the bad Ethan Hawke version). I think it's quite good, and very useful when you're studying the play (as I was last year) for obvious reasons. I think that visually and set-wise it's great (apart from a few studio-y outdoor scenes). However, I don't find Brannagh a particularly compelling Hamlet, and some of his direction is a bit meh. The ladies of the piece, Julie Christie and particularly Kate Winslet were great in it though.

Would quite like to see the BBC film of Hamlet with David Tennant. I saw that version on stage (though didn't see Tenant as he was ill, but the understudy was good) and could imagine that beating this, even if it is just a filmed stage show.

But I'll replace the DVD with this for sure, let's hope that the transfer's great, it would be a missed opportunity if it wasn't given that it's 70mm

[csdot]

i watched this years ago, and all though it is REALLY long it is a work of art. cannot wait to get my hands on a blu-ray copy.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Idioteque...

Interesting, Billy Crystal is a odd choice.

But he does it--
The Gravedigger is the traditional Shakespearean pun-throwing comedy-relief bumpkin, and Crystal shrugs off the puns in deadpan character.
(Much more so than Robin Williams playing Osric, the court assistant, as his usual hyperactive gay-joke. )

4 Hours that's tedious.

Oh, dear lord, yes--
Long before we get Shakespeare's original "Just end it, already!" climax to wrap up the Fortinbras plot, imagine every bad Extended Director's Cut you ever wished they'd just released the Theatrical Cut for.
(Eg., consider Branagh's the Shakespearean equivalent of the Amadeus: Director's Cut. )

Originally Posted by nametag

This is the only Hamlet film I've seen (apart from the bad Ethan Hawke version).

Ethan Hawke, bad? I'll grant you the "weird" updating--which actually works--but Kyle MacLachlan as the King? The new "serious" Bil Murray as Polonius? (PBS's Robert MacNeil in his acting debut?)

Seriously: Mel. Zeferelli. RENT.