(Hamlet's famous reminiscence of the jester Yorick, for instance, is accompanied by a flashback depicting the man himself performing for the child Hamlet.)Īnother notable aspect of the film was the large number of celebrity cameos seemingly no role was too small to be played by a star (Gérard Depardieu's turn as the servant Reynaldo, who appears only briefly in a single scene and is often left out of abridged versions of the play, is a case in point).
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. It was shot entirely on 65 mm film (though publicity for the film made little mention of this) and, as of September 2006, has been the last feature film to do so. (Blenheim Palace, built in the early 18th century, became Elsinore Castle in the external scenes). (A shorter edit, approximately two-and-a-half hours long, was shown in some markets.)īranagh set the film with Victorian era costuming and furnishings. It is notable for being the first unabridged screen version of the play, running for slightly over four hours indeed, the film even contains a gratuitously added word ('Attack!') that has no basis in the play's various sources. Derek Jacobi and Julie Christie were King Claudius and Queen Gertrude, Kate Winslet was Ophelia, Richard Briers was Polonius, and Nicholas Farrell was Horatio. William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also starred in the title role.