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Hamlet

5.6

892

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Original title

Hamlet

Year

2000

Running time

112 min.

Country

United States

Director

Michael Almereyda

Screenwriter

Michael Almereyda. Theater: William Shakespeare

Cast

Music

Carter Burwell

Cinematography

John de Borman

Producer

Miramax

Genre

Drama | Independent Film (US)

Movie Groups

Shakespeare: Hamlet

Synopsis

Almereyda's adaptation of Hamlet, contemporarily set and scored, structurally abridged to fit the post-modern expectation. Set in New York City in 2000, the drama begins with an announcement of the death of the king and CEO of Denmark Corporation. Ensconced in his fancy apartment high above the city, Hamlet (Ethan Hawke) broods over the news. At a press conference, his sexy mother Gertrude (Diane Venora) reveals her upcoming marriage to Claudius (Kyle MacLachlan), a slick corporate wheeler-dealer on the fast track.

Hamlet's friend Horatio (Karl Geary) reports that a ghost has been picked up by the building's surveillance cameras. Soon Hamlet's father (Sam Shepard) is in his apartment with a tale of betrayal and great evil to tell. Convinced that he must act swiftly to avenge his father's murder, Hamlet must first deal with Ophelia (Julia Stiles) whose father Polonius (Bill Murray) has enlisted her in service of Claudius. The moody protagonist must also play a game of cat and mouse with Rosencrantz (Steve Zahn) and Guildenstern (Dechen Thurman), who bear him ill will. The final confrontation between Hamlet and Ophelia's brother Laertes (Liev Schreiber) takes place on a penthouse roof.

Awards: 2000: National Board of Review (NBR): Won Special Recognition Award (for excellence in filmaking)

2000: Independent Spirit Awards: Nominated for Best Cinematography

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Critics' reviews

"Almereyda's Hamlet is a visual knockout (...) OK, there are times when this Hamlet plays like a college production done by the school's smartass elite. But Almereyda knows what poetry is – in word and image. Thou wilt be dazzled."

Peter Travers: Rolling Stone
"Almereyda excises big chunks of plot to shape his vision, but retains Shakespeare's language and pays such rigorous attention to meaning and subtext that what's missing isn't missed"

Lisa Schwarzbaum: Entertainment Weekly
"Almereyda imagines Hamlet taking place in present-day Manhattan with such vigor, insight and originality that the power and immediacy of his film makes Shakespeare accessible in an exciting and provocative manner"

Kevin Thomas: Los Angeles Times
"New York becomes a complex character in this vital and sharply intelligent film."

A. O. Scott: The New York Times
"May well be the dullest and most pointless version ever filmed, thanks to a stunningly bad lead performance by Ethan Hawke."

Jonathan Foreman: New York Post
"Almereyda's respect for his audience and his queasiness about the present register with equal weight, reinventing the poetry in the most relevant ways possible"

Chicago Reader
"New York City has never looked so slick and shallow as it does in Hamlet, an innovative, contemporary adaptation."

Newsweek
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User history

Hamlet

2000

Michael Almereyda

5.6

(892)