Hamlet 2009 tv film

[James Wright]

I recently heard that the film mentioned above is going to be shown on PBS.
Does anyone know when?
I might watch it since Patrick Stewart is in it.

James

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I'm psyched. I saw a clip of Patrick Stewart as King Claudius on Tavis Smiley. It looks really good. In fact, the way Stewart plays him, I'm not sure Claudius is the villain anymore. I don't necessarily sympathize with him but I do pity him now. In most performances, he just seems like a rat bastard who gets what's coming to him.

Bonus: Prince Hamlet is played by David Tennant (the 10th Doctor on Doctor Who and Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire).

 

[tomalak301]

It's not a film, it's an actual play on "Great Performances" I was looking forward to it, but it's 3 and a half hours long. That's a long long time.

 

[Christopher]

I recently heard that the film mentioned above is going to be shown on PBS.
Does anyone know when?
I might watch it since Patrick Stewart is in it.

Good timing. It's on Great Performances this week, which, at least in my area, will be this Wednesday at 8 PM.

 

[ClayinCA]

It's not a film, it's an actual play on "Great Performances" I was looking forward to it, but it's 3 and a half hours long. That's a long long time.

And well worth it. It's great.

 

[James Wright]

It's not a film, it's an actual play on "Great Performances" I was looking forward to it, but it's 3 and a half hours long. That's a long long time.

You just need lots and lots of popcorn!

James

 

[OmahaStar]

It's airing three times on Great Performances in my area. Wednesday at 7 pm, late Wednesday, early Thursday at midnight, and then again Friday morning at 2 am.

Oh, and it's coming out on dvd on May 4th.

 

[23skidoo]

Oh, and it's coming out on dvd on May 4th.

That's the option I'm taking. Shakespeare is something I can really only take in bits and pieces -- even with Tennant and Stewart -- so I'd rather have the DVD.

It's a shame the BBC hasn't gotten around to reissuing its Shakespeare series of the 1980s (they did all the plays over the course of about a decade) to DVD* because their version of Hamlet from around 1980 had another Doctor Who connection, Lalla Ward as Ophelia, and I believe Patrick Stewart plays the same role in it that he plays in the new version! It'd be fun to compare!

Alex

* Don't say Blu-Ray because they were all shot on videotape.

 

[Christopher]

It's a shame the BBC hasn't gotten around to reissuing its Shakespeare series of the 1980s (they did all the plays over the course of about a decade) to DVD* because their version of Hamlet from around 1980 had another Doctor Who connection, Lalla Ward as Ophelia, and I believe Patrick Stewart plays the same role in it that he plays in the new version! It'd be fun to compare!

They did. The whole series is available on DVD. I watched the 1980 production on DVD a couple of months ago and reviewed it on my blog. It actually has a lot more Doctor Who connections than just Lalla Ward, because it also starred Derek Jacobi, Claire Bloom, Geoffrey Beevers, and four other DW guest stars, and its music was by DW composer Dudley Simpson. And yes, Stewart plays Claudius in both, and I look forward to comparing them. I was a little disappointed by his performance in the 1980 production. He came off as pompous and a bit shallow, and delivered the lines so fast you'd think he was late for an appointment.

 

[Australis]

At least Much Ado About Nothing (Robert Lindsay, Cherie Lunghi) is on DVD, looked like it was part of the original series.

ETA: beaten by Christopher!

 

[James Wright]

I found out that it'll be shown here on Wednesday, can't wait to see Patrick Stewart in his true element you might say! Read somewhere that he really enjoys himself when he's performing on stage.

James

 

[NCC1701MF]

I saw Patrick Stewart in The Tempest in Central Park a few years ago. Normally in theater productions now the actors wear a body microphone. The Central Park Delacorte Theater is an open air theater and at the end of the performance, when he's about to deliver the final speech (which is considered Shakespeare's farewell) Patrick motioned the sound engineer to cut off his microphone. He delivered it in full voice and could be heard throughout the theater. Cheers and a standing ovation ensued.

I also saw him in the title role in the Scottish Play in Brooklyn a few years ago. Met him for a few minutes after the show and got his autograph.