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General Information
Poster for Hamlet
Directed by
Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay by
William Shakespeare and Kenneth Branagh

Music Composed by
Patrick Doyle

Theatrical Release Date
December 15, 1996

DVD Release Date
August 14, 2007

Production Companies
Castle Rock Entertainment, Fishmonger Films, Turner Pictures

Distribution Companies
Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment

Summary

Hamlet, son of the king of Denmark, is summoned home for his father's funeral and his mother's wedding to his uncle. In a supernatural episode, he discovers that his uncle, whom he already despises, murdered his father. In an incredibly convoluted plot--the most complicated and most interesting in all literature--he manages to feign (or perhaps not to feign) madness, murder the "prime minister," love an innocent girl and then drive her to madness, plot to kill his uncle only to reconsider his actions, direct a play within a play, successfully conspire against the lives of two well-meaning friends, and finally take his revenge on the uncle, but only at the cost of almost every life on stage, including his own and his mother's.

Trailer
Quotes

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Photo Gallery
Main Cast

Robin Williams
Osric

Kenneth Branagh
Hamlet

Kate Winslet
Ophelia

Derek Jacobi
Claudius

Julie Christie
Gertrude

Richard Briers
Polonius

Billy Crystal
First gravedigger

Filming Info

Dates
January 25, 1996 - April 12, 1996

Locations
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, UK

International Release Dates

Netherlands
February 6, 1997

UK
February 14, 1997

Belgium
February 26, 1997

Brazil
Colombia
Mexico
February 28, 1997

Italy
March 7, 1997

Venezuela
March 26, 1997

Denmark
April 4, 1997

Spain
May 5, 1997 (extended version)

France
May 12, 1997 (Cannes Film Festival)
May 14, 1997 (extended version)

Portugal
Switzerland (French)
May 16, 1997

Australia
May 22, 1997

France
May 28, 1997 (edited version)

Switzerland (German)
Turkey
May 30, 1997

Germany
June 5, 1997

Israel
June 6, 1997

Spain
June 18, 1997 (edited version)

Argentina
July 10, 1997

Switzerland (Italian)
August 22, 1997

Singapore
August 28, 1997

Sweden
August 29, 1997

Hong Kong
October 23, 1997 (edited version)

Iceland
November 2, 1997 (Reykjavik Film Festival)
April 10, 1998 (wide)

Slovenia
December 24, 1997 (edited version)

Japan
January 24, 1998

Hungary
January 3, 1999 (TV premiere)

Russia
November 20, 2001 (DVD premiere)

International Titles

Argentina / Spain
Hamlet, de Kenneth Branagh

Russia
Гамлет

Greece
Amlet

Media Availability

This title is available on:

DVD
Video
CD
Poster

Fun Facts

Robin does not appear until about 15 minutes before the end of the film.

This "complete" version of Hamlet, incorporating both the First Folio and Second Quarto editions of Shakespeare's play, is over 4 hours long.

Robin and Billy Crystal were not allowed to be on the set together for fear they would start the cast and crew laughing and cause production delays.

Box Office Details

Budget
$18,000,000

Gross
$4,708,156 (USA)
N/A (international)
$4,708,156 (total)

Opening Weekend
$90,684 (3 theaters)

Widest Release
93 theaters

In Release
about 6 weeks