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DVD : HamletIn association with Amazon.comstarring: Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Venora, Sam Shepard, Bill Murray directed by: Michael Almereyda  List Price: $9.99 Amazon.com's Price: $8.99 You Save: $1.00 (10%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD EAN: 9780788818448 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC ISBN: 0788818449 Label: Miramax Manufacturer: Miramax Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Miramax Region Code: 1 Release Date: April 17, 2001 Running Time: 112 minutes Studio: Miramax Theatrical Release Date: 2000 Sales Rank: 8785 MPN: DISD18314D Related Items:
Editorial Review: Description: Hot Hollywood star Ethan Hawke (TRAINING DAY) is joined by Julia Stiles (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) and Bill Murray (LOST IN TRANSLATION) in a hip, thoroughly contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare's epic story of passion, betrayal, and revenge! The president of the Denmark Corporation is dead ... and already his wife is remarried to the man suspected of his murder! Nobody is more troubled than her son, Hamlet (Hawke). Now, after this hostile takeover, trust is impossible, passion is on the rise, and revenge is in the air! Also featuring Kyle MacLachlan (ONE NIGHT STAND), Liev Schreiber (SCREAM 3), Diane Venora (THE INSIDER), and Sam Shepard (THE PELICAN BRIEF) in an outstanding ensemble -- the power of Shakespeare's timeless words is matched by the stunningly modern look and feel of this widely acclaimed, highly entertaining big-screen event! Amazon.com: Perhaps the least important thing about this latest film version of Shakespeare's masterpiece is its setting in modern-day New York. Yes, such locales as the Guggenheim Museum are used wittily; answering machines and faxes are logically worked into the plot; and it was both inspired and entirely appropriate to make the prince of Denmark a moody, introspective filmmaker whose avant-garde collages provide the context for some of his famous monologues. All of which would be so much pleasantly humorous eye-candy if it didn't come hand in hand with a sympathy for and understanding of this remarkable cast of characters. For that, ultimately, is what makes Michael Almereyda's Hamlet such a delight to watch. Forget that the immortal rumination on suicide is placed in a Blockbuster Video aisle and notice instead how Ethan Hawke's own youthful, callow arrogance makes Hamlet's vacillations believable. And how the comical but infantilizing way Bill Murray's Polonius dotes upon his daughter Ophelia (Julia Stiles)--and her mute acceptance of his attentions--lead her to thoughts of a watery grave even before her bout of madness. And also notice how much Claudius truly does love Gertrude (when gazing at her, Kyle MacLachlan's face relaxes from its usual plasticity) and how Sam Shepard's ghost is less vengeful or tortured than stiffened by remorse. These are the shining moments of invention in Almereyda's bold updating of the play, and they are why this will be a film to watch and enjoy long after its setting has made it as much a period piece as Olivier's adaptation, with its broodingly lit castle, or Branagh's, with its gleaming 19th-century court. --Bruce Reid Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Modern ShakespeareGreat video. I used it in the classroom and showed several clips to coincide with the text. The casting director made some great choices and the director stays true to Shakespeare's story as he would want it told. The "To be or not to be" soliloquy is done beautifully--very introspective and spoken as Hamlet walks through a Blockbuster. There are a few things taken out of order, but only done for cinematic effect. Rating: - THE PERFORMANCES ARE A LETDOWNThe idea of setting Shakespeare's masterpiece in modern-day New York proves to be a good one. The film's ominous tone and dark quality give the story a very ominous tone. Sadly, the film is nearly ruined by the acting. Most of the performers in this piece do nothing but recite the lines, failing to put emotional "umph" behind the characters, making this film nearly undramatic. Ethan Hawke is a great actor, but doesn't have what it takes to play the Prince of Denmark. Kyle MacLachlan tries ... Read More Rating:  - UghUm...I don't even know WHAT to say. I just finished watching this monstrous perversion (then again, I saw the Branagh version recently; and not by accident, I am a "Hamlet" fiend). Maybe the low rating has something to do with that. Bad acting--which doesn't do justice to the timeless script--ruins it all. Answering machines? Gimme a break. Branagh can beat Hawke up with an envenomed foil any day. Rating: - The worst version of Hamlet yet.I've seen at least 4 different productions of Hamlet and this is definitely the worst. The artistic choices aren't bad, but the actors in this version have no idea how to read Shakespeare. The dialogue sounds stilted and gets in the way of everything this production is trying to accomplish. Since it's all of the actors, I have to put most of the blame on the director. As both an actor and a student who's spent 2 years studying Shakespeare generally and Hamlet in particular, I can assure you that ... Read More Rating:  - An interesting takeI was thinking for quite some time about the incongruity of using Shakespearan english in the modern context. The problem is: 1) In modern NY, no one speaks like that. This is known, accepted. So the moment we hear them use Shakespeare's original language, full naturalism, no matter how strictly attempted, cannot be fully achieved. You cannot suck the audience in completely. 2) Shakespeare is nothing without the language. You can't just take the plot, change the lines around, ... Read More Browse for similar items by category:
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