To Be Hamlet

Jan 19, 1985

1h 39m

★ 0.0

Overview

Documentary examination of the role of Hamlet, in which ten prominent actors who have played the part discuss Hamlet's personality, Shakespeare's play, and the enduring popular fascination it has inspired. The actors interviewed are Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Richard Burton, Nicol Williamson, Ben Kingsley, Jean Louis Barrault, Vittorio Gassman, Maximilian Schell, Innocenti Smoktunovsky, and Mandy Patinkin. Includes excerpts from various film and television versions of Hamlet, featuring these actors and others.

Genres

Documentary

To Be Hamlet Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Self

Laurence Olivier

Self

Richard Burton

Self

John Gielgud

Self

Nicol Williamson

Self

Ben Kingsley

Self

Jean-Louis Barrault

Self

Vittorio Gassman

Self

Maximilian Schell

Self

Mandy Patinkin

Self

Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy

The English language is spoken by 450 million people around the globe, with a further one billion using it as a second language. It is arguably Britain’s most famous export. The man often given credit for the global triumph of English, and the invention of many of our modern words, is William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s plays first hit the stage four centuries ago, as the explorers of Elizabethan England were laying the foundations for the British empire. It was this empire that would carry English around the world. Language historian and BBC New Generation Thinker Dr John Gallagher asks whether the real story of how English became a global linguistic superpower is more complex.

4.0

The Hobart Shakespeareans

Sep 6, 2005

Rafe Esquith, 1992 American Teacher of the Year and National Medal of Arts recipient, teaches 5th-grade children whose parents don't speak English at a school in a dangerous, poor, drug-infested 100% Latino/Asian neighborhood in Los Angeles.

0.0

Hamlet: The Actor's View

May 16, 1954

One of the greatest Hamlets of the 20th century Sir John Gielgud reflects on the play and its title character with which he used to be intimately associated for ever since 1929.

0.0

Shakespeare's Country

Apr 23, 1940

A tour of Stratford-upon-Avon's houses and hamlets, stomping ground of a young William Shakespeare.

0.0

Hamlet {Solo}

Sep 13, 2007

"Hamlet {Solo}" chronicles the six-year journey of actor Raoul Bhaneja as he mounts a one-man version of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The film includes a number of notable Hamlets who provide advice and perspective on the creative process.

0.0

The Hamlet Adventure

Apr 23, 2008

Eight thousand feet above sea level, in the sacred heart of Rila mountain, in sweltering heat, and rain, and fog, the only transport being mules, deprived of water, means and fuel, next to the sky, only to God’s eternal eye, a crazy medley cast of seventy plays Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, Hamlet!

5.0

The Lost Media of Aaron Aaron Byrne

Mar 26, 2023

The making of the next Aaron Aaron Byrne Movie takes a turn for the worst.

0.0

Mel Gibson Goes Back to School

Jan 1, 1991

Mel Gibson teaches Hamlet to a group of high school drama students.

7.0

Discovering Hamlet

Nov 1, 2011

Journey into "Hamlet"-the play and the man-through the experiences of some of the major actors and directors who have brought Shakespeare's great tragedy to life. Christopher Plummer, David Tennant, John Nettles, John Simm, Sir Trevor Nunn, Franco Zeffirelli, Philip Saville, and others explore the enduring appeal of the Prince of Denmark more than 400 years after his stage debut.

8.0

The Hamlet Syndrome

Aug 3, 2022

Five young Ukrainians discuss life following the Maidan Revolution of 2014. Not all fought in the Russian-Ukrainian war, but it, regardless, shattered their life plans. Representing 'Generation Maidan', they face the question of how to cope with experiences of violence, how to go on. A local theatre director produces Hamlet, wherein they can use Shakespeare’s tragic character as a mirror and face their traumas onstage. For them, 'to be or not to be' is not simply text but an existential dilemma with no clear answer.

0.0

This Is Hamlet

Aug 14, 2010

A mockumentary examination of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy using "breaking news" style interviews and commentary.

0.0

To Be or Not to Be: Klingons and Shakespeare

May 11, 2009

The story behind the translation and performance of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in Klingon.

0.0

Shakespeare Country

Jun 1, 2002

"Shakespeare Country" will take you on a journey, not only through the life of the great Bard of Avon but also across the beautiful Warwickshire countryside that he knew, loved and never forgot his whole life long.

8.3

Dead Poets Society

Jun 2, 1989

At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.

5.8

Hamlet

May 12, 2000

Modern day adaptation of Shakespeare's immortal story about Hamlet's plight to avenge his father's murder in New York City.

0.0

Twelfth Night

Dec 15, 1957

Twins Viola and Sebastian are separated by a shipwreck. Viola lands in Illyria, where she disguises herself as a man and enters the service of Duke Orsino. Orsino sends her to help woo the Lady Olivia, who doesn't want the Duke, but finds she likes the new messenger. When Sebastian reappears, with Viola now his exact double, merry hell breaks loose. Meanwhile, Olivia's uncle and his cohorts are trying to find some way to get back at Olivia's officious majordomo, Malvolio.

7.2

Haider

Oct 2, 2014

A young man returns to Kashmir after his father's disappearance to confront his uncle - the man he suspects to have a role in his father's fate.

6.9

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

Feb 8, 1991

Rosencrantz and Guildensterm, minor characters from the play 'Hamlet', find themselves on the road to Elsinore Castle at the behest of the King of Denmark. The duo encounter a band of players before arriving to find that they are needed to try to discern what troubles the prince Hamlet. Meanwhile, they ponder the meaning of their existence.