In the Bleak Midwinter
- Alternative title
- Midwinter’s Tale, A
- Synopsis
- Feature film. Behind the scenes of a Christmas production of Hamlet. The amateur British actors include a drunk, an ex-child star, and a camp pantomime dame. Kenneth Branagh wrote and directed the film but did not appear in it; Michael Maloney playing the Branagh character in what is clearly an autobiographical film.
- Language
- English
- Country
- Great Britain
- Medium
- Film; Video
- Technical information
- Colour / Sound
- Year of release
- 1995
- Duration
- 96 mins; 8,852 feet
- Availability
- Sale
Credits
- Director
- Kenneth Branagh
- Producer
- David Barron
- Cinematographer
- Roger Lanser
- Screenplay
- Kenneth Branagh
- Music
- Jimmy Yuill
- Art Direction
- Tim Harvey
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Fiction Films
- Plays
- Hamlet
- Subjects
- Drama
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Amateur theatre
Notes
- Notes
- Reviewed in Sight and Sound, December 1995.
- General
- Dialogue from the film: [Tom Newman prepping Molly to play Hamlet]
`The fight! If it all goes wrong, drop the sword, take this off, and throw it at me. Then I say, "The boot! The boot was poisoned!" and die’. - Figures
- $346,839 gross (USA) IMDb (2005).
- Awards
- Awarded the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the 1996 Venice Film Festival.
- User comments
- Branagh is recorded as saying that the film is modelled on the Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney series of musicals such as BABES IN ARMS and GIRL CRAZY.
- Reviews
- Crowl, Samuel The Films of Kenneth Branagh (Westport CT, Praeger, 2006) especially Chapter 7 pp 113-128.
Production Company
- Name
Midwinter Films
Distributor (Sale)
- Name
Retail outlets
- Name
Warner Home Video
- Web
- http://www.warnerbros.co.uk External site opens in new window
- Phone
- 020 7984 6400
- Fax
- 020 7984 5001
- Address
- 98 Theobold’s Road
London
WC1X 8WB
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "In the Bleak Midwinter". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/10432 (Accessed 19 Sep 2024)