Hamlet
- Alternative title
- The Shakespeare Plays
- Synopsis
- Television production shot entirely in a studio with Derek Jacobi as Hamlet and Claire Bloom as Gertrude.
- Series
- BBC Television Shakespeare
- Language
- English
- Country
- Great Britain; United States
- Medium
- Television
- Technical information
- Colour / Sound
- Recording date
- 31 Jan 1980
- Transmission details
- 25 May 1980 at 19:15 (Channel: BBC2)
- Duration
- 230 mins
Credits
- Director
- Rodney Bennett
- Producer
- Cedric Messina
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Music
- David Lloyd-Jones; Dudley Simpson
- Costume
- Barbara Kronig
- Art Direction
- Don Homfray
- Contributor
- Alan Shallcross
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Television and Radio Drama
- Historical period
- No period
- Plays
- Hamlet
- Subjects
- Drama
- Keywords
- drama in English; performances; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
- Related items
- Hamlet
- Hamlet
Notes
- Notes
- The production is commercially available on DVD as part of the BBC TV SHAKESPEARE COLLECTION box set (see separate entry). The VHS version was deleted in March 2004 and has been replaced by the DVD version.
- General
- Between 1978 and 1986 the BBC published individual scripts of the series. Each volume of The BBC TV Shakespeare, ed. Peter Alexander et al. (London: British Broadcasting Corporation) contains the full text of the play (the Peter Alexander edition) with accompanying notes on the scene breaks and cuts made in the production, as well as a glossary. A general introduction to the play by series literary advisor John Wilders is followed by an essay on the production of the play by Henry Fenwick. This is based on interviews with actors, directors, and designers.
- History
- The production was recorded in nine days and broadcast separately between the second and third series. It was the last production supervised by the BBC TV Shakespeare project’s originator, Cedric Messina.
- Textual information
- Although some 500 lines had to be cut, according to Michael Brook (screenonline), it was still the longest Hamlet the BBC had ever broadcast.
- Reviews
- Michael Brook, "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark 1980)", http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/527101/index.html
Susan Willis, The BBC Shakespeare Plays: Making the Televised Canon (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991).
Online Availability
- Online URL
- https://store.bbc.com/collections/shakespeare-at-the-bbc
- Online price
- £3.99
- Online format
- Download
Production Company
- Name
BBC
- Notes
- The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
- Name
Time-Life Films Inc
- Phone
- 0101 201 843 4545
- Address
- PO Box 644
NJ 07652
USA
Distributor
- Name
BBC Store
- Web
- https://store.bbc.com/ External site opens in new window
- Notes
- NB. From May 2017 programmes are no longer available to buy on BBC Store. From November 1st 2017 the store will close completely and programmes bought from BBC Store will no longer be available to watch. Customers who have bought items from BBC Store will be contacted by email and refunded for their purchases either by full cash refund or Amazon video vouchers.
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Hamlet". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/9198 (Accessed 06 Oct 2024)