Willie & Phil

Alternative title
Willie and Phil
Synopsis
Feature film strongly referencing Truffaut’s JULES ET JIM (1961) and satirising life and culture in 1970s America. Phil d’Amico (Sharkey) is an American photographer and Willie Kaufman (Onstein) is a Jewish teacher who wants to be a jazz pianist. In one scene there is a discussion of Hamlet in Willie’s class. When asked by Willie ‘why does Hamlet procrasinate?' a student, Wilson (Fishbourne), replies that it is because Hamlet is not fulfilled sexually. Wilson then delivers Hamlet’s ‘to be or not to be’ soliloquy in an English accent.
Language
English
Country
United States
Medium
Film
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Year of release
1980
Duration
116 mins; 10,452 feet

Credits

Director
Paul Mazursky
Producer
Paul Mazursky; Tony Ray
Cinematographer
Sven Nykvist
Screenplay
Paul Mazursky
Music
Claude Bolling
Production Design
Pato Guzman
Cast
Laurence FishburneWilson (Hamlet)
Michael OntkeanWillie Kaufman
Ray SharkeyPhil d’Amico

Additional Details

Production type
Fiction Films
Plays
Hamlet
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Production Company

Name

20th Century Fox

Distributor (Sale)

Name

Retail outlets

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Willie & Phil". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av67740 (Accessed 26 Nov 2024)