Emperor’s Club, The

Synopsis
Feature film. Mr Hundert (Kline) is a classics teacher in an all-boys prep school. Each year he moderates the ‘Mr Julius Caesar’ contest, a competition which pits the top three students of his class (and all must wear a toga) in a contest where they will be asked questions regarding the classics until only one is left standing. In a key scene the class discuss Shakespeare’s play and a difficult student Bell (Hirsch)) who has been assigned the part of Brutus faults the plot; he believes the conspirators should have killed Mark Antony. The teacher is shocked and a debate ensues about power and morality. For a detailed analysis by Richard Burt of other connections to the play see Lanier (op cit).
Language
English
Country
United States
Medium
Film
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Year of release
2002
Duration
109 mins

Credits

Director
Michael Hoffman
Producer
Andrew Karsch; Marc Abraham
Cinematographer
Lajos Koltai
Screenplay
Neil Tolkin
Music
James Newton Howard
Production Design
Patrizia von Brandenstein
Art Direction
Dennis Bradford
Cast
Emile HirschSedgewick Bell (young)
Joel GretschSedgwick Bell (old)
Kevin KlineWilliam Hundert

Additional Details

Production type
Fiction Films
Plays
Antony and Cleopatra; Julius Caesar
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

General
Based on Ethan Canin’s short story The Palace Thief. The film was
was shot at Emma Willard School in Troy, NY.
Reviews
Lanier, Douglas ‘Film Spin-Offs and Citations’ in Burt, Richard (ed). Shakespeares After Shakespeares: an Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture. 2 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. (page 185, entry 779).

Production Company

Name

Horsepower Entertainment

Name

LivePlanet

Name

Longfellow Pictures

Name

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

Name

Universal Pictures

Email
enquiriesuk@nbcuni.com
Web
http://www.universalpictures.co.uk/ External site opens in new window
Address
1 Central Saint Giles
St Giles High Street
London
WC2H 8NU

Distributor (Sale)

Name

Retail outlets

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Emperor’s Club, The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av67830 (Accessed 26 Nov 2024)