FILM · 1996 · UK
Hamlet
52 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (52)
- #001
Robin Williams and Billy Crystal were not allowed to be on set at the same time during filming, out of fear that they would disrupt the cast and crew and cause major delays in the production.
- #002
Julie Christie came out of retirement to play Gertrude.
- #003
This was the first feature-length film version of Hamlet ever made, using the text of the Second Quarto (1604) with additions from the First Folio (1623) to create an idealized "complete" Hamlet.
- #004
On the day Kate Winslet (Ophelia) had to shoot the straitjacket scene, she learned that she had been given the role of Rose in Titanic (1997).
- #005
Writer-director Sir Kenneth Branagh's decision to shoot in 65 mm was largely inspired by a film-format seminar run by visual consultant Rob Hummel. Hummel convinced him to use the format because of its high resolution and because some shots could only be achieved in 65 mm. Branagh also said the aim was to give the play an epic feel, recalling 1960s epics such as Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
- #006
At four hours and two minutes, the film is one of the longest Hollywood films of all time.
- #007
Writer-director Sir Kenneth Branagh offered Gérard Depardieu a small role in the film's four-hour version in return for his active support at the French premiere of his first feature, Henry V (1989); Depardieu not only became the film's main distributor but also dubbed Branagh's voice in the French version.
- #008
Like others before him who had acted in and directed a film at the same time, Sir Kenneth Branagh used a double named Orlando Seale to stand in as Hamlet during camera setups and rehearsals. This meant Seale had to learn and play almost the entire play with the full cast, yet he appears on screen only as an extra in the role of a "Boatman".
- #009
Kate Winslet did not even audition for the role of Ophelia. She had previously auditioned for the role of Elizabeth in Sir Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) (the part ultimately went to Helena Bonham Carter), and Branagh was so impressed that he offered her the role in this film without her even reading for it. Fittingly, Bonham Carter played Ophelia in Hamlet (1990).
- #010
At the end of the DVD director's commentary, Sir Kenneth Branagh revealed that Sir Stephen Fry received a special thanks credit because the screenplay was written in Fry's kitchen.
- #011
Sir Derek Jacobi (Claudius) played Hamlet in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980). He admitted that he had some difficulty with the role of Claudius because he kept thinking about Hamlet's lines. Other stage Hamlets in this production include Simon Russell Beale (Second Gravedigger) at the National Theatre in 2000, Sir John Gielgud (Priam) at the Old Vic in 1930, and Richard Briers (Polonius) as a student in the 1950s.
- #012
Sir Kenneth Branagh first encountered the full-length version of the play while performing in the BBC Radio production of 1992 alongside Sir Derek Jacobi and Richard Briers (who reprise their roles as Claudius and Polonius, respectively, in this film). That radio performance anticipated the Royal Shakespeare company's full-text production of Hamlet in the winter of 1992, which would ultimately clarify Branagh's interpretation of the character and lead to this film.
- #013
While shooting the flashback scene during Hamlet's "Yorick" speech, which is shown only as an image without sound, writer-director Sir Kenneth Branagh's only instruction to Ken Dodd was "Okay, make us laugh", and he did.
- #014
Part of the film was shot at Blenheim Palace, owned by the Duke of Marlborough. The Duke at the time, John Spencer-Churchill, had a very small role in the film as Fortinbras's General.
- #015
Hugh Cruttwell was the then-principal of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where Sir Kenneth Branagh had studied. Cruttwell was always on the film set. He came at Branagh's request to give an objective critique of his performance on every take.
- #016
It was released only six years after Hamlet (1990), which starred Mel Gibson. Ophelia in this film was played by Helena Bonham Carter, who was in a romantic relationship with writer-director Sir Kenneth Branagh around the time of the film's release. Claudius was played by Sir Alan Bates, who, like Sir Derek Jacobi, had previously played Hamlet.
- #017
Some pathologists conducted a study to determine how long a person can survive after being stabbed directly before dying. A scene from this film in which Hamlet kills Polonius was also cited as a reference in their work. In the end, it was found that a person can last only long enough to say four words after being stabbed directly. This means that Polonius saying "O, I am slain" as he dies is medically possible.
- #018
For sixteen years, until the release of The Master (2012), it was the last studio film shot in the 65/70 mm process.
- #019
The film's cast includes nine Oscar winners: Jack Lemmon (Marcellus), who won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Mister Roberts (1955); Charlton Heston (The Player King), who won Best Actor for Ben-Hur (1959); Julie Christie (Gertrude), who won Best Actress for Darling (1965); John Mills (Old Norway), who won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Ryan's Daughter (1970); John Gielgud (Priam), who won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Arthur (1981); Richard Attenborough (English Ambassador), who won Best Director for Gandhi (1982); Robin Williams (Osric), who won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Good Will Hunting (1997); Judi Dench (Hecuba), who won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Shakespeare in Love (1998); and Kate Winslet (Ophelia), who won Best Actress for The Reader (2008). Contrary to popular belief, it does not hold the record for the most Oscar-winning actors in a single film. That record belongs to The Player (1992), which features twelve Oscar-winning actors and one Oscar-winning director. However, while most of the actors in that film have brief cameo appearances as themselves, this film features numerous Oscar winners in significant roles with far more screen time.
- #020
None of the palace interiors are actually the inside of Blenheim Palace. They are in fact studio-built interiors. The only parts of the Palace shown are its exterior facade and gardens.
- #021
For more than a year, Sir Kenneth Branagh had tried to shop the project around to the major Hollywood studios, but none was willing to finance a four-hour production, citing doubts about the commercial viability of a William Shakespeare adaptation for late-twentieth-century audiences. Most studios were also aware of the negative reviews and commercial failure of Branagh's previous directorial effort, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), and some would only finance the film if its content and budget were halved. Castle Rock Entertainment, however, agreed to finance the film and meet Branagh's demands (shooting in 65 mm, full control over the film, etc.) on two conditions: a star-studded cast and a shortened two-and-a-half-hour 35 mm version for wider distribution.
- #022
This was the only occasion on which Charlton Heston played a character other than Mark Antony in a Shakespeare film, having played Mark Antony in Julius Caesar (1950), Julius Caesar (1970) and Antony and Cleopatra (1972).
- #023
Although the production went to great lengths to make Blenheim Palace's exterior look like winter, one day they were blessed with an actual snowstorm. Writer-director Sir Kenneth Branagh scrambled to find an exterior scene that could be shot quickly to take advantage of the real snow. He chose the scene in which the sailors deliver Hamlet's letter to Horatio, since Nicholas Farrell was able to read the lines of the letter. Branagh pulled Farrell away from his lunch break and they shot the scene quickly.
- #024
Sir Richard Attenborough played William Cecil, 1st Lord Burghley, the man some scholars believe inspired the character of Polonius, in Elizabeth (1998).
- #025
Before principal photography began, the entire cast went through the play from beginning to end in what writer-director Sir Kenneth Branagh described as a kind of studio performance. That way, while jumping around the chronology of the text during production, everyone could understand where they were in the overall story.
- #026
Writer-director Sir Kenneth Branagh knew early on that he wanted numerous long takes moving through the castle interiors. He also wanted to avoid the swaying feel of Steadicam shots. So all the floors of the Elsinore sets were carefully reinforced and leveled, allowing camera operators to move across them freely without the use of tracks.
- #027
This was director Kenneth Branagh's first film shot in 70 mm. He used the format again on Murder on the Orient Express (2017).
- #028
The winter exterior scenes were achieved with a combination of real snow and artificial snow made from a detergent solution. There were many discussions between production designer Tim Harvey and Blenheim Palace's gardener about whether the artificial snow would damage the hedges and other greenery on the palace grounds. Fortunately, the hedges were undamaged when production ended.
- #029
To help Billy Crystal feel comfortable with Shakespearean language, Kenneth Branagh first asked him to play his scenes like a gangster film; Crystal imitated Joe Pesci, with Branagh in the Robert De Niro role.
- #030
This was the first British film shot in 65 mm since Sir David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970), which starred Sir John Mills, and it was shot in Ireland. Far and Away (1992), meanwhile, which was also shot in 65 mm in Ireland, was a Hollywood production.
- #031
Most of the actors in this film had worked with writer-director Sir Kenneth Branagh before this production. Examples include Richard Briers (Much Ado About Nothing (1993)), Sir Derek Jacobi (Dead Again (1991)), Robin Williams (Dead Again (1991)) and Brian Blessed (Henry V (1989)).
- #032
The film marked the only on-screen Shakespeare role for either John Mills (the Old Norwegian) or Richard Attenborough (the English Ambassador).
- #033
During many of the long takes, the actors had to memorize not only all their lines but often their marks as well. Marks would normally be indicated with pieces of tape or other visual references on the floor. However, these would have been visible on camera and therefore could not be used.
- #034
Derek Jacobi and Timothy Spall appear in this film alongside Rosemary Harris. They appeared together again in The King's Speech, which featured her daughter Jennifer Ehle. Spall's roles in both films (Rosencrantz, Winston Churchill) were played by Gary Oldman in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and The Darkest Hour.
- #035
John Mills and Richard Attenborough had previously appeared together in Dunkirk (1958). Kenneth Branagh appeared alongside his grandson Will Attenborough in Dunkirk (2017).
- #036
Julie Christie, Kate Winslet and Judi Dench were nominated for Best Actress the following year, as was the previous Ophelia, Helena Bonham Carter. All four actresses lost to Helen Hunt.
- #037
One of Robin Williams's early roles was in The World According to Garp (1982), which also starred Glenn Close, Jessica Tandy and Amanda Plummer. Close played Gertrude opposite Mel Gibson in Hamlet (1990). Jessica Tandy played Ophelia opposite John Gielgud's Hamlet. Amanda Plummer's father, Christopher Plummer, played the title role in Hamlet at Elsinore (1964).
- #038
Nicholas Farrell (Horatio) had previously played Hamlet in Hamlet (1992).
- #039
This was the first film in which either John Mills (the Old Norwegian) or Richard Attenborough (the English Ambassador) had appeared since Dunkirk (1958), 38 years earlier. Attenborough had, however, directed Mills in three films in the meantime: Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Young Winston (1972) and Gandhi (1982).
- #040
Michael Maloney, who plays Laertes, had previously played Rosencrantz in Hamlet (1990).
- #041
Hamlet stabs Polonius five times.
- #042
Kate Winslet's role had previously been played by Helena Bonham Carter. Winslet and Carter also played the sister of Branagh's then-wife Emma Thompson in Sense and Sensibility and Howards End.
- #043
The film was a failure at the box office.
- #044
Richard Briers (Polonius), Michael Maloney (Laertes) and Nicholas Farrell (Horatio) had all appeared in director Kenneth Branagh's previous film A Midwinter's Tale (1995), which concerns an amateur production of "Hamlet." They played Joe Harper, Henry Wakefield and Tom Newman, respectively.
- #045
In Richard III (1955), in which John Gielgud (Priam) played the Duke of Clarence, John Mills (Old Norway) and Richard Attenborough (the English Ambassador) were offered the roles of the murderers. Mills, however, believed it would be a stunt-casting choice, and Attenborough was unavailable.
- #046
Hamlet says his play is titled "The Mousetrap," and that its stated purpose is to make Claudius reveal his guilt (or innocence) in the murder. Richard Attenborough was in the original cast of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.
- #047
This marks Kenneth Branagh's second role shared with Sir Laurence Olivier (the other being Henry V), his second role shared with Kevin Kline and Derek Jacobi (who have also all played Cyrano de Bergerac), and his third role shared with Christopher Plummer (by playing Cyrano and Iago).
- #048
This film marks the second time Derek Jacobi has played a character named Claudius. The first was in "I, Claudius," about the Roman emperor.
- #049
Robin Williams and Billy Crystal appeared together the following year in Fathers' Day (1997), a remake of the French film The ComDads (1983) starring Gérard Depardieu.
- #050
Laurence Olivier's 1948 Hamlet, which he both starred in and directed, featured Peter Cushing as Osric and a young Christopher Lee as an extra. It was the first of many collaborations between the two, most of them horror films produced by Hammer Studios, one of which was The Curse of Frankenstein. Branagh's previous film was Frankenstein, in which he and Robert De Niro played the roles originated by Cushing and Lee.
- #051
Robin Williams (Osric) and Billy Crystal (the gravedigger) were previously known for their Comic Relief specials and appeared together in two more films in 1997: Fathers' Day and Deconstructing Harry. In the 1948 Hamlet, Osric was played by Peter Cushing, who was also known for his other collaborations with a fellow actor. In this case, that actor was his friend Christopher Lee, with whom he appeared in many Hammer Studios horror films.
- #052
The role of Osric, played here by Robin Williams, was also one of Alec Guinness's first roles. It was also played by his Star Wars co-star Peter Cushing. Brian Blessed appeared in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace alongside Ewan McGregor, who took over Guinness's role, and Robin Williams worked with him on Being Human and Robots.
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