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The Gravediggers
The Gravediggers (or Clowns) are examples of Shakespearean fools (also known as clowns or jesters), a recurring type of character in Shakespeare's plays. Like most Shakespearean fools, the Gravediggers are peasants or commoners that use their great wit and intellect to get the better of their superiors, other people of higher social status, and each other. The Gravediggers appear briefly in Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet'', making their only appearance at the beginning of Act V, scene i. They are first encountered as they are digging a grave for the newly deceased Ophelia, discussing whether she deserves a Christian burial after having killed herself. Soon, Hamlet enters and engages in a quick dialogue with the first Gravedigger. The beat ends with Hamlet's speech regarding the circle of life prompted by his discovery of the skull of his father's beloved jester, Yorick. Detailed summary The penultimate scene of the play begins with the two clowns digging a grave for the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother. ''Hamlet'' is considered among the "most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language", with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others". There are many works that have been pointed to as possible sources for Shakespeare's play—from ancient Greek tragedies to Elizabethan plays. The editors of the Arden Shakespeare question the idea of "source hunting", pointing out that it presupposes that authors always require ideas from other works for their own, and suggests that no author can have an original idea or be an originator. When ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamlet (1948 Film)
''Hamlet '' is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, adapted and directed by and starring Laurence Olivier. ''Hamlet'' was Olivier's second film as director and the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed (the 1936 ''As You Like It'' had starred Olivier, but had been directed by Paul Czinner). ''Hamlet'' was the first British film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the first sound film of the play in English. Olivier's ''Hamlet'' is the Shakespeare film that has received the most prestigious accolades, winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. However, it proved controversial among Shakespearean purists, who felt that Olivier had made too many alterations and excisions to the four-hour play by cutting nearly two hours' worth of content. Milton Shulman wrote in ''The Evening Standard'': "To some it will be one of the greatest films ever made, to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Almereyda
Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1960) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early work Almereyda studied art history at Harvard but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on the strength of a spec script about Nikola Tesla. His first film as writer/director was a self-financed, black-and-white short featuring Dennis Hopper, ''A Hero of Our Time'', based on Mikhail Lermontov's novel of the same title. Shot in 1985, it was finished in 1987 and screened in the 1992 Sundance Film Festival. Early screenplays include '' Cherry 2000'' (1987), the first draft for Wim Wenders’ ''Until the End of the World'' (1991), and uncredited work on '' Total Recall'' (1990). Almereyda's films range across many genres, styles, and formats. His first feature, ''Twister'' (1989), based on Mary Robison’s novel Oh, was a comedy about a dysfunctional mid-Western family. '' Another Girl Another Planet'' (1992) was a romanti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamlet (2000 Film)
''Hamlet'', also known as ''Hamlet 2000'', is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Michael Almereyda, set in contemporary New York City, and based on the William Shakespeare, Shakespeare Hamlet, play of the same name. Ethan Hawke plays Prince Hamlet, Hamlet as a film student, Kyle MacLachlan co-stars as King Claudius, Uncle Claudius, with Diane Venora as Gertrude (Hamlet), Gertrude, Liev Schreiber as Laertes (Hamlet), Laertes, Julia Stiles as Ophelia (character), Ophelia, Steve Zahn as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, Bill Murray as Polonius, and Sam Shepard as Ghost (Hamlet), Hamlet's father. In this version of ''Hamlet'', Claudius is "king" of the Denmark Corporation, having taken over the firm by killing his brother, Hamlet's father. This adaptation keeps the Shakespearean dialogue but presents a modern setting, with technology such as video cameras, Instant camera#Cameras and film, Polaroid cameras, and Covert listening device, surveillance bugs. For exa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeffrey Wright
Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Belize in the Broadway production of ''Angels in America'', for which he would win a Tony Award, and its HBO miniseries adaptation, for which he would win an Emmy and Golden Globe. He has also starred as Jean-Michel Basquiat in ''Basquiat;'' Felix Leiter in the ''James Bond'' films '' Casino Royale'', ''Quantum of Solace'' and ''No Time to Die;'' Valentin Narcisse in the HBO series ''Boardwalk Empire;'' Beetee Latier in ''The Hunger Games'' films; Isaac Dixon in the video game ''The Last Of Us Part II;'' and the Watcher in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) animated series '' What If...?'' Since 2016, he has starred as Bernard Lowe in the HBO series ''Westworld''. He portrayed James Gordon in the superhero film ''The Batman'' (2022) by Matt Reeves. Early life Wright was born on December 7, 1965 in Washington, D.C., the son of Barbara Evon (Whiting), a customs lawyer, and James Cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus two honorary awards), two Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours and knighted on 9 November 2012. He was made a Freeman of his native city of Belfast in January 2018. In 2020, he was listed at number 20 on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Branagh has both directed and starred in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, of which he is a devoted fan, including ''Henry V'' (1989), ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993), ''Othello'' (1995), ''Hamlet'' (1996), '' Love's Labour's Lost'' (2000), and ''As You Like It'' (2006). He was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Director for ''Henry V'' and for Best Adapted Screenplay for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamlet (1996 Film)
''Hamlet'' is a 1996 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as Prince Hamlet. The film also features Derek Jacobi as King Claudius, Julie Christie as Gertrude (Hamlet), Queen Gertrude, Kate Winslet as Ophelia (character), Ophelia, Michael Maloney as Laertes (Hamlet), Laertes, Richard Briers as Polonius, and Nicholas Farrell as Horatio (character), Horatio. Other cast members include Robin Williams, Gérard Depardieu, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Rufus Sewell, Charlton Heston, Richard Attenborough, Judi Dench, John Gielgud, and Ken Dodd. The film is the first unabridged theatrical film version of ''Hamlet'', running just over four hours. The setting is updated to the 19th century, but its Elizabethan English text remains the same. Blenheim Palace is the setting used for the exterior grounds of Elsinore Castle and interiors were all photographed at Shepperton Studios, blended with the footage shot at Blenheim. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s for television roles as Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom ''Soap'' and as a cast member and frequent host of ''Saturday Night Live''. Crystal then became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in '' Running Scared'' (1986), ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), ''Throw Momma from the Train'' (1987), ''Memories of Me'' (1988), '' When Harry Met Sally...'' (1989), ''City Slickers'' (1991), ''Mr. Saturday Night'' (1992), ''Analyze This'' (1999), and '' Parental Guidance'' (2012). He provided the voice of Mike Wazowski in the ''Monsters, Inc.'' franchise. He also starred on the Broadway stage in ''700 Sundays'' in 2004 and again in 2014 and in ''Mr. Saturday Night'' in 2022. Cryst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franco Zeffirelli
Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, gaining both acclaim and notoriety for his lavish stagings of classical works, as well as his film adaptations of the same. A member of the Forza Italia party, he served as the Senator for Catania between 1994 until 2001. Films he directed included the Shakespearean adaptations ''The Taming of the Shrew'' (1967), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; '' Romeo and Juliet'' (1968), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director; and ''Hamlet'' (1990), starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. His Biblical television miniseries '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977) won both national and international acclaim and is still frequently shown at Christmas and Easter in many countries. A Grande Ufficiale OMRI of the It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamlet (1990 Film)
''Hamlet'' is a 1990 drama film based on the Shakespearean tragedy of the same name, directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Mel Gibson as the eponymous character. The film also features Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Dillane, and Nathaniel Parker. An international co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy, the film was the first produced by Icon Productions, a company co-founded by Gibson. Plot The film largely follows the plot of the original play, albeit omitting certain dialogue and minor characters to fit the average length of a feature film. This version also makes no modern day adaptations. Cast * Mel Gibson as Prince Hamlet * Glenn Close as Queen Gertrude * Alan Bates as King Claudius * Paul Scofield as the ghost of King Hamlet * Ian Holm as Polonius * Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia * Stephen Dillane as Horatio * Nathaniel Parker as Laertes * Michael Maloney and Sean Murray as Rosencr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trevor Peacock
Trevor Edward Peacock (19 May 1931 – 8 March 2021) was an English actor, screenwriter and songwriter. He made his name as a theatre actor, later becoming known for his Shakespearean roles. Later in his career, he became best known for playing Jim Trott in the BBC comedy series ''The Vicar of Dibley''. His song "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" was a number one hit for Herman's Hermits in 1965. Early life He was born on 19 May 1931 in Edmonton, London, the son of Alexandria and Victor Peacock. Prior to his acting career, he was a teacher for a few years in North London, including spells at Cuckoo Hall School in Edmonton and Carterhatch Junior School in Enfield. Film and television career Peacock's many television roles include Jim Trott in ''The Vicar of Dibley'', Rouault in ''Madame Bovary'' (opposite Keith Barron), Quilp in ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' and Old Bailey in ''Neverwhere''. He appeared in a wide variety of programmes, such as ''EastEnders'' (playing S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Richardson
Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film ''Tom Jones (1963 film), Tom Jones''. Early life Richardson was born in Shipley, West Yorkshire, Shipley, West Riding of Yorkshire in 1928, the son of Elsie Evans (Campion) and Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist. He was head girl and head boy, Head Boy at Ashville College, Harrogate and attended Wadham College, University of Oxford. His Oxford contemporaries included Rupert Murdoch, Margaret Thatcher, Kenneth Tynan, Lindsay Anderson and Gavin Lambert. He had the unprecedented distinction of being the President of both the Oxford University Dramatic Society and the Experimental Theatre Club (the ETC), in addition to being the theatre critic for the university magazine ''Isis magazine, Isis''. Those he cast in his student productions included Shirley William ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
