Hamlet
Film poster
Directed by	Tony Richardson
Written by	Tony Richardson
Based on	the play by William Shakespeare
Produced by	Hans Gottschalk Neil Hartley Leslie Linder Martin Ransohoff
Starring	Nicol Williamson Marianne Faithfull Anthony Hopkins Judy Parfitt
Cinematography	Gerry Fisher
Edited by	Charles Rees
Music by	Patrick Gowers
Color process	Technicolor
Production companies	Filmways Pictures Woodfall Film Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	December 21, 1969 (1969-12-21) (New York City) 9 April 1970 (1970-04-09) (United Kingdom)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$350,000[1]

Hamlet is a 1969 British tragedy period drama film. It is a film adaptation of Shakespeare's play Hamlet, starring Nicol Williamson as Prince Hamlet.^[2] It was directed by Tony Richardson and based on his own stage production at the Roundhouse theatre in London.^[3] The film also stars Anthony Hopkins as King Claudius, Judy Parfitt as Queen Gertrude, Marianne Faithfull as Ophelia, Mark Dignam as Polonius, Gordon Jackson as Horatio, and Michael Pennington as Laertes.^[4]

Cast

• Nicol Williamson as Hamlet
• Judy Parfitt as Gertrude
• Anthony Hopkins as Claudius
• Marianne Faithfull as Ophelia
• Mark Dignam as Polonius
• Michael Pennington as Laertes
• Gordon Jackson as Horatio
• Ben Aris as Rosencrantz
• Clive Graham as Guildenstern
• Peter Gale as Osric
• Roger Livesey as First Player / Gravedigger
• John J. Carney as Player King (as John Carney)
• Richard Everett as Player Queen
• Robin Chadwick as Francisco
• Ian Collier as Priest
• Michael Elphick as Captain
• David Griffith as Messenger (as Mark Griffith)
• Anjelica Huston as Court Lady
• Bill Jarvis as Courtier
• Roger Lloyd Pack as Reynaldo (as Roger Lloyd-Pack)
• John Railton as 1st Sailor
• John Trenaman as Barnardo
• Jennifer Tudor as Court lady

Production

The film, a departure from big-budget Hollywood renditions of classics, was made with a small budget and a very minimalist set, consisting of Renaissance fixtures and costumes in a dark, shadowed space. A brick tunnel is used for the scenes on the battlements. The Ghost of Hamlet's father is represented only by a light shining on the observers. The film places much emphasis on the sexual aspects of the play, to the point of strongly implying an incestuous relationship between Laertes and Ophelia. Williamson was only one year younger than Parfitt, who played his mother, and was one year older than Hopkins, who played his uncle.

Home media

Hamlet was released to DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on 3 July 2012 via the Choice Collection DVD-on-demand setup from Amazon.