Monday, December 14, 2015

Some "Hamlet" Fun

Here are a few amusing Hamlet-oriented things from around the internet that I thought you might enjoy.

I discovered these Hamlet paper dolls a couple of weeks ago.  They are hilarious and adorable!  And they print up beautifully too.  And they have oodles of funny costumes for him other than this sort of to-be-expected one I'm showing here.  Like Captain Denmark, Loki, Dr. Who, a pirate, and some very silly ones like the Easter bunny and a ballerina.  Great fun!



If you've ever thought to yourself that Hamlet would make a wonderful film noir sort of movie, well, you're not the first to think that.  A couple of years ago, I wrote up a review of a totally imaginary film noir version that I invented and created a dream cast for -- you can read it here.  My talented and kind sister-in-law created this beautiful poster for it too.




If you like Hamlet-related music, you can listen to Patrick Doyle's soundtrack for the Kenneth Branagh version on YouTube here, and Ennio Morricone's soundtrack for the Mel Gibson version here.

And right now, the Paramount Vault has the Mel Gibson version available to watch on YouTube in its entirety for free, so if you've been wanting to see that, now's your chance!  It is here.

Finally, my alma mater performed Hamlet a few years ago, so if you'd like to see college-age actors in the roles, you can watch it on YouTube here.  I haven't seen all of it yet, but what I've seen is enjoyable.

7 comments:

  1. I don't know if I've ever shared this with you before, but I figured you'd get a chuckle out of it: http://thesecondsentence.blogspot.com/2011/02/happily-after-hamlet.html

    And have you ever read the bit in Chapter 21 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn where a character tried to recite Hamlet's soliloquy? There's also a hilarious bit in A.A. Milne's short story "The Complete Dramatist" where he uses the soliloquy to illustrate a tongue-in-cheek discussion of playwriting. It's in this book.

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    1. Elisabeth, nope, I hadn't read that post. That's hilarious! Well, Horatio and Fortinbras did live, though how happily remains to be seen. I like to imagine that Fortinbras is impressed by Horatio's careful reporting skills and takes him on as an advisor.

      I LOVE your new user photo, btw!

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    2. Oh and yes, I do know that bit from Huck Finn. There's a great deal of silliness in the world related to Hamlet, isn't there? Have you read/see either Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (I see you mentioned that one in that blog post) or I Hate Hamlet? Both are quite funny!

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    3. Thanks! I got Mom to do a little side project during our Christmas card photoshoot—she takes such beautiful pictures.

      I'd never realized till I finally read the play just how many Hamlet references and influences (both serious and silly!) are spread all throughout literature. I just came across a quotation from it in Washington Irving's Old Christmas...and partly inspired by it, I'm mulling over an idea for a short Western Christmas story. We'll see if anything comes of that!

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    4. Oh my goodness, it is everywhere. Sherlock Holmes quotes it several times in the canon, even!

      A Western Christmas story :-D Sounds delightful!

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