Hamlet fragment, Sir Derek Jacobi

[msm2you]

Sir Derek is a the one man who would make me wish I was male and gay. Dear G-D the man is 72 and is still as handsome as ever.

[parisad]

I really like the guy paying Horatio: strong and submissive at the same time. Very good job in a part often underrated, maye the best Horation I've ever seen on a Hamlet movie. But all the movie is great: jacobi is absolutely perfect.

[tuxguys]

I saw this on PBS almost 30 years ago, and was stunned. I'd never seen Shakespeare played as tif the actors were saying the lines as though they were just occurring to them, on the spot; since this production, I have never settled for anything less. (Jacobi is, for my money, one of the dozen or so best actors alive.)

[metteholm75]

Osric is not really a "Yes-man". He is ambitious and wants to get along with his betters, probably in order to be able to howl with the big dogs one day, - and he is clearly irritated an uncomfortable with the way Hamlet is mocking him.

[metteholm75]

Amled really means "a man from Jutland", I have been told.

[Jennytheshipper]

Act V, Scene 2

Osric is the ultimate "yes-man."

[rem2267]

@Jennytheshipper -- agreed. In high school, I once made the mistake of calling him (something along the lines of) "such a toady, that I can't believe he's not a green high-jumper with warts about to spring up any day now, and a long, sticky tongue." The class laughed, but my teacher remained unmoved. Oh well.  I still got an "A" for the class, and was exempt from having to take the English final exam. Long live The Bard! Huzzah!

[catharinacameron]

Just to correct a small mistake.

Hamlet IS based on a real person. A prince of Denmark, but Shakespeare changed the name a little. The real prince's name was Amled.

[naly202]

what you're saying is very interesting. where did you get this info from?

thks for he comment. very useful.

[catharinacameron]

I have the danish verison of Shakespeare's collected dramas, and the information before the play (Hamlet), tells how Skaespeare got hold of a book where there was a telling of a danish prince called Amled. This story is from a book about Danish history that a danish publishing company (Saxo) wrote around the year 1200.

So it's based on a real person :)

[naly202]

ok. thanks so much.

[rosapurpurea]

He's so beautiful and passionate...I love this scene...a clear proof of how he can mould his voice to every purpose, fantastic!

[naly202]

indeed, most of the play his atitude is rather sober, melancholic, enraged or sad, this is the only "funnyer" scene. anyway i LOVEd his acting as Hamlet. i'm planning to post more scenes.

[SPARTAN021]

Ahhh, the incredible awesomeness of Shakespeare´s old writings.

This is indeed a very wellplayed fragment of Hamlet.

I´m from Denmark myself, so I find this piece doubly as awesome ^^

[naly202]

loool! sooo cool. you know, i have a horribly silly question: did prince hamlet exist? i know that the great part of Shakespeare's stories were influenced/ copied from other sources, including legends, other writings etc.

[SPARTAN021]

Hamlet never really existed in the real world, but it´s still an honor that Denmark is the place of action in one of Shakespeare´s plays.

[naly202]

you're right! i think those in Venice or Verona should feel the same way...

however tis strange that during his lifetime Shakespeare was nt recognized as better than Christopher Marlowe or others.

[tuxguys]

Actually, there was a real Prince Amleth (look it up) in the history fo Denmark, who inspired much of this play. ("Amleth" is not a missplelling.)