Hamlet 2000

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Hamlet ★★★ 2000 (R)

It's mopey Hawke's turn as the title character but in this update he's hardly a Danish prince. Instead he's an experimental filmmaker in New York whose murderous uncle Claudius (MacLachlan) runs the family conglomerate, Denmark, Inc. Thanks to Almereyda's respect for Shakespeare's language, as well as his excellent adaptation to present-day corporate America, this interpretation loses none of the play's power, and adds some insights that prove its timelessness. 111m/C VHS, DVD . Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Sam Shepard, Diane Venora, Bill Murray, Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, Karl Geary, Paula Malcomson, Steve Zahn, Dechen Thurman, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Bartel, Rome Neal, Casey Affleck; D: Michael Almereyda; W: Michael Almereyda; C: John de Borman; M: Carter Burwell.

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