Image: TMDB
In what country does Hamlet take place?
Denmark
Shakespeare adapted the play from The Legend of Amleth. This is about a prince who catches out murderers and evades being killed himself by feigning insanity -- it's a comic tale of a trickster, unlike Shakespeare's version.
England
Scotland
France
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Though the film's script was faithful to the Elizabethan-era play, the visuals were designed to evoke a later historical period. What was it?
Jazz-age America
London in the mod 1960s
present-day Denmark
the Victorian era
The effect was achieved through costumes and sets. This is seen most notably in Ophelia's madwoman costume, late in the movie.
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What is the name of the Danish palace where the film's events take place?
Elsinore
Blenheim Palace, in England, stands in for Elsinore -- well, its exterior -- in the movie. Blenheim Palace is not a royal residence, but it is the birthplace of Winston Churchill. Not a bad pedigree!
Jotulheim
the Winter Palace
it has no name
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As the movie opens, palace guards are discussing a ghost. Whose ghost is it said to be?
a fallen soldier's
Hamlet's father
Hamlet's father died while sleeping in his garden. The ghost has returned to tell Hamlet it wasn't accidental.
Hamlet's mother
the ghost of Old Norway
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Who, according to the Ghost, killed him?
Hamlet's Uncle Claudius
Claudius and Hamlet's mother have married with unseemly haste. As Hamlet puts it, "The funeral-baked meats did coldly furnish forth the wedding table." That is, the wedding banquet used leftovers from the wake. (We hope Hamlet wasn't being literal here).
his own wife
the courtier Polonius
Polonius's son Laertes
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Which nation is a military threat to Denmark?
Finland
England
Norway
The first scene of the film is taken up with a description of military skirmishes between the two countries. Talk then turns to the unsettling problem of the Ghost.
Sweden
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What is the name of Hamlet's truly loyal friend?
Horatio
Horatio is evidently so fond of Hamlet that he wants to commit suicide when Hamlet is killed. The dying Hamlet admonishes him not to, so that he might live to tell Hamlet's story.
Laertes
Rosencranz
Yorick
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What is Hamlet's mother's name?
Camille
Gertrude
Gertrude has sunk to the lower reaches of popular baby-name lists. We don't think, though, it's because people don't like Hamlet's passive, morally-flexible mother.
Lucia
Benja
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Which British actress came out of retirement to play Gertrude?
Julie Christie
Judi Dench had a small role, too. But she's never been retired, instead working steadily to the present day, playing roles like James Bond's boss, "M."
Judi Dench
Glenda Jackson
Vanessa Redgrave
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Who played Claudius, Hamlet's treacherous uncle?
Alec Guinness
Derek Jacobi
Jacobi directed Branagh as Hamlet on the London stage. Branagh repaid the favor by casting him as the villain in this version of Hamlet.
Ian McKellen
Anthony Hopkins
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If old King Hamlet was asleep, how did Claudius poison him?
he used a primitive version of a syringe
he had a trained snake bite him
he poured the poison in his ear
The fact that Claudius killed the King in his sleep reveals him as a coward. Likewise, he tried to pawn off the task of killing Hamlet onto an ally, the King of England, and later Laertes.
King Hamlet had a sleep-eating problem
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Who played Ophelia, Hamlet's doomed love interest?
Helena Bonham Carter
Melanie Lynskey
Emma Thompson
Kate Winslet
Helena Bonham Carter had just played the role in the 1990 Hamlet. Emma Thompson, who previously acted in Branagh's Henry V, would have been too old at age 36.
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How is Laertes related to Ophelia?
her brother
Before he returns to school, Laertes gives her some parting advice. Ophelia teasingly tells him to watch his own behavior, and not to give moral counsel while following the "primose path" to sin.
her cousin
a suitor
just a friend
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When Hamlet begins to behave oddly, what does Polonius think is the reason?
grief over his father's death
unrequited love of Ophelia
Both Polonius and Laertes warned Ophelia against taking Hamlet's affection too seriously. Now Polonius tells Ophelia to return the Prince's love letters and gifts, thinking that carrying on the relationship is unwise.
genetic instability
a parasite in his brain
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Where does Hamlet advise Ophelia to go?
the countryside
France to study
a nunnery
Critics have made much of Hamlet's rejection of female sexuality here. They've also implied that Hamlet's true desire is for his mother, not Ophelia, hence his scornful dismissal here.
to a church to marry
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What American actor, known for epic roles, played the Player King?
Jack Palance
Charlton Heston
The Player King and Queen are unknowing pawns in Hamlet's plan to discern Claudius's guilt. In the play-within-a-play, a king is killed in much the same way as King Hamlet. This upsets Claudius, confirming his guilt to Hamlet.
Robert De Niro
Gene Hackman
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Whom does Hamlet stab through an arras?
Gertrude
Laertes
Polonius
Hamlet thought it was Claudius in hiding. Bonus points if you know what an "arras" is: it's a decorative floor-to-ceiling tapestry.
Claudius
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Who causes the deaths of Rosencranz and Guildenstern?
Claudius
Laertes
Polonius
Hamlet
In his defense, these two supposed friends of Hamlet were carrying a letter, which Hamlet found, instructing the king of England to have Hamlet executed on his arrival. Whether the pair knew what was in the letter is not clear, but Hamlet presumably thinks they knew, hence his disregard for their lives.
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What event, specifically, seems to drive Ophelia mad?
her rejection by Hamlet
her father's death
Critics who favor a psychoanalytical approach to the play suggest that Ophelia's grief is driven by guilt. That is, she wanted her father to die so she and Hamlet could be together. Then, when it really happens, shame drives her crazy. Anything's possible!
her brother's departure for France
an unwanted pregnancy
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How does Ophelia die?
she hangs herself in the madhouse
she drinks poison
she drowns
Ophelia fell into the water while collecting flowers -- she climbed out on a branch and it broke. See, girls, this is where an excessive devotion to crafting will get you!
she simply dies of a broken heart
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Which comedian played the gravedigger that Hamlet and Horatio meet?
Billy Crystal
Though Crystal might have seemed like a natural for the jester, Yorick, that was a smaller flashback role. It was played by British comic actor Ken Dodd.
Michael McKean
Bill Murray
Joe Rogan
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Why is Ophelia not buried with full Christian ceremony?
she is not of royal blood
it's believed that she had premarital sex with Hamlet, making her a fallen woman
it's thought she might have killed herself
Suicide has long been seen in Christianity as a serious sin, because it is the sin of despair and cannot be confessed and atoned for later. However, the dark days when suicides weren't given full funeral rites or buried on church grounds are, fortunately, mostly behind us.
she was not baptized as a child
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Why does Laertes challenge Hamlet to a duel?
Hamlet killed his father
Laertes considers Hamlet responsible for Ophelia's death
Laertes is defending Claudius's honor
both #1 and #2
At this point, Laertes has legitimate grudges against the prince, and they've already fought at Ophelia's graveside. Claudius suggests a fencing match to avenge the deaths, with Laertes' blade tipped with poison.
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Robin Williams appears briefly as a courtier who appears to give Hamlet news of Laertes' challenge to a fencing match. What was this courtier's name?
Malcolm
Donalbain
Osric
Perhaps because this character is such a dimwit, the name Osric has fallen out of favor. Bucking the trend were the parents of Osric Chau, whom you might know as Kevin Tran on Supernatural.
Raphael
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What is Claudius's backup plan if Hamlet wins the fencing match?
accusing Hamlet of trying to kill Laertes and jailing him
having assassins kill Hamlet as he rides in the forest
offering Hamlet poisoned wine
The assassins-in-the-forest plot was how Macbeth killed Banquo. That plot backfired on him -- as Claudius's poisoned-wine trick does.
sending him to the Norwegian front and certain death
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Who drinks the poisoned wine?
Gertrude
Claudius sees what is about to happen and says, "Do not drink." But when Gertude defies him, he doesn't exactly lunge to knock the cup from her hands. This suggests that Claudius is more worried about his own reputation than his wife's survival.
Laertes
Horatio
Claudius
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Who kills Hamlet?
Claudius
Fortinbras of Norway
Laertes
Laertes does succeed in stabbing Hamlet with the poisoned foil (blade). So Claudius's plan works ... just with a whole lot of collateral damage.
Osric
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Who delivers the iconic line, "Good night, sweet prince / And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest"?
Gertrude
Ophelia
Horatio
Is it just us, or is there something more than a "bro" vibe between these two? Horatio also contemplates suicide as his friend lies dying.
Laertes
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Which "thinking-woman's-sex-symbol" actor had a brief role at the end, as the Prince of Norway?
George Clooney
Dominic West
Viggo Mortensen
Rufus Sewell
Though the role is small, it's attention-getting: his Prince Fortinbras strolls into a throne room still littered with bodies, perches casually on the throne, and starts giving orders to those still alive. O-kay!
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Hamlet was one of American actor Jack Lemmon's last movie roles. Whom did he play?
a palace guard
You know your movie has star power when you can cast Jack Lemmon in a bit role. And he wasn't the only acting royalty to take a small part in Branagh's film.
an unnamed courtier
the player king
Yorick, the jester, in a flashback
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Hamlet has given us many catchphrases, some of them later used as book or movie titles. Which of these is NOT from Hamlet?
"leave her to heaven"
"the play's the thing"
"a plague on both your houses"
The phrase, "a plague on both your houses," is from Romeo and Juliet" Mercutio curses the Montagues and Capulets with these words before he dies.
"the lady doth protest too much"
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Which of the following actors has never played Hamlet in a major stage or screen production?
Mel Gibson
Ethan Hawke
Derek Jacobi
they all have
Other actors who have taken on the Melancholy Dane include Ben Whishaw, Jude Law, and David Tennant. Jacobi's connection to the role is particularly strong. He not only played Hamlet, but he also directed Branagh in the same role for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
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One of the few words Branagh modernized for the film was "porpentine." What sort of thing is a porpentine?
a poison
an antidote
a piece of furniture
a small woodland creature
Nowadays, we call it a "porcupine." The comic book writer Neil Gaiman had a porpentine in one of his Sandman comics, using the archaic name.
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Kenneth Branagh, having done takes on Henry V, Othello, Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing, followed up with which Shakespeare adaptation in 2000?
Macbeth
The Tempest
Love's Labors Lost
Alicia Silverstone, before her second career as an advocacy for animal rights and veganism, had a leading role. So did Matthew Lillard, best known for his role in Scream.
King Lear
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Branagh's later role in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets couldn't have been a bigger change of pace from the Melancholy Dane. Whom did he play?
Professor Quirrel
Professor Lockhart
Lockhart is a good-looking, vain and incompetent teacher who briefly fills the Defense Against the Dark Arts slot. When he fills the classroom with malicious pixies, he can't control them, and it's up to Harry Potter and his friends to contain the damage.
Professor Flitwick
Hagrid the Gamekeeper
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