[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Author Index][Search Archives]

Re: Hamlet




Poster: Lance Harrop <lharrop@mrj.com>


Lord Michael Limmer, you asked:

> (about Kenneth Brannegh's Hamlet)

> Also, isn't this one set in 19th Century Russia or something like that?

No, it is set in 19th Century Denmark.  From the outfits and uniforms,
maybe around 1850-1860 (I am a student of European military history, I
like to keep track of that stuff).  The only thing vaguely evocative of
Russia is the Kiwer Shako's Jack Lemon and his fellow palace guards are
wearing (see the movie, look at their hats, they are the soldiers shown at
the beginning of the play).  This style of shako was invented by Tsar
Alexander in 1811 and used by Russia and Sweden, but not by anyone else to
my knowledge.

The most ammusing thing about this movie was the comment from the
Washington Post saying that Hamlet's black uniform was "Neo-nazi", kind of
ignoring the fact that black is the color of mourning in the Christain
world and that a black hussar's uniform with black frogging is not really
much like the black with white piping uniforms of the SS.  Of course one
could never excuse the Post critics of knowing anything.

In Service
Leifr Johansson

=======================================================================
List Archives, FAQ, FTP:  http://sca.wayfarer.org/merryrose/
            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org
        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org