To WARNER. Please release Kenneth Brannagh's Hamlet. (1 Viewer)

[Lyle_JP]

Correct. It was a Columbia title, however Warner now ownes the rights to it.

Well, even when it was a Columbia/Tristar video release it was still a Warner Home Video release. Ever notice how the package design was exactly the same as Warner video releases of the time (despite the Columbia logo)? Ever notice the Warner Home Video markings on the shrinkwrap itself? Or the WHV stamp on the edge of the tapes?
I don't know what kind of screwy rights deal this film has gone through but every video release has always been from Warner, just with Columbia labeling. I think only the film prints themselves were distributed by Sony.
-Lyle J.P.

 

[Bill Burns]

Branagh's Hamlet stands, for me, among the very finest films ever made. I've been awaiting its DVD arrival ... well, since the format launched. I have the laserdisc set from Columbia/TriStar, but it has, unfortunately, rotted on several sides (which continues to grow worse with time), and it was mastered from 35mm elements, a further blow against it.
As I've said elsewhere, I trust Warner's will have the wisdom and foresight to master this from its original 65mm picture elements (the film was made in Super Panavision 70), which would represent a correct AR of 2.2:1 (versus the 35mm reduction AR of 2.35:1). I say "original" with emphasis because, despite some misinformation that continues to creep up from time to time, 35mm reduction printing is a modification of what the film crew shot (I'd say this is always the case, but particularly when dealing with a process such as Super Panavision 70, in which the aspect ratio of the film must change to accomodate the reduction). 65mm film negative passed through the cameras, and 65mm film negative represents this picture's truest and best form. I had the tremendous pleasure of seeing Hamlet in theaters at 70mm, an experience I count alongside the experience of seeing Vertigo at 70mm (and DTS!) and my theatrical experiences with Casablanca and Giant as among the best of my life -- this from a guy who's been seeing one or two films a week, every week, in theaters for more than a decade, to say nothing of the frequent, but not quite as frequent, movie watching of years before.
Warner's ... I strongly, with all due heart-on-my-sleeve sincerity, encourage you to master this from 65mm. It's exceedingly important. The film is a masterpiece (among the thousands I've seen, running the field from silent to early sound to yesterday's blockbuster, I count this among the top five ever made), but visually so much less in reduction sources (going by the sight of the laserdisc prior to rot). The only extra I'd like to see, in particular, is a Branagh commentary. He has crafted an exceptional film legacy, of which this is his supreme achievement to date, and it would be of great value both to fans and to history to have a record of just how he came to make such a monumental cinematic masterpiece of Shakespeare's great tragedy, and the creative soul behind this project as a guide through the project could only be considered an honor and a joy for audiences. The film itself should ideally occupy two DVD-9s. If issued (anamorphically, but that goes without saying) from 65mm picture sources, and if mastered with WB's usual care (and no bloody edge enhancement/edge haloing! So many otherwise wonderful releases continue to carry this needless weight upon their quality ...), this will count as one of the best discs on the market, and remains my single most "hoped for" title ... if done right. Hamlet is Branagh's Dances With Wolves: Extended Cut, his Vertigo, his Sunrise ... heck, his Lawrence of Arabia. I trust the studio realizes what a treasure it holds, and I also trust Branagh himself will insist on the above before it hits the market. The laserdisc was a significant disappointment after the theatrical experience -- Warner Bros. has the opportunity to rectify that Columbia/TriStar failing with a stunning DVD presentation. I have every faith the long delay endured since the format's launch will yield a DVD to celebrate for its quality and attention to detail (much as I hope will be the case with the much lesser -- but still important and visually magnificent -- Lawrence Kasdan epic Wyatt Earp, a 35mm film due in 2004, according to WB's last chat, and which I hope will be presented in its extended cut, perhaps with the theatrical cut available through seamless branching -- the extensions are relatively minor).