Grand Theft Hamlet

To Be Hamlet

January 1985 •English

Documentary examination of the role of Hamlet, in which ten prominent actors who have played the part discuss Hamlet's personality, Shakespeare's play, and the enduring popular fascination it has inspired. The actors interviewed are Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Richard Burton, Nicol Williamson, Ben Kingsley, Jean Louis Barrault, Vittorio Gassman, Maximilian Schell, Innocenti Smoktunovsky, and Mandy Patinkin. Includes excerpts from various film and television versions of Hamlet, featuring these actors and others.

Hamlet: The Actor's View

May 1954 •English

One of the greatest Hamlets of the 20th century Sir John Gielgud reflects on the play and its title character with which he used to be intimately associated for ever since 1929.

Oblivion

October 2024 •Russian

A lone passenger is reflected in the windows of a train crawling through layers of textures towards Minsk. During his absence, the city has not changed: all the streets are frozen, long-gone voices can be heard in the empty rooms and around the corner you can find yourself in a video game from your childhood.

Shenmue: The Movie

January 2001 •Japanese

Ryo Hazuki finds himself seeing his father Iwao die at the hands of a mysterious Chinese man named Lan Di, who also steals an item Iwao had called the "Dragon Mirror". Ryo makes it his mission to get revenge on Lan Di, but first he has to find out how to find him, with the warhouse docks & the Mad Angels gang being his best leads.

This is Not a Game

June 2021 •English

Angela Su’s fictional artist Rosie Leavers is the last remaining person to upload her consciousness to a video game. Contemplating during a pandemic year which also saw people’s resistance movements in many parts of the world, the work pinpoints the uncanny affinities between gaming and warfare strategies. They have mutually informed the infrastructure of both worlds since time immemorial when diplomatic conflicts played out on the battlefield of the 64 squares of a chess board to flight simulation technologies which were adapted to shape gaming experiences as we know it now. When the conflict is between the state and its people, she speculates that gaming strategies empower civilians in resistance movements to counter imperialism through its own operative logic. But once we upload our consciousness, are we able to return to the sensibilities and political motivation that inspired the revolution to begin with?

Last Days in a Lonely Place

May 2007 •English

The virtual landscapes of a video game are transformed into an existential tale of solemn beauty.

Eu não seria eu

February 2023 •Portuguese

Enter Hamlet

January 1965 •English

Enter Hamlet is a collage of images in cartoon form of a word put in balloon in each jump-cut scene as that word is said by the narrator Maurice Evans during his “To be or not to be…” soliloquy recording.

This Is Hamlet

August 2010 •English

A mockumentary examination of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy using "breaking news" style interviews and commentary.

Shakespeare 2000

July 1988 •English

A satiric film travesty of Shakespeare's dramas set in the year 2000. The protagonists are to convince the audience that human passions such as love, hatred, jealousy, etc. remain unchanged even 500 years later (paralleling the up-to-date quality of Shakespeare's dramas).

The Lion King

June 1994 •English

Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

October 1998 •English

The circle of life continues for Simba, now fully grown and in his rightful place as the king of Pride Rock. Simba and Nala have given birth to a daughter, Kiara who's as rebellious as her father was. But Kiara drives her parents to distraction when she catches the eye of Kovu, the son of the evil lioness, Zira. Will Kovu steal Kiara's heart?

Little Red Riding Hood

June 2024 •German

10-year-old Danny can’t believe how naive and dumb Little Red Riding Hood from Grimm’s fairy tale is. Determined to save the girl and her grandmother from the evil wolf, he decides to travel through time and change history. But Little Red Riding Hood is not stupid at all. And she certainly doesn’t need to be saved …

To Be or Not to Be: Klingons and Shakespeare

May 2009 •English

The story behind the translation and performance of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in Klingon.

War of the Servers

November 2007 •English

When strange beings called Mingebags invade the servers of the popular game Garry's Mod, one player must try to survive while searching for his friends amid the chaos and war.

Discovering Hamlet

November 2011 •English

Journey into "Hamlet"-the play and the man-through the experiences of some of the major actors and directors who have brought Shakespeare's great tragedy to life. Christopher Plummer, David Tennant, John Nettles, John Simm, Sir Trevor Nunn, Franco Zeffirelli, Philip Saville, and others explore the enduring appeal of the Prince of Denmark more than 400 years after his stage debut.

The Hamlet Syndrome

August 2022 •German

Five young Ukrainians discuss life following the Maidan Revolution of 2014. Not all fought in the Russian-Ukrainian war, but it, regardless, shattered their life plans. Representing 'Generation Maidan', they face the question of how to cope with experiences of violence, how to go on. A local theatre director produces Hamlet, wherein they can use Shakespeare’s tragic character as a mirror and face their traumas onstage. For them, 'to be or not to be' is not simply text but an existential dilemma with no clear answer.

Play the Devil: Making Richard III

May 2016 •English

Sir Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine talking about making the film.

The French Democracy

November 2005 •French

The French Democracy is a short film by French filmmaker Alex Chan. The film was made in the 2005 PC game "The Movies," a business simulation game that allowed users to create their own films using pre-rendered scenes and tells the story of three Moroccan immigrants in France who turn to rioting after facing different forms of discrimination. The film was made as a response to the 2005 French riots which resulted from the deaths of two young boys who were electrocuted while hiding from police in a power substation. The civil unrest called attention to racism in France and abusive policing tactics. On its release, The French Democracy sparked controversy in mainstream media both as a political statement and as an example of the then-emerging Machinima genre tackling mature, political themes.

9/11 Simulation in Roblox Environment

July 2017 •English

CGI collage short film originally premiered as part of the 'Extinction Renaissance' exhibition at the Loyal Gallery in Stockholm.