Agree, and that moment of his kindness and generosity towards you is perhaps the most valuable about it 

Great adventure and a lovely experience, mrshouse! 

Harriet wrote:

Agree, and that moment of his kindness and generosity towards you is perhaps the most valuable about it

Not just pretty and smart and talented, but kind. I think Mr. and Mrs. Cumberbatch (Carlton) raised their son right, and it shows.
 

Did Benedict get a little emotional at his last curtain call? I don't blame him at all. What a bittersweet moment for him.

https://twitter.com/anythingbatch/status/660734740186726402

https://twitter.com/cumberbatchspam/status/660723298557370368

Last edited by ukaunz (November 1, 2015 10:21 am)

Very happy for you, mrshouse. I think the whole Hamlet experience does not only confirm again his incredible talent (who would need confirmation of this?) but also his generosity towards his fans and his social conscience towards people in need. 

Its finally, finally, Hamlet day for me.  Even if it's not "live" I am beyond excited to see this production.

I'm waiting for the last of the play to start in the cinema now.

Gosh.

I do think it looks like the changes made since I saw it before the premiere suited the play better.

But wow.


EDIT:

I'm on my way home now... wow.

Nothing beats seeing it live, but this came very close.

I think I said I was seeing it with my very honest friend today, and it was great to be able to discuss certain things.  She loves and knows the play like I do... and we both almost had to scream out our frustration about this Ophelia. One of our favourite characters in Hamlet... though we both were sobbing wrecks at her exit... This only got worse at the very end.

Benedict is so damn talented. He has a magical and even comical deliverance of his lines, he just puts the tension and emphasis perfectly for me!

It came very well through on screen and I almost thought I was back at the barbican some times.

This was ruined a bit in the second part as some of the mics got distorted... Leartes was almost completely muffled during a scene.

Last edited by This Is The Phantom Lady (November 1, 2015 9:57 pm)

I wonder if this will ever be released on DVD. I'd pay real money to own it.

I would so love the DVD... I have my doubts... but maybe someone could be persuaded it would be good for educational purposes?

It would be great to have it on DVD, but maybe they'll save it for another broadcast next year before releasing it.   The one at my cinema sold out very quickly.  It might also be good to show on TV one year for Christmas.

I saw the broadcast version before I saw the stage version, so the other way round from most people, but actually I'm glad I did.  The filmed version was great for seeing detail, facial expressions and so on.  I thought it might spoil the live experience for me, but it didn't at all - the live version was magical!   And much more gripping - the person I was with got bored a couple of times in the first half of the filmed version, but felt it was finishing too soon when it was live!   It goes without saying that Benedict was amazing - and he has such a beautiful voice, just incredible to listen to.  I did feel that he "should" be doing this rather than TV/film, but of course he's so wonderful on screen too. 

I did have a couple of minor gripes.   One was that anybody sitting on the left side of the auditorium would not have been able to see the balcony at all.  I don't mean people right at the end of the rows, but quite a big swathe of the left side of the auditorium.  I suppose the layout wasn't known when the tickets were sold, but I did feel that they shoujld have been sold as restricted view, or that the set could have been designed to move the balcony more to the right - it felt a bit too big for the stage.  Having said that, I loved the set!   The other thing was, when I saw it there was a standing ovation, but the cast didn't really linger for bows, and only Benedict came forward for an individual bow.   I've recerntly seen another production that got a standing ovation, and there was a lovely feeling at the end of appreciation from the audience, and the cast seeming to be genuinely delighted with that, with plenty of bowing and waving.   It's ages since I've seen a huge star as part of a bigger cast, so I can't remember if it's normal that the star is the focus in that way (I have seen one very big star who I remember coming back for multiple bows - I thought we were never getting home!  But I'm sure the other leads had their individual bows too).  I know Benedict was the star and essentially sold the tickets (and gave a standout performance), but I was surprised - I think partly because he comes across as so humble, and I thought he might push the other cast forward more.  How did it go when the rest of you saw it?

Last edited by Liberty (November 2, 2015 7:51 am)