the original Viking Hamlet.

Four-hundred years before Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum: The History of the Danes gave us the legend of Amleth, which is precisely where the bard sourced his story.

In 1994 CE the interesting NorsePlay film of Prince Of Jutland also titled Royal Deceit, and later home release re-packaged as Prince Of Denmark and Thrones & Empires, was made to place the story within its original context, being shot in a reconstructed Viking site in Denmark by Danish director/co-screenwriter Axel Gabriel Erik Mørch.

 

[so very Game of Thrones mis-marketed, right?]

Starring a young Christian Bale, queenly Helen Mirren, fratricidal Gary Oldman, and a dollfaced Kate Beckinsale, the cast is quality, and Freddie Jones of Krull fame has a nice supporting role as the landed apple farmer Bjorn. The tension betwixt nephew Bale and usurper uncle Oldman as the former feigns madness to avoid being assassinated, while the latter's suspicions slowly increase, rises throughout the film to finally force them into conflict.

While the story doesn't stay completely faithful to Saxo's narrative, fluffing things up for screentime and presenting a remix of elements from Amleth's adventure in England, the merit of this adaptation is seeing the legend with its more historically correct setting that makes it worth watching. Also, the major characterization difference between Shakespeare's hesitant tragic princeling versus Amleth's saga-inspired long-game guile makes the protagonist more of someone the viewer can finally enthusiastically root for. Plus seeing Dame Helen Mirren rocking a Mjölnir pendant seems quite fitting:

[Mirren once said she didn't believe in God but did believe in fairies, which is a fairly Heathen statement.]

[watch Prince of Jutland here.]

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Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires' Norse Gods and Giants at age seven. Since then he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the Map of Midgard project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay. If you have employment/opportunities in investigative mythology, field research, or product development to offer, do contact him.

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