In Dvd News...

And now from the "Why'd it take'em so long to put out decent dvd versions of these films?" department-



From the good people at IMDB and Barnes & Noble's...

Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Writing credits William Shakespeare
(play "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark")
Kenneth Branagh (screenplay)

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete
Riz Abbasi- Attendant to Claudius
Richard Attenborough- English Ambassador
David Blair- Attendant to Claudius
Brian Blessed- Ghost
Kenneth Branagh- Hamlet
Richard Briers- Polonius
Michael Bryant- Priest
Peter Bygott- Attendant to Claudius
Julie Christie- Gertrude
Billy Crystal- First Gravedigger
Charles Daish- Stage Manager
Judi Dench- Hecuba
Gérard Depardieu- Reynaldo
Reece Dinsdale- Guildenstern
Ken Dodd- Yorick
Angela Douglas-
Attendant to Gertrude
Rob Edwards- Lucianus
Nicholas Farrell- Horatio
Ray Fearon- Francisco
Yvonne Gidden- Doctor
John Gielgud- Priam
Rosemary Harris- Player Queen
Charlton Heston- Player King
Ravil Isyanov- Cornelius
Derek Jacobi- Claudius
Rowena King- Attendant to
Gertrude
Jeffery Kissoon- Fortinbras's Captain
Sarah Lam- Attendant to Gertrude
Jack Lemmon- Marcellus
Ian McElhinney- Barnardo
Michael Maloney- Laertes,
Duke of Marlborough, Fortinbras's
General
John Mills - Old Norway
Jimi Mistry- Sailor Two
Sian Radinger - Prologue
Melanie Ramsey- Prostitute
Simon Russell Beale- Second Gravedigger
Andrew Schofield - Young Lord
Rufus Sewell - Fortinbras
Timothy Spall - Rosencrantz
Thomas Szekeres - Young Hamlet (as Tom Szekeres)
Ben Thom - First Player
Don Warrington - Voltimand
Perdita Weeks - Second Player
Robin Williams - Osric
Kate Winslet - Ophelia
David Yip - Sailor One

rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Morgan - Pyrrhus (uncredited)
Melanie Ramsay - Prostitute (uncredited)
Orlando Seale - Boatman (uncredited)
Jimmy Yuill - Alexander (uncredited)
Product Details
Features: Introduction by Director/Star Kenneth Branagh; Commentary by Kenneth Branagh and Shakespeare Scholar Russell Jackson; New Digital Transfer From Original 70mm Elements; Soundtrack Remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1; Featurette To Be on Camera: a History With Hamlet; 1996 Cannes Film Festival Promo; Shakespeare Movies Trailer Gallery.
UPC: 053939268324
Source: CASTLE ROCK
Region Code: 1
Presentation: Wide Screen
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Français, Español
Time: 4:02:00
Sales Rank: 22







From The Criterion Collection Website...
Synopsis
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter David Mamet first sat in the director's chair for this sly, merciless thriller. Mamet's witty tale of a therapist and best-selling author (Lindsay Crouse) who must confront her own obsessions when she meets an attractive cardsharp (Joe Mantegna) is as psychologically acute as it is full of twists and turns, a rich character study told with the cold calculation of a career criminal.
Special Features
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Juan Ruiz Anchia
Audio commentary by director David Mamet and consultant and actor Ricky Jay
New video interviews with actors Lindsay Crouse and Joe Mantegna
David Mamet on "House of Games," a short documentary shot on location during the film's preparation and production
Storyboard detail
Theatrical trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Kent Jones and excerpts from Mamet�s introduction to the published screenplay

Cast
Dr. Margaret Ford -Lindsay Crouse
Mike Mancuso -Joe Mantegna
Joey -Mike Nussbaum
Dr. Maria Littauer -Lilia Skala
The businessman -J. T. Walsh
Girl with book -Willo Hausman
The murderess -Karen Kohlhaas
Billy Hahn -Steven Goldstein
Bartender, House of Games -Jack Wallace
George -Ricky Jay
Sgt. John Moran -William H. Macy

Credits
Director -David Mamet
Producer -Michael Hausman
Screenplay -David Mamet
Story -Jonathan Katz and David Mamet
Director of photography -Juan Ruiz Anchía
Editor -Trudy Ship
Music -Alaric Jans
Costume design -Nan Cibula
Production design -Michael Merritt

About the Transfer
House of Games is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1. On standard 4:3 televisions, the image will appear letterboxed. On standard 4:3 televisions, the image will appear letterboxed. On widescreen televisions, the image should fill the screen. Supervised and approved by director of photography Juan Ruiz Anch�a, this new high-definition digital transfer was scanned on a Spirit Datacine in 2K resolution from a 35mm original fine-grain master positive, and color corrected on a Specter Virtual Datacine. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Restoration System. To maintain optimal image quality through the compression process, the picture on this dual-layer DVD-9 was encoded at the highest possible bit rate for the quantity of material included. The soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical track print, and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss, and crackle. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signal will be directed to the center channel on 5.1-channel sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.