Other than a 1910 silent version, this was the only production of "Hamlet" (as of release) to be filmed in Elsinore, Denmark, where most of the play takes place.
One of the few productions of Hamlet to include the character of Fortinbras, which was one of Donald Sutherland's first film roles. Kenneth Branagh's 1996 film Hamlet had Rufus Sewell in the role. Sewell and Sutherland appeared together in The Pillars of the Earth.
The first television production of "Hamlet" to be shot on location, rather than in a studio.
Christopher Plummer went on to play Cyrano de Bergerac, using a new translation he commissioned from Anthony Burgess. The final insult in Cyrano's nose speech in the opening duel was changed to "Oh, that this too, too solid nose would melt", a reference to Hamlet's "too, too solid flesh "monologue. Several other Hamlets, such as Sir Derek Jacobi, Kevin Kline, and Sir Kenneth Branagh, also played Cyrano using that translation.
Television debut of Jo Maxwell Muller, who was 19 when she played Ophelia here. She got excellent reviews, but achieved no subsequent fame.
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