Now this is a short update for all you Kenneth Branagh Shakespearean adaptation fans out there, I know that audience won't be quite as big as Avatar or Tron Legacy, but hey, I'm not a for-profit group site, and I love his Shakespearean adaptations.

The big news is that Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, the two hour extravaganza that takes every word from the original text into the film, carries an amazingly huge cast, and originally came out on two video cassettes in one box with an intermission between them, is coming to Blu-ray!

However we don't quite know when.

The original release was on two video cassettes in one meaty box, the version that I own, and then was released on a two disc DVD set.

Now, HighDefDigest has noticed that Amazon.com are showing Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet as a pre-order for Blu-ray and in some nice packaging too for the cost of US $24.49 with an rrp of $34.99.

I wonder what else will be available on the Blu-ray? So far there's nothing advertised on the site, but at least it would be the complete version of the four hour film. It would seem to be a Warner Bros. digibook special, but no word on the extras as yet.

The film is wonderful, not only is it shot in 70mm, but it carries a lavish production with some amazing sets and locations, as well as an international cast that carries names such as Richard Attenborough, Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon, Brian Blessed, Richard Briers, Judi Dench, Gérard Depardieu, Julie Christie, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Ken Dodd, John Gielgud, and the list goes on.

I loved it and have been dying to add it to my Branagh-Shakespeare collection to replace my VHS video version. Here's hoping we get a release date soon and that it includes a commentary from at least Kenneth Branagh himself.