Looking for something to binge this weekend? Go ahead and lose yourself in the world of action and espionage with the Hamilton collection on MHz Choice!
The Hamilton Collection
Carl Gustaf Gilbert Hamilton is a Swedish nobleman who, after training with the Navy SEALs in San Diego, returned home to work for Swedish intelligence. Operating out of a restored 18th century villa outside Stockholm (or sometimes in a tricked-out apartment in the city, complete with its own secret indoor firing range!) Hamilton fights for freedom and social justice around the globe. He’s been called Sweden’s answer to 007 and is the creation of author and journalist Jan Guillou, who used his own real-life experiences when creating the character.
Author Jan Guillou
(courtesy piratforlaget.se)
In 1973, Guillou and a fellow reporter gained fame for exposing a secret military intelligence organization in Sweden. Three decades later, a tabloid newspaper accused Guillou of having been a KGB collaborator in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Guillou confirmed that he’d had contacts with the KGB during that period, but said they were part of his work as a journalist. Regardless of that controversy, Guillou’s background provided an authentic basis for his first Hamilton novel, published in 1986; eleven more Hamilton novels followed over the next two decades.
The books were an instant success, and it didn’t take long for them to be adapted for both the big and small screen. Stellan Skarsgård starred as Hamilton in a pair theatrical releases starting in 1989, but the big breakthrough came the following year with an eight-part TV series…
Enemy’s Enemy
DRAMA – CRIME | SWEDEN | SCANDINAVIAN CRIME FICTION | SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14
Peter Haber (Beck) stars as Swedish super-spy Carl Hamilton in this adaptation of Guillou’s novel Fiendens fiende. It’s a vintage Cold War drama circa 1990 (think John le Carré meets 007) filmed on location in London, Morocco and Moscow. Each episode features specially-filmed video introductions by the author, which add to the authentic feel. Haber’s Hamilton is young, suave and sophisticated, equally at home with a gun in his hand as he is verbally outwitting double agents in the interrogation room. Along for the ride is Krister Henriksson (Wallander) as Hamilton’s main man in Moscow. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a very young Mikael Persbrandt, who makes a quick cameo appearance as a truck driver in the last episode – throwing a tantrum, as always! More on Persbrandt below…
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BECK: Micro-site
Hamilton
DRAMA – CRIME | SWEDEN | SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14
A contemporary take on the Swedish super-spy, this time starring Mikael Persbrandt as an older, grizzled, more physical version of Hamilton. Influenced as much by the Bourne movies as by Guillou’s original stories, these two epic action movies, released theatrically in Sweden to big box office, are slickly-shot and a lot of fun. Veteran actor Lennart Hjulström features in both films as Hamilton’s boss, DG. Hjulström also co-starred with Persbrandt in Medicine Man and as Martin’s arch-enemy Gavling in the first season of Beck
Vendetta
DRAMA | SWEDEN | SCANDINAVIAN CRIME FICTION | SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14
Stefan Sauk stars in this 1995 Swedish-Italian co-production, which follows Hamilton as he takes on the Sicilian Mafia. If Peter Haber is the Bond of the Hamilton series and Mikael Persbrandt is the Jason Bourne, then Sauk’s is a ’70s-style Clint Eastwood/Charles Bronson vigilante portrayal. Gritty and intense! Sauk, most recently seen on MHz Choice as a rather pompous, Hamilton-esque father of the bride in Episode 5 of Thicker Than Water, was a surprising choice for the role: at the time, he was best known as a comedian on a very popular Swedish TV sketch show in which he did impressions and played a variety of zany characters. But Sauk acquitted himself well in the role, which led to more dramatic parts on TV and film. Fans of MHz Choice’s Italian shows will recognize a lot of the Italian actors too!
