Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Here we have undeniable proof that even the best material cannot save a shoddy, poorly-mounted production. Yeah, I know Hamlet is supposed to be a pretty bleak story about death, vengance, madness, and all those other wonderful things that spice up life. But this dreary, depressing piece of German Existentialism pretty much sucks any trace of life from Shakespeare's unparalleled poetry.Depression seems to be common stock in Denmark. First there's Hamlet himself, played in such a broody, pouty manner by Maximillian Schnell that one ends up wishing he'd opted for "not to be" instead of "to be." He's found the perfect mate in Ophelia, who balances dead-faced melancholy with histronic whimpering. Polonious, meanwhile, isn't depressed but his stood-under-a-tree-in-an-electrical-storm hair and bad German accent (that is, the bad German accent of the actor who dubbed the English track) is very depressing. Even the comic gravedigger seems in need of Prozac.Then there's the production values, what little there is. Gertrude and Claudius, despite being the most powerful and therefore wealthiest people in Denmark, only have one change of clothes. Hamlet's late father dresses like a Sigfried and Roy wannabe, but it doesn't matter as nearly all of his big scene is spent focused directly on Hamlet's face, putting one uneasily in mind of Alanis Morrisette's "Head Over Feet" video. The wood-and-Styrofoam set would embarrass a high-school drama club, and the poor lighting and dark clothes make for a lot of disembodied heads and hands floating across the screen.Credit the MST3K boys for tackling this misguided piece and bringing some life back to one of the Bard's greatest works.

I've seen all kinds of "Hamlet"s. Kenneth Branagh's was most ambitious, Mel Gibson's was quick and to the point, Laurence Olivier's was the best - hands down. But now we come to Maximilian Schell's take on the Bard.For one, this is a dubbed version of a German TV production of William Shakespeare's venerable chestnut. But if there's a slower, more plodding, more lethargic and worse-staged version out there somewhere, it must have been acted at grade school-level. Having seen it on MST3K helps, with Mike and the robots taking jolly good jabs at the old boy, puncturing the profundity of black and white TV, Shakespeare and the wisdom (?) of Germans acting out an English play and making it look like an Ingmar Bergman reject.Of course, the best parts are the MST riffs. Best lines? "I'm gonna unleash the Great Dane", "I don't think so, 'breather'", "Meet the Beatles", "Hey, Dad, will you help me with my science project" and, my personal favorite, during a party - "Garrison Keillor's leaving Germany (YAAAY!!)".But then there's Schell, playing Shakespeare's greatest character much like a department store mannequin would, only not as expressive. No doubt he's a great actor, but here he comes off about as well as Paul Newman in "The Silver Chalice". Ever see that one? You GOTTA watch these two on a double-bill!In the end, this is one instance where it's true that you're much better off to just read the book. At least the book isn't dubbed by Ricardo Montalban.One star only for this "Hamlet"; ten stars, naturally, for the MST3K version.Good-night, not-so-sweet prince.

"Hamlet" by William ("We all make his praise") Shakspeare is arguably the greatest play ever written - in fact, it's possibly the greatest work of literature ever written in the English language. Given these facts, imagine my surprise when Mystery Science Theater 3000 (the recently defunct TV show in which bad movies are goofed on by a janitor and his two robots) decided to give this their special treatment.Specifically, they did this 1960 production for German Television, featuring the highly respected Maximilian Schell in the title role. Now laugh I as I did along with the jokes made at the movie's expense, I really can't see too much wrong with the movie. Herr Schell is more than credible as the Melancholy Dane, and the dark dreary scenery only serve to underscore the mood of the play and its characters. As for dialogue, well how could you possibly go wrong?As for complaints that much of the play was missing, it must be remembered that our friends at Best Brains had to edit the movie (which as I understand, ran for about 3 hours) to fit their little TV show, which ran for 2 hours, including commercials.I, for one, am inclined to cut this movie a good bit of slack.

Poor Will would be rolling over in his grave if he could this this horiible German-TV adaptaion of his classic play. It's obvious that very little money was spent on it. A stage riser, a catwalk and some randomly placed columns pass off as a set. The movie was ineptly dubbed into English, with the English voice actors occasionally mumbling their lines. The whole production had an incredibly dark and dreary feel to it. And just where was Fonterbras in this movie anyway? MST3K gave this sorry production the treatment it justly deserved.To be or not to be? I wish this movie never was in the first place.