Hamlet
Hamlet
NR | 10 December 1948 (USA)
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Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Sir Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet continues to be the most compelling version of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy. Olivier is at his most inspired—both as director and as the melancholy Dane himself—as he breathes new life into the words of one of the world’s greatest dramatists.

Reviews
Stevecorp

Don't listen to the negative reviews

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Ceticultsot

Beautiful, moving film.

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CrawlerChunky

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

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InformationRap

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

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Kirpianuscus

it is his film. at all. scene by scene. step by step. it is his play in more measure than the play of his character. and this did "Hamlet" from 1948 different by other adaptations. because the prince of Denmark is more darker than you supposed to be. because Olivier is Hamlet in a strange and dangerous manner , using ambition to transform the performance in a kind of metamorphosis. it is a heavy Hamlet, as a sort of psycho-analysis session for the public as patient. sure, it is a remarkable adaptation. maybe a masterpiece. but it remains , in high measure, the splendid film of Laurence Olivier. not surprising for a great actor who has need of glory.

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ethanct86

It can't get better than Hamlet. Maybe the most-quoted English piece of all time, Hamlet is a delicate piece that needs to be done right. In his 1948, black and white, Best Picture-winning Hamlet, Olivier delivered an adaptation that hung close to the letter and spirit of the original source, but didn't dare to fly free. It certainly grasped the mood Shakespeare wanted, but it doesn't take filming freedoms where the text allowed. Certainly, he achieved the most freedom from the stage through the cinematography, most noticeably the unique camera movements imitating the sound of a heartbeat that plays when the dead king's ghost is observed in anyway in the story.Hamlet feels more like a filmed version of the play rather than an adaptation. But at that, it is amazing. The dark presence and tragic undertones grow through Olivier's Oscar-winning lead performance and Jean Simmons's crazed Ophelia. As the narrator states in the beginning of film, "This is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind." In the play and film, Hamlet is visited by his father's (the former king of Denmark) ghost, stating that his uncle, now the king, had murdered him. However, Hamlet is unsure what action to follow, for if he murders his uncle, it would be repaying evil with evil. Unfortunately, a mistake causes Hamlet to be exiled to England, but he doesn't give up there, and the story builds up to a climatic ending.Like the play itself, Hamlet offers many questions but doesn't give any straightforward answers. The questions dive deep, and along with Shakespeare's old English, younger viewers might not understand. As with the play, an undercurrent topic of incest plays out, mostly through Hamlet's complaints against his uncle taking his father's widow as his wife. Furthermore, the ending is dramatic and sad – with a lot of dead people.Olivier, who has the skill to drop any obscure line of Shakespeare in a beat, manages to work a scarcely worthy adaptation of the play, despite having to cut many monologues and soliloquies in order to run under 160 minutes. One of the weak points of the film is Olivier's recitation of the famous soliloquy, "To be or not to be." To my disappointment, Olivier rushes through it with melancholy and something short of fake that it doesn't have much dramatic and emotional impact. The play did not have any rule or details that restricted it from emotional freedom, especially as a film. Olivier seems to restrict himself to rules that Shakespeare didn't put or intend. But otherwise, Olivier's Hamlet is extraordinary in its own right. He portrays it in the way Shakespeare might have imagined it – the non-extravagant set pieces, simply choreographed and bloodless duels, and few, select locations for different scenes. For the sources and educational material, Olivier's Hamlet is worth watching, but only for the artistic value of the spirit and letter of Shakespeare.

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powermandan

The only major flaw this movie has is how condensed it is. Subplots, characters, and lines are eliminated, to the point where it feels unfinished. Olivier did this for two reasons: time and more focus on Hamlet. Hamlet is Shakespeare's most complex and debated character, so Olivier condensing the movie isn't that bad. It also allows the movie more of a dark, Gothic feeling, much to Hamlet's self. But Olivier cutting out many lines, including all but the last line in the "O what a rogue and peasant slave am I" soliloquy: arguably the best soliloquy in the play, is what I didn't like. It is the most intense we see him, and it is also when he shows his main traits: sadness, anger, confusion, philosophy, wit, happiness and determination, all in the same part. It is also the play's turning point/climax (all of Shakespeare's climax's happen near the middle). Olivier including that soliloquy would has added just a couple more minutes and would have made Olivier's great performance even better. Though I have been bickering at the condensation, that is not enough to say this movie wasn't good or sucked. What makes this so good is the filming and portrayals. Sir Laurence Olivier was the greatest actor of the 20th century. Some similar actors in his time such as Gielgud, Guinness and Richardson became his greatest rivals, but none could surpass him. But on film, Olivier did crappy performances by being completely unconvincing and very robotic. This is one of those times where he would deliver a superb powerhouse performance. Plus, the delivery of the character was very plausible. Hamlet is a character that only the best can play. To do a good Hamlet, one must have strong acting and accuracy. Not just one or the other, or one outweighing the other. There is no correct way of playing Hamlet, only accuracy. The only way to attain that accuracy is by showing every kind of human emotion, all while keeping a basis for the general character (Olivier's was a man who could not make up his mind, which is the most popular and plausible generalization). Olivier's accuracy may very well be how Shakespeare intended on writing Hamlet. His strong accuracy and dazzling performance makes this one of the best portrayals in film history. If you have not studied Hamlet, you won't think so. Other than Olivier, everyone else's portrayals and accuracy were spot on too. Even Gertrude (who was noticeably 10 years younger than Oliver) was great. Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version disgraced all characters except for Horatio. What makes this a great piece of film are the camera tricks and special effects. Although Olivier did not like doing movies, he admired filmmakers and wanted to do an artful movie. For a movie in the 1940s, the ghost, smokes, and lighting were uncanny. His capturing of a dark Gothic feeling is so good and fits the play very well. He also incorporates many camera tricks that adding meaning and pull the viewer in. This is the only artful and skillfully crafted film about a Shakespearean play.

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evening1

A mesmerizing depiction of Shakespeare's premier play, with Laurence Olivier's quintessential Hamlet commanding every scene.Described on TCM as a film that introduced Shakespeare to the general public and made the bard seem "fun," this movie succeeds on that level and soars beyond.The play is pared to its essentials, with minor characters including Rosencrantz and Guildenstern cut -- but with the language, in all its magnificence, raised to the foreground.Olivier, looking surprisingly modern -- even hot -- gives a stellar performance. But all the actors bring their best to their roles. And how 'bout that Gertrude lip-kissing her sweet prince to the point of having to be beckoned away by Claudius? This is a production that surprises and thrills.

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