Sick Product of a Sick System

best movie i've ever seen.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

While for my liking there were too many close-ups where it could have been much more expansive and the final scene being too underplayed with need of more tension- some of the small roles also don't really distinguish themselves and feel like window dressing- this is still a very good Hamlet. For me it's not definitive, the excellent Kenneth Branagh film is more ideal in terms of completeness. But personal favourite is Laurence Olivier's, also abridged but it's brilliantly written, astonishingly well made and Olivier in one of his finest performances. Wasn't completely crazy about Mel Gibson's version. Coming back to this Hamlet, while very minimalist and fairly sparsely set it is lit in a way that has shades of expressionism which did make the production somewhat striking. While cut down a lot, the story is still atmospheric- almost claustrophobic- and coherent though it would have made much more sense with the confessional scene being left in. The script is remarkably literate and what is left of the prose does have a Shakespearean vibe and the impact that the lines have isn't lost either. The soliloquies like in the Olivier version is both thoughtfully written and delivered and the comic banter between Hamlet and Polonius is inventively done. Tony Richardson's stage direction is very meticulous from the smallest detail to the largest with little hint of stodginess while keeping the pace deliberate. He manages to solve the potential issue with the ghost(something that people may not agree with), which when not done well could be hokey, using a bright light. Nicol Williamson's Hamlet might not be for all tastes, it is a booming and forthright performance that may cry out for more subtlety for some. That wasn't a problem for me, because Williamson was incredibly commanding in the role with Hamlet's madness genuinely intense and he also brings nuance and thoughtfulness, which couldn't be more apparent in the soliloquies(if there was anything that wasn't quite right personally it was that he does have a tendency to speak too quickly). Anthony Hopkins is too young for Claudius but is regal and genuinely gluttonous and his scheming is genuinely evil. Judy Parfitt is an elegant Gertrude and Marianne Faithful is beautiful and affecting as Orphelia. Roger Livesey is a real bright spot here in dual roles, and Rosencratz and Guildenstern have rarely been more chilling than in this version. All in all, a very good Hamlet and perhaps the most underrated one but personally not definitive. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

I saw this production at the Round House in London, when Nicol Willianson (who destroyed his career by his undisciplined waywardness) was a hot property. The film of that production cuts Shakespeare's original by more than half, yet what survives IS 'Hamlet'. Williamson is a sardonic Prince, masochistically ready to condemn his irresolution, but his performance has a breathtaking urgency. Judy Parfitt's Gertrude and Mark Dignam's Polonius could hardly be bettered and Gordon Jackson's bespectacled Horatio is to my mind his best performance. Marianne Faithful is an endearingly vulnerable Ophelia, Michael Pennington an impassioned Laertes, and though far too young Anthony Hopkins has many fine moments as Claudius. Roger Livesey does a lovely double act as the First Player and Gravedigger, there never were a creepier Rosencrantz and Guidenstern than Ben Aris and Clive Graham and Peter Gale is a splendidly camp Osric. Tony Richardson races through the play with considerable intelligence and ingenuity. 'A hit - a palpable hit'!

Tony Richardson's production, faithfully reconstructed from the stage version and filmed in situ at the Roundhouse, has some very odd casting: Nicol Williamson plays Hamlet, morose and black suited, spitting his lines at the screen like a malevolent spider; Anthony Hopkins (younger in real life) plays his stepfather and Royal usurper Claudius. Judy Parfitt (excellent) plays a seductive Gertrude, while Marianne Faithfull plays Ophelia (and actually does it quite well; I read she didn't have particularly good memories of the role but she comes closer to the character than a lot of the more accomplished actresses I've seen tackle it). Michael Pennington is wasted, really, as Laertes. Roger Livesey appears as Player King and is very good in one of his last film roles.The play itself is shorn to minimalism, very short, very staccato. This works well for some of the scenes - the Ghost's appearance, for example; the scene with Hamlet and Ophelia when they are being observed; the 'words words words' bit; and Hamlet's visit to his mother's room before his dispatch to England. I'm not sure about the soliloquies to camera, or certainly whether they come across as well as they would have done in the theatre. But it is a fascinating record of an eccentric collection of performances.

Although shot on film with an excellent cast, this film bears too much resemblance to all those dreary 1980's BBC television versions of the Bard's plays. All are well acted and directed with professional British casts, but all lack the necessary budgets (and daring) to make the grade as great cinema. At best they are documents of each cast or director's vision of the material. Here we have Richardson shooting his cast in tight, tight close ups in a darkened studio for lack of sets and decor. It makes for claustrophobic watching. Give me a Polanski or a Zeffirelli any day of the week for cinematic chutzpah.