Hamlet [DVD] [1996]

Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet is not only the longest version (just under four hours, not counting the credits), but also the most sumptuous version of Shakespeare's great revenge tragedy on film. With exterior shots of Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, England, and interiors designed to reflect the English baroque style of that massive country house, Branagh's Hamlet shows the king and prince of Denmark in an opulent, luxurious setting. This Hamlet pulls out all the stops. Not only is the setting lavish, but the cast is full of recognizable names. In addition to Derek Jacobi as Claudius (Jacobi notably played Hamlet in the BBC's television version of the play, filmed in 1980), this film features Julie Christie as Gertrude, Kate Winslet as Ophelia, Michael Maloney as Laertes, Richard Briers as Polonius, and Nicholas Farrell as Horatio. The cast also includes such well-known actors as Robin Williams, Gérard Depardieu, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Rufus Sewell, Charlton Heston, Richard Attenborough, Judi Dench, John Gielgud and Ken Dodd. So, with big names and a big set, does this Hamlet work? First, you need to settle down for the long haul. At just under four hours, this is a long film. There is an intermission (at around 2:38), so if you can't plan to see the entire film in one sitting, you can split it at that point. Branagh based this film on a conflated version of the Hamlet text. (There is a book version of the Hamlet Screenplay, though it has no notes on the text. The best standard version is probably the Arden Shakespeare edition.) There are three main texts of Hamlet, the First Quarto of 1603, the Second Quarto of 1604, and the First Folio of 1623. There are a number of differences among the texts, and each one contains some lines that are not in the others. Branagh used all of the texts, rather than editing a specific version. Branagh plays Hamlet splendidly, using the character's feigned (or real?) madness as a prop, and leveraging the luxurious sets and excellent actors. While there are some areas where you could call this film bombastic, it never quite goes over the top. Branagh is, at times, very moving (the graveyard scene), and a bit excessive (the play-within-the-play), but the overall impression is that of a character fully in control of his destiny, with no other option but to head toward his tragic end. The cast is generally magnificent. Derek Jacobi is brilliant as Claudius, and Julie Christie is excellent as Gertrude, especially in the cabinet scene where she see's Hamlet's madness up close. Kate Winslet is sublime as Ophelia, and some of the smaller roles feature fine actors, such as Charlton Heston, Richard Attenborough, Judi Dench, and John Gielgud. One element that Branagh introduces that is not in the play is flashbacks. He shows Hamlet making love to Ophelia; Claudius killing King Hamlet; Yorick playing with young Hamlet; and a number of flashbacks and flash-presents of Fortinbras, particularly as his army is preparing to storm the castle. This makes the film much more cinematic, though it does alter the story a great deal. When reading the play, or seeing it on stage, it's clear that Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, but showing sexual relations lifts the veil on any ambiguity about their relationship, which isn't spelled out in the play. On the other hand, showing Claudius poisoning King Hamlet is simply an illustration of what the reader or spectator knows has happened, and serves as a counterpoint for the dumb show that precedes the play-within-the-play. Some elements of the play are a bit excessive. Kate Winslet, as Ophelia, seen in a straitjacket and padded room, seems to be a bit too much. Billy Crystal's New York accent - he's one of the gravediggers - is out of place. And the final sword fight almost jumps the shark, as Branagh kills Claudius by throwing his sword, then swings from a chandelier. But none of this detracts much from the overall impression one gets watching this version of Hamlet. This large-scale approach makes the story much bigger, and instead of the king and queen being the rulers of a handful of people (as is the case on stage), we see them in a more realistic environment. There are many ways to direct Hamlet, and this, a Hamlet of extremes, is the best example of one approach. You may prefer others; there are several on film. But if you like Hamlet, you probably won't be disappointed by this version.

This was my first attempt at Shakespeare. It was for me (I am German) almost frightening to buy a DVD that has dialog in 400 years old English. I would have been lost without English subtitles. Even the second time, I really needed the subtitles. I love the movie. I have seen the movie now 2 times and one additional time with the (very entertaining and informative) audio commentary. The movie looks really expensive. Camera-work and setdesign are very good. The big number of moving mirrors must have been a real pain. The performances of Kenneth Branagh and Kate Winslet are impressive. But Derek Jacobi blows even these two of the screen. Only Robin Williams seems miscast to me. I regret buying the DVD. This movie is worth the Bluray. That means I will buy the movie again.

This film is the only full length version ever made, running for 242 minutes. Hamlet may be the greatest play in the language, but in performance it is always cut - the most recent film version ends with Horatio's speech "Farewell, sweet prince..." leaving the earlier references to the activities of Fortibras meaningless. Minor characters have had their lines restored and scenes like Claudius'conversations with Laertes and the soliloquy "How all occasions do inform against me" are back in. The result is to paint in the important political externalities of the plot and provide a justification of seeing Hamlet as a man unwilling to act decisively rather than Olivier's view [announced at the beginning of his film] that it is the story of a man who was unable to make up his mind. The full text is played as a study in power politics without fanciful psychological interpretations. This approach is helped by beautiful set design [full of corridors, mirrors and secret doors] the wide angle photography and by the use of the rather sinister baroque Blenheim Palace in the exteriors. Branagh himself is the most believable and dramatically coherent Hamlet I have seen

I am glad that the full text version of Hamlet has been filmed, it had to be at least once, nobody has ever done it or will ever do it again. Many people are put off by the fact that its around 4 hours long and that it will be difficult to understand because its Shakespeare. The thing I find with Shakespeare and watching various productions, is that if the actors understand what they are saying then the audience tends to as well. I preferred Olivier's 1948 version since I felt the atmosphere was right, it was eerie and dark and Olivier's Hamlet was spot on. That is why when I came to this version I had a few problems. I found Branagh's Hamlet very loud pretty much all the time, even in the quieter or comic moments. It was simply too much, but I know that Branagh could play this role in his sleep, the radio production he did was great. He certainly has an in depth understanding of Hamlet, especially if you watch with the commentary provided on the DVD, but it all seemed to get a bit lost throughout the film, which is disappointing. However, I loved the set. The mirrors were extremely effective in providing that sense of paranoia. Branagh's take on the "To be or not to be" speech was one of the best parts of the film, I love how Branagh did it facing the mirror having Hamlet literally talking to himself, I also love how it was overheard. The set gave this feeling of entrapment, everything was closing in and it grew more intense as the film progressed. Branagh assembled a top cast for this film which certainly did not fail him. There were great performances from Kate Winslet, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Billy Crystal and the late Robin Williams. Considering this film is around 4 hours long I sat through it all and found it very entertaining. It is also one of those adaptations that pretty much anyone can watch not just somebody interested in Shakespeare. I certainly recommend this to any Shakespeare fans out there, this has to be seen by them at least once.

I started to watch this with dread - a movie that runs 3 hours 52 mins, in the original Shakespearean English, was a little daunting. I started to watch disc 1 and made it right to the end of the ~2.5 hours with no problems at all, and no desire to stop (ok, I had to leave disc 2 to the next day, but partly that was 'cos I was watching much later in the day than I should have done). Ok, I didn't understand every word, and I ended up writing down about 15 words/phrases to look up and find the meanings of (mostly they meant pretty much what I thought, but not always), but anybody would get the gist. The acting is great and sad parts got me in the feels - several tears lost. The cast is amazing - so many big names, some wasted on such small parts they were given, but wow, some of the people I was not expecting (perhaps bad of me) to deliver good "serious" acting did supremely well; Robin Williams was a nice surprise, as was Billy Crystal. The set design and direction was really great. If in doubt, buy it :-)

Before the First World War the full four-hour version of Hamlet was staged once a year. Although Shakespeare never actually wrote a play of that length - over the years various scenes were added and extracted. The so-called full version combines the best of all the Hamlet plays. Kenneth Branaugh offers us the opportunity of viewing the whole on (thankfully) two discs. The inclusion of Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Ken Dodd in the cast might raise a few eyebrows - but a host of knighted British actors adds ample weight,. Branaugh remains my favorite Henry V on film - but not my Hamlet. Even Mel Gibson is better in my humble opinion. But this wonderful movie is en essential item for the DVD collection of everybody with the slightest interest in Shakespeare.

Kenneth Branagh really shows his directing abilities and his superior acting skills! One of the best versions of Hamlet ever (in my opinion). The audio commentary gives you so much extra knowledge and the play (performed in it's entirety) reveals so much more of all the characters! To anyone who loves Hamlet, if you watch this, you'll fall in love all over again. The fact that it's not set in a dark, dank, gloomy, gothic castle adds to the revival of this extraordinary play! At 4 hours long, it might take a lot of effort for some people... but just watch it bit by bit! IT'S SO WORTH IT!!! In the words of Hamlet: "The play is the thing!".

Brannagh really makes the text clear. The film is a real achievement. I liked the 'comments' of the visual images intercut into the text. However, the central performance has very real contradictions in it and someone needed to direct Brannagh or at least challenge him over several points. His response to the Ghost is very strong indeed and he responds with real authority to swear to avenge his Father's death. However that clear decision and obvious real leadership quality and energy of a "doer" which clearly Brannagh must have as a person to achieve all he does, contradicts what is to follow in the play: Hamlet's inability to act instantly. We simply do not believe that the Brannagh/Hamlet we see in that scene has any connection with the "melancholy" we are told he suffers from. So,the speech after The Players moving Hecuba speech "Oh what a rogue.." as a result was just a lot of shouting without any real truth for me. He was miscast in my opinion and I think a Director would have got more truth out of him by shaking him out of his own competency and making him discover and explore a more incompetent side to himself by perhaps using some Meisner technique in rehearsal where he could have found a more spontaneous delivery. I think Olivier may have fallen into the same trap of acting without a Director or being cast, being in a position to cast himself and direct the whole thing. Similarly the Ghost (Is is Brian Blessed with blue contact lenses?) needed to actually use his voice so that subtle intonations and inflections could be achieved instead of a horrible de-voiced sound that became stagey rather than authentic. Derek Jacobi as Claudius was very good. However,showing him being cheered by everyone at the beginning made no sense because we are explicitly told by the text that it needed no Ghost come from the Grave to tell us he was no good so clearly others in the Court had reservations about him suddenly being on the Throne so the unreserved clapping was completely inappropriate. There were contradictions for me in the film. However the DVD is really good value-wonderful quality and I am looking forward to viewing all the extras.

Un maître d'oeuvre "Hamlet" de Shakespeare sous la direction Kenneth Branagh. La pièce est dans sa forme intégrale et dure 4 heures environ. Plusieurs langues sont disponibles sur le DVD. La livraison était dans les délais et le DVD n'a pas de faute.

Empfehle die 2 Disc Special Edition wegen: Erstklassigem Line-Up an Schauspieler. Vollständiger, wortgetreuer Umsetzung des Klassikers (zugegeben "starker Tobak"). Remastering und Bildqualität ist für ne DVD echt sehr gut. Die bald releaste Blu Ray Bildqualität muss erst famos sein!? Sprachen: Spanisch und Polnisch ist auch dabei. Fehlerhafte Angaben auf Amaz Website! Untertitel: auch Spanisch, Polnisch und Portugiesisch.Fehlerhafte Angaben auf Amaz Website! Special Features>Üppig vorhanden.

Bellissimo film ben recitato da giganti del teatro. La confezione non è pregiata ma il contenuto farà passare un bel pomeriggio nella visione di un film che ha come ispiratore uno dei più grandi autori di tutti i tempi

Todo muy bien,gracias.

Anyone interested in madness/sanity should find this interpretation of Hamlet extremely fascinating. Over and over again, I've found myself deceived by Shakespeare's witty dialogue and Branagh's convincing acting. The main question here is not whether to be or not to be, it is rather "is there a clear line between sanity and insanity, and if so, who decides what madness really is?" Is Hamlet using insanity only to expose the true nature of his uncle Claudius and the Danish court, or does it work as an escape route for him in a time when everything seems crazy and almost everyone betrays him?