Best Hamlet Adaptions
Submitted by JohnnyW on Tue, 04/24/2001 - 12:44
Tags:
- 1.Kenneth Branagh (1996)
- 2.Laurence Olivier (1948)
- 3.Zeffirelli (1990) [Mel Gibson]
Author Comments:
A list in anticipation of my viewing the Ethan Hawke version...
That's right, I pick Branagh over Olivier!
Thats right Johnny, you made a mistake.
Branagh is to be thanked for putting the whole play on film for the first time, but his is not the best Hamlet. His performance is good, but not great. Also, there's some unfortunate casting - Jack Lemmon, in particular, is embarrassing (in fact the whole of Act 1 Scene 1 is very poorly handled). On the other hand, I was very favorably impressed by Charlton Heston's effort as First Player.
Have you seen Derek Jacobi's Hamlet? If not, you really should, it belongs on this list.
I totally agree. I love the Derek Jacobi version played up the concept that he may have just been acting 'mad' as opposed to being so, therefore underplaying the relationship between Hamlet and his Mother. Most other versions play it out exactly the opposite. I like the subtleties and (not suggesting that I can get into the mind of Shakespeare) I think that this version may closest to how it was intended to be viewed.
Thanks for the comments. I haven't seen the Jacobi version, but I'll try to correct that soon. About Branagh, I agree about a couple of examples of miscasting (esp. Lemmon), but I was really entranced by the brightness of his version; too many Hamlets are overcome by dark and dank, and I was impressed to see a different take. It seemed the brightness of the court really contrasted well with Hamlet's inner turmoil.
Johnny Waco
From what I've seen of Olivier's Shakespeare films, they feel like filmed stage productions to me rather than native movies. That always kinda bugged me. It just didn't feel like he was fully embracing the medium. The other problem is that I saw all of them in college, on a tiny screen wearing headphones in a brightly lit and noisy (!) library. Not ideal conditions. Still, I was a bit underwhelmed.
Yeah, I can go with this; if I had to rank the actors' PORTRAYALS of Hamlet, Olivier would be a hands down winner for me, but as a film, it does seem a bit too stagey. That's part of why I'm looking forward to the Ethan Hawke version; I'm curious to see what they do in a setting free from the Castle and the stage...
Johnny Waco