This is Laurence Olivier’s
adaptation of the William Shakespeare play about the Prince of Denmark, who
believes that his uncle murdered his father to marry his mother and become
King.
The film is directed by Olivier
who also stars as Hamlet. It features wonderfully moody aesthetics, as Olivier
worked with cinematographer Desmond Dickinson
and art director Carmen
Dillon (who won an Oscar, as did costume designer Roger Furse).
The score from William
Walton is also very good.
In addition to Olivier, the cast
features John
Laurie, Esmond
Knight, Anthony
Quayle, Peter
Cushing, Eileen
Herlie, Basil
Sydney, Felix
Aylmer, and Jean Simmons.
For those really paying attention, Christopher Lee
and Desmond
Llewelyn have tiny roles as well.
Laurence Olivier is one of the
great British actors. He came to prominence in the 1930s, playing both Romeo
and Mercutio in alternate performances of Romeo and Juliet on the London Stage.
With 1940’s Alfred
Hitchcock film Rebecca,
Olivier was an international star. He turned his focus on bringing Shakespeare
to cinema, first with Henry V and
then with Hamlet and Richard III.
Hamlet is phenomenal. It won four Oscars including Best Picture and Actor (for
Olivier); however, it was not well received by purists who did not like his
“modern” interpretation and staging when it was initially released. Today, the
film feels like a classical take on the play, given the many versions we have
seen since, but in its day it was quite edgy. Olivier is able to make the play
come alive like no other film adaptation. It is my personal favorite (followed
by Kenneth Branagh’s
Hamlet).
Trailer: Here
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