Hamlet
William Shakespeare is arguably the best playwright ever to have lived. However, because of the time period and language, Shakespeare's plays don't get watched or read by most people these days. But if it weren't for Shakespeare, we wouldn't have such beloved films such as West Side Story or other films based on Shakespeare. So it is about time that Hollywood came out with a film version of his best play. I was worried that the film wouldn't be very good, but when I heard Kenneth Branagh was going to direct it, I knew it would be good.
Branagh must have studied Shakespeare thoroughly because I have never seen a better version of Hamlet; even Olivier's version doesn't match the power of this one (even thought Olivier's version won the Best Picture Oscar). Of course, his film didn't match the length of this one either. Branagh has brought the entire play to the screen running just over four hours in length. And yet, while watching it, it seems shorter than any previous version--I'm not exactly sure why, but I love Shakespeare, and to see it completely restored was thrilling for me. Of course, if you don't like Shakespeare, you most likely won't appreciate the film.
There are many memorable moments and techniques in the film, but the most memorable thing is the infamous "To Be or Not To Be" soliloquoy. This is the best I have ever seen it portrayed, and the use of the two-way mirror is incredible. And that's another thing that is different in this version: it's modernized. Well, not completely modernized, but the sets reveal that the period is later than what Shakespeare originally wrote them as. Does that matter? Not really, because everything is still very believeable. Modernizations aren't unusual to Shakespeare, but for one to work, you should either only modernize slightly, like this one, or change the language and put it into a different time period. This is the reason William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet failed and became one of 1996's worst films (in my opinion).
But, Hamlet is one of the best films of 96 which shows what a good director can do. It also shows what a good actor Branagh is. Unfortunately, the film's only fault is casting well-known actors as cameos. They are distracting and, well, they aren't very good (mainly Jack Lemmon and Robin Williams). If Branagh had cast better Shakespearean actors, the film would have been nearly flawless. However, there are a couple cameos that stand out. Billy Crystal gives a nice performance as a grave digger and Charlton Heston as one of the players. And all the leads are fantastic, especially Branagh. But the biggest surprise was Kate Winslet who gives the most powerful performance of Ophelia I have seen. The scenes between her and Laertes were some of the most emotional of the film. Winslet also added some enormous energy to the film, and whenever she wasn't in the film, it tended to slow down. But Branagh is able to keep the film's slow parts moving and entertaining.
One thing I noticed about this film is the quality of film used. Branagh filmed this in 70mm format. This makes the picture more crisp and clear and it also gives a better quality of film. But no matter what kind of film was used, the direction is what makes this film better than most Hamlet's and most films from 96. If there is one thing wrong with the direction, it is the low budget of the film. I don't meant that it is low budget, but the special effects could have been used for the ghost scene. I know this is really picky, but the ghost scene seems out of place and poorly directed. This is most likely a result of the low budget, and it is easily forgiveable. The only thing that isn't forgiveable is Williams' and Lemmon's poor acting. Thankfully, they only have small parts, but Lemmon's role should have been filled by someone else. I mean, he was really bad and distracting.
However, this version of Hamlet has one thing that made me love it: originality. Well, the story may not be original but many of the elements are, including the visual style. Some say that Romeo + Juliet had visual style, and it did, but Hamlet has a much more appealing, and more appropriate look. One of the many gorgeous scenes takes place after the marriage of Claudius and Gertrude. The reception taking place in the social hall is amazingly colorful and energetic. The two best shots are during this scene. One has a dolly shot with the camera moving right past a crowd of people and then stopping on Hamlet standing far away. The other shot just has Hamlet standing on a podium, watching his mother and uncle walk away, with confetti falling all around. It's a brilliant shot and Hamlet's black outfit is perfect as it shows the rebelliousness of Hamlet: everything is bright and colorful, and there is one man standing, dressed in black.
But with all the visually stunning sets, the performances aren't shadowed. Kate Winslet gives the scene stealing performance and Michael Maloney gives a very good performance as Ophelia's brother. Kenneth Branagh portrays Hamlet with near perfection. His soliloquoies are amazingly done, and the act of madness is well portrayed. Branagh also gives the character much more depth than I have seen from a screen version of Hamlet. Derek Jacobi is incredible as Claudius, and worthy of an Oscar nomination (which he didn't get). Jacobi gives his character the multiple levels that were missing from many other versions. Julie Christie is terrific as Gertrude, and she puts Glenn Close to shame. The rest of the cast is almost perfect, especially Crystal and Heston. Crystal shows that he is very capable of handling Shakespeare and other serious roles. Heston has always been good, so it wasn't really surprising, but it still was a good performance. And as I have said before, Williams really was bad, and Lemmon could have used some work too.
Hamlet is rated PG-13 for violence and sexuality. This is the best Hamlet to date on screen, and even in theater, using stunning visuals, inventive use of flashbacks to give characters more depth, and amazing performances. This is one of those films that didn't get much recognition in theaters or at the Academy Awards. The set design deserved an Oscar, and the costumes were fabulous. This film is one of the best films of 1996, and I can't wait to see it again. For a four hour film, this is one of the most engaging and entertaining films to come out in a long time.