Branagh's Hamlet is finally out on DVD

[MonkeyFunk]

bought it this week - haven't watched it yet. I've never seen it, but people have told me for years that I HAVE to see it.

My dirty little secret is that I've never seen ANY version of Hamlet, whether film or stage. And I've never read it.

[Danger Mouse]

1. Wow. I LOVE Branagh's version of Hamlet...but be advised that it is very long...

it is the FULL text of the play, after all!
A great cast, some actors are miscast (wtf is Jack Lemmon doing there?)...but Derek Jacobi and Ken Branagh himself are both fantastic.
Enjoy!

[terrya]

2. Well, I saw Mel Gibson's Hamlet...

take that anyway you wish.

I've been wanting to see Branagh's Hamlet....I think I'll get my own copy. Thanks.

I haven't seen Olivier's Hamlet, which is considered one of the finest portrayals ever.

[Aristus]

22. I really dislike Mel Gibson nowadays, but I have to say,

as sliced up as the film's text is, the movie as a whole holds up fairly well. I don't think it has much to do with Gibson, though.

[CBHagman]

3. This way you get the entire text.

Branagh, like most directors and screenwriters who bring Shakespeare to the screen, normally eliminates certain dialogue, scenes, even characters. His excellent Henry V is a good example. He reaches back into Henry IV for some material (one of the Falstaff scenes, for instance) and omits some of Henry V.

But Branagh is not alone in this. Laurence Olivier's version of Hamlet left out parts of the text, including, if I recall correctly, the bawdier material.

I saw Branagh's Hamlet in a packed theater in Washington, D.C. People had come in from as far away as Baltimore to catch the show. The age range went from elementary school-aged kids to seniors.

Oh, and we did have an intermission, since it's such a long movie. With DVD you can arrange that for yourself.

Have fun!

[Shakespeare]

8. Even Shakespeare himself never produced it with what we consider the entire text....

...because what we have today is a combination of various quartos; it's a much-expanded version of anything that was presented on the Elizabethan stage.

I, too, saw the movie in DC (at a theater in Chevy Chase)--it was a preview screening in January '97--wonder if we were at the same one? Weird trivia about that--I got the tickets for the movie from Matt Cooper (of Time Magazine/Plame scandal infamy), with whom I'd had a blind date.

[CBHagman]

19. Oh, that's a great story.

...I got the tickets for the movie from Matt Cooper (of Time Magazine/Plame scandal infamy), with whom I'd had a blind date.

That's almost too good to be true.

Yeah, I saw Hamlet at the Avalon when it was still part of the Loew's/Cineplex Odeon chain. Now it's an independent local movie house.

We wouldn't have been in the same audience, though, as I made two separate attempts to see Hamlet, one successful, the other abortive. The first attempt was on a snowy Saturday. I was watching the opening scenes of the movie, and latecomers kept climbing over me to get what they thought were better seats. Mind you, the theater was practically empty, but these people selected seats that would involve disturbing audience members. After I came to the conclusion that the latecomers would be climbing over me for some time to come and I wouldn't be able to focus on the movie, I decided to ask for a refund and come back another time. I did, on Presidents' Day, and the audience was a bit more well-behaved, though I did see two gentlemen very nearly come to blows. What is it about movie theaters? :shrug:

[wildhorses]

4. loved it!!

i liked mel's hamlet, too :hide:
:yoiks:

[supernova]

5. Yeah. I want to see this.

I love Shakespeare and missed this when it was in theatres.

Sean Bean is working on a version of MacBeth too.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

6. The Branagh version comes highly recommended by me

It does go on for AGES but IMO it was well worth the long duration. It has a stellar cast -Julie Christie as Gertrude, Derek Jacobi (Claudius from "I Claudius"), Kate Winslet, Branagh (obviously), Robin Williams and so many others and each of them played their part to perfection IMO.

It was on at the movies during my last few years of high school and we went to see it at a cinema as part of our English literature studies. My English teacher showed us the Mel Gibson version later -I did not enjoy it half as much as I did the Branagh version. I loved reading the book too -I think it is my second favorite Shakespeare play next to Othello or perhaps even on a par with Othello

[Shakespeare]

7. Did you see Branagh's As You Like It this week on HBO?

Wonderful, and very well done. It'll be available on DVD on 9/25.

[sarge43]

11. I wish he'd get off his duff and do some more Bill

I love to see him do The Tempest. With CSI he could bring on the magic. And that language -- how can any actor resist it.

[sarge43]

9. Seen all three - quick and dirty review

Olivier: Very stylized and theatrical by modern standards and about half of the script cut out, but great casting and acting and Olivier portrays Hamlet as a truly tragic character.

Gibson: Interesting in the use of an 11th century 'look'. Gibson handles the action moments well, but the deeper aspects of character are beyond him (quelle surprise). Glenn Close on the other hand does a bang up job of Gertrude. Again, a lot cut out. Worth a look, but can't hold a candle to Olivier's and Branagh's.

Branagh: As others have noted, you get the total package (thank god for pause buttons). Interesting casting choices, Briers' Polonius is especially good. I thought Branagh's take on Hamlet's hesitation was insightful and a far more realistic interpretation than Olivier's.

FWIW

[wildhorses]

10. that sums it up pretty well

i did like the 'look' of gibson's 11th century...the 'feel' of it.

but, branagh is fantastic!!

[CBHagman]

24. Briers was utterly brilliant.

He really deserved to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor, as did Branagh for his turn as Iago in Oliver Parker's Othello.

Julie Christie was a fine Gertrude in the Branagh version.

As for the Zeffirelli Hamlet, I agree with you about Glenn Close and also would mention Ian Holm's turn as Polonius.

[DarkTirade]

12. Come to think of it, I've never seen one either.

Read it, but never seen it.
Unless you count The Lion King. :)

[AmyDeLune]

13. You now need to get "Rosenkrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead"

to go with it.:D

[Rabrrrrrr]

14. Heh heh - great movie! Even better on stage.

I got to see Hamlet AND Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at Stratford in Canada a few years ago, with the same cast in each one.

The experience was awesome! Especially watching the guy who played Hamlet, who we saw first and who was so serious in Hamlet (since it's a serious role), doing his role in Rosenkrantz so funnily.

[MonkeyFunk]

16. That one I've seen

[underpants]

15. "Honey come quick and look how clear BORING looks on this DVD"

:bounce:

[NV Whino]

17. YAY!

Gonna get immediately if not sooner. Thanks for the info.

[crim son]

18. I've seen Olivier's performance & it's excellent.

I've seen Mel Gibson do the role and wasn't really impressed... he seemed to have only one facial expression during the entire film. Branagh is fantastic as Hamlet, but I love him in everything he's ever done.

[Aristus]

20. Great movie. Absolutely incredible. Really introduces you to the text.

Roger Ebert did put forward one justified criticism, though. The score gets intrusively loud in all the wrong places. Especially during Hamlet's "How all occasions do inform against me" speech, right before intermission. Branagh practically has to shout over the musical score.

It's funny to note that the Gravedigger has a larger part than Gertrude. (Count the lines).

[Shakespeare]

25. That's standard for Patrick Doyle, unfortunately.

He is a bit treacly with his scoring (and I say this as someone who actually kinda likes him, and I own the H5 soundtrack).

[Aristus]

26. I read one critic who said of the score that when the "Non Nobis" reached its climax in Henry V

that he saw members of the audience putting on their coats and walking out. The music signaled to them that the film was over, even though there were another fifteen minutes or so left.

[Vidar]

21. Though Branagh is a far better actor, I actually preferred

Gibson's rendition. He played Hamlet as depressed young man, which seemed far more realistic & true to Shakespeare's actual words than Branagh's stirring orations. I would rank Olivier & Richard Chamberlain's versions higher however.

[ironflange]

23. All together now. . .

Neither a lender nor a borrower be,
Do not forget, stay out of debt. . .

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. I liked how they did the ghost.

I didn't like all the unnecessary cameos.

[idgiehkt]

28. one of the only ones I enjoyed reading

Hamlet was deep, and I appreciated that. :)