Hamlet

Hamlet (1948)

Runtime: 155 minutes

Directed by: Laurence Olivier

Starring: Olivier, Jean Simmons, John Laurie, Esmond Knight, Anthony Quayle

From: Two Cities Films

Sometimes I do watch “serious cinema”. Sure, it's fun to watch genre efforts, silly comedies or sleazy trash. But sometimes I should check out Oscar winners based on Shakespeare. As Hamlet is the longest play from Sir William it's not one I ever read in high school (or anywhere else, for that matter) or seen it in plays; thus, I am not offended that this has to be truncated as it's “only” 2 ½ hours long while another popular adaptation (the '96 version from Kenneth Branagh) is the full play and thus 4 hours long. The version presented here condenses the tale well-enough for me.

Presumably, most will be familiar w/ the basic story of how Hamlet's father was murdered by his uncle and thus the uncle is now the king of Denmark, and how pops apparently comes back as a ghost & tells his son the story/wants him to gain revenge. Heck, many will be familiar w/ various lines of dialogue that have been quoted for literally centuries by now. Thus, I won't dwell on that. Instead, I'll mention that it's a fascinating tale & the enduring popularity of the plot is not a surprise. Director/star Laurence Olivier brought this world to screen with great skill in front and behind the camera. Between the cast (everyone in the main cast deliver quality performances) & the sets, it was a world I was enraptured with. In addition, whenever the ghost appears, it naturally happens when it is dark, foggy and atmospheric.

The Shakespearean dialogue is not always easy for most people to follow along with, but that will of course be the case for all period adaptations. As long as you can accept that (or heck, if you are a huge fan of the playwright) then it's worth a spin, even if to decide for yourself if you are able to accept a partial version of the story. As an aside, what a lineup of actors this had, even if some are only extras or otherwise have bit parts: Olivier, Jean Simmons, Anthony Quayle, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, John Gielgud, Desmond Llewelyn, and Patrick Macnee.