Review of Hamlet (1996) by Mjs M — 18 Mar 2009

I?d always been intimidated by this film?s long running time, but it was clear that now was the right time to check it out for two reasons: firstly, I?ve been obsessing over Shakespeare adaptations lately (that Ethan Hawk thing was not enough to scratch my Hamlet itch), secondly it was announced that Kenneth Branagh would be directing the upcoming Thor movie and I want to catch up on some of his work.

I?m glad I worked up the courage to see it because this is possibly the best Shakespeare adaptation I?ve ever seen. Doing an unabridged adaptation of the play seemed silly at first, but now it seems like the only way to do this stuff, I wish more adaptations would skip the editing because the scenes that are usually cut really do enrich the material.

Aside from all that, this is simply beautiful filmmaking. The sets are awesome, I don?t know if they found a real castle or something, but everything is larger than life; it?s a truly epic canvas. Also this was the last film to ever be shot on 70mm, and the difference is notable.