Hamlet (1996)

100404 / 12/9 / US / 1996 / Branagh, Kenneth / drama

Hamlet / Hamlet. PC: Castle Rock Entertainment. D+SC: Kenneth Branagh - from the play by William Shakespeare. CAST: Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet), Kate Winslet (Ophelia), Julie Christie (Gertrude), Derek Jacobi (Claudius). 242’. Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Hannele Vahtera. Filmed in 70mm. Viewed in 35mm scope at VET, Helsinki, Friday, 19 September 1997. ** The first complete film version of Hamlet is an experiment that probably won’t be repeated. It is great to see an all star cast fill even minor roles. It is exciting to see the unabridged Mousetrap, the play within the play. But mostly this is a version for completists and scholars. Branagh as Hamlet is dynamic and rather obnoxious. As a director he tries to create visual excitement by striking images and flashbacks, but the efforts remain superficial. The use of widescreen gives the impression of wasted space. There are too many empty stares and rigid poses. This is not one of the three best screen Hamlets, my favorites being Kozintsev, Olivier, and Käutner. The Kozintsev / Pasternak / Shostakovitsh / Smoktunovski version, also in glorious widescreen, is still the one above all because of its strong physical vision of the sea and the castle, its cinematic sense of the space of drama, its forceful score and Smoktunovski’s immortal interpretation as the Prince.