Before Kenneth Branagh, before Mel Gibson, Laurence Olivier gave the definitive portrayal of "the man who could not make up his mind." In 15th-century Denmark, young Prince Hamlet is racked by torment and indecision after seeing a vision of his deceased father. The late king's ghost informs his son Hamlet that Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, was responsible for murdering the king. When the murderer married Hamlet's mother--the king's widow--scarcely two months after his funeral, he also took the throne that was his brother's. The ghost beseeches Hamlet to avenge him--yet Hamlet procrastinates, unsure of how best to accomplish his task. In what was only his second directorial effort, Olivier uses his misty, moody set and long tracking camera shots to complement his indecisive prince tortured by the murder of his father. Olivier's version of the Shakespeare tragedy eliminates the characters of Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Fortinbras.
Critically acclaimed and beloved by the academy, Laurence Olivier's Shakespearean masterpiece delves deep into the story of a desperate prince seeking revenge for the secret murder of his father by his uncle. Though the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern scenes were cut, the authentic setting (shot in Elsinore, Denmark) helped it earn seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Director, and four awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Olivier), Best Art Direction, and Best Costumes.
Filmed on location in Elsinore, Denmark.
Estimated budget: $2 million.
Laurence Olivier and Jean Simmons also costarred in SPARTACUS.
Vivien Leigh had played Ophelia onstage before, but Olivier told her she was "too old" to play her in the film.
A stuntman on the set lost two teeth shooting a scene in which Oiivier drops on him from 15 feet.
Excerpt: "To be or not to be...that is the question."--Hamlet (Laurence Olivier) to himself
"And this, above all, to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, then that thou canst be false to any man."--Polonius (Felix Aylmer) to Laertes (Terence Morgan)
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."--Hamlet to Horatio (Norman Wooland)
"Alas, poor Yorick!"--Hamlet to Horati
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."--Marcellus (Anthony Quayle) to Horatio
DVD Features
Region 0
Full Frame - 1.33
Single Side - Single Layer
Audio:
Dolby Digital Mono 1.0 - English
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Art Director
Carmen Dillon: British Art Director
Cinematographer
Desmond Dickinson: British Cinematographer
Featured
Eileen Herlie: British Actress
Production Designer
Roger K. Furse: British Stage Designer
Special Effects
Paul Sheriff: Art Director/Set Designer
Story
William Shakespeare: Sixteenth century English playwright/poet
Makeup
Tony Sforzini: Makeup Artist\1950s
Review 1:
Rating: A
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.120 08/26/1994
Review 2:
"...Subsequent screen HAMLET outings haven't significantly improved on this version..."
Source: USA Today
p.10E 09/22/2000
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