Common Sense Note
Parents should know that kids will see Hamlet and Ophelia making love (without nudity), plus sword fights and poisonings. This is the only full-length production of the play on film.
Families who see this film might discuss whether it makes Shakespeare's work more accessible. Did the actors help you understand the arcane language? Why do you think the director choose to commit the entire play to film rather than trim it as other film versions do?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Randy White
This performance of Shakespeare's great tragedy is a grand accomplishment -- the whole of the play without edits. As both director and actor, Kenneth Branagh shines.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. The dead King, Hamlet's father, walks the land and Fortinbras of Norway threatens war. Hamlet's mother has abruptly married Claudius, the new King and Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh) is despondent and curses his mother. Meanwhile, Hamlet's lover, Ophelia (Kate Winslet of Titanic) is ordered by her brother, Laertes, and father, Polonius, to avoid Hamlet.
The ghost confirms that Claudius is the murderer, and Hamlet puts on a play in hopes of outing him. In a fury, Hamlet kills Polonius. Ophelia goes mad and commits suicide. Laertes challenges Hamlet to a duel in which Leartes himself is killed and Gertrude is mistakenly poisoned. Then Claudius is killed by Hamlet and Hamlet felled by a poisoned sword. Fortinbras enters and, before he dies, Hamlet pronounces him the most likely candidate to win the crown.
HAMLET is rousingly performed by a superb cast and the same director who gave us a fierce Henry V, as well as a playful Much Ado About Nothing. Kenneth Branagh has earned a reputation for interpreting Shakespeare on screen that's rivaled only by the great actor/director Laurence Olivier.
There are a number of reasons to recommend this Hamlet. First, the actors make sense of the language and never simply recite lines; they discover the meaning of Shakespeare's words as they speak them. Second, shot in widescreen 70mm, the movie looks gorgeous.
. Most versions of Hamlet are heavily edited due to time constraints and to conform to a director's take on the story. Here is a chance to see the entire play in all its glorious complexity.
And here is a Hamlet with all of his rage and confusion on display, a young man who seeks revenge for the murder of his father but hesitates to take action. His inner turmoil is mirrored in the political turmoil of the court. The intricate plot development makes for a long and complicated journey, but the rewards are infinitely great for viewers who chance the ride.
The only mistake is in the celebrity casting of smaller parts. Some hit (Billy Crystal as the First Gravedigger) and some completely miss (Jack Lemmon as Marcellus). But the leads are uniformly brilliant. A bravura accomplishment and a great addition to any collection.
Rate It!
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual ContentHamlet and Ophelia make love onscreen, incarnating a relationship only suggested in the text. No nudity. |
 |
 |
|
|
ViolenceSword fights and poisoning. |
|
|
|
|
Language |
|
|
|
|
Message |
|
|
|
|
Social Behavior |
 |
 |
|
|
Commercialism |
|
|
|
|
Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco |
|
|
|
|
