“Hamlet” has been produced as a film over 50 times since 1900. It would be nearly impossible to list every “Hamlet” film in a single article, but this piece is a guide to the major “Hamlet” films of significance.
Ironically, the earliest successful screen Hamlet was played by a woman. In 1900, Sarah Bernhardt starred in a five minute film of the fencing scene. This “Hamlet” is a crude talkie, since it was accompanied by records with voices pre-recorded. There were several silent films of “Hamlet” that followed. They were directed by George Melies in 1907, Luca Comerio in 1908, William George Barker in 1910, August Blom in 1910, Cecil Hepworth in 1913 and Eleuterio Rodolfi in 1917.
In 1948, Laurence Olivier directed and starred in “Hamlet.” His “Hamlet” is the most decorated Shakespeare film of all time, having won Academy Awards both for Best Picture and Best Actor. However, Shakespeare purists often reject this particular “Hamlet” because it makes significant edits to the script, eliminating entire characters and scenes so that it could be performed in 2 hours. Olivier essentially eliminates the political aspect of “Hamlet” in favor of an intensely Freudian performance. The Oedipal Complex theme of “Hamlet” is heavily emphasized. The bedroom scene with Hamlet and Gertrude is intensely sexual in its visuals. Ophelia’s relationship to Hamlet is also sexualized. After the nunnery scene, she falls into a position that film scholar Deborah Cartmell calls the position of a rape victim. This “Hamlet” also owes a great deal of its style to German Expressionism. It is available on DVD.
While Olivier’s “Hamlet” was so personal, Grigori Kozintsev’s 1964 “Hamlet” was highly political. This Russian language “Hamlet,” based on a translation by Boris Pasternak, starred Innokenty Smoktunovsky in the title role. Both Pasternak and Smoktunovsky had been imprisoned by Stalin, and thus this “Hamlet” is heavily influenced by Stalinism. One notable element of this “Hamlet” is that most of the soliloquies are cut, making the film more about action than thought and playing back into the political theme. Bars are a motif in this “Hamlet,” as the camera frequently looks through bars and grates, perhaps representing the imprisonment of political oppression. Kozintsev’s “Hamlet” has won high critical acclaim over the years because of its excellent directing and Smoktunovsky’s memorable acting. It is available on DVD with English subtitles.
Also in 1964, a filmed version of a stage play of “Hamlet” was released in theaters. It starred Richard Burton, was directed by John Gielgud and was performed on Broadway. Interestingly, this “Hamlet” was the result of a challenge between Burton and Peter O’Toole. A coin toss determined which of the two would play “Hamlet” under Olivier’s direction in London and which would play under Gielgud in New York. Burton disliked period productions, so this “Hamlet” is made to look like a rehearsal, in which actors wear what look like street clothes and the set appears incomplete. Gielgud himself played the ghost, but only as recorded voice and a shadow on the wall. While this “Hamlet” as a theater production received high praise, it flopped as a film, but is still considered significant to the history of “Hamlet” productions. It is available on DVD, under the title “Richard Burton’s Hamlet.”
BBC Television produced a series of every Shakespeare play, and their “Hamlet” was released in 1980. This “Hamlet” is still one of the most respected of all film versions of “Hamlet.” Derek Jacobi starred as Hamlet, with Patrick Stewart as Claudius and Claire Bloom as Gertrude. Jacobi’s Hamlet is loud and boisterous, more so than nearly every other filmed Hamlet. He is confrontational to Claudius and Gertrude and extremely harsh on Ophelia. The nunnery scene in this “Hamlet” has received heaps of praise, especially for Jacobi’s interpretation of Hamlet’s line, “It hath made me mad.” Though Jacobi’s Hamlet is aggressive, it is clear he is highly cerebral and perhaps masking his own uncertainties with his noisiness. It is available on DVD, but only in a box set which includes other BBC productions: “Othello,” “Macbeth,” “Julius Caesar” and “Romeo and Juliet.
Perhaps no Shakespeare film has received as much bad criticism from Shakespeare purists as Franco Zeffrelli’s 1990 “Hamlet” which starred Mel Gibson as Hamlet alongside Glenn Close, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm and Helena Bonham Carter. In spite of the negative press from Shakespeare lovers, the Gibson “Hamlet” has enjoyed success. It is more about the sensual enjoyment than the symbolism and intellectual depth, unlike the way “Hamlet” is traditionally performed. In appealing to the non-Shakespearian populace, Zeffirelli made his “Hamlet” much like an action movie, for which Mel Gibson is famous. Still, the Freudian element of “Hamlet” is emphasized as much as it was in Olivier’s “Hamlet.” Hamlet and Gertrude simulate sex in the bedroom scene, and Gertrude’s death occurs with suggestive movements while Hamlet is on top of her. Moreover, Glenn Close, who plays Gertrude, is only 9 years older than Gibson. It is available on DVD.
In 1996, Kenneth Branagh took on the ultimate task of putting the entire text of “Hamlet” on screen. This “Hamlet” lasts over four hours. Branagh directed and starred as Hamlet, as the scene is shifted to the 19th century. It owes much to the epic film genre, especially since it was filmed at the enormous and colorful Blenheim Palace. The visual is highly important in this “Hamlet,” especially in its use of flashbacks. At the same time, Branagh was highly praised for giving such emphasis to the poetry of “Hamlet,” insisting that his actors speak almost musically in their renditions. The cast is littered with stars: Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, Billy Crystal, Gerard Depardieu, Robin Williams, Charlton Heston and Jack Lemmon all have roles. Although this “Hamlet” had little popular success, perhaps because of its length, critical reception and reception from Shakespeare lovers was tremendously positive, as it was nominated for four Oscars. It is available on DVD on two discs.
Michael Almereyda’s “Hamlet,” also known as “Hamlet 2000,” was released in 2000. The story of “Hamlet” is updated to the year 2000 in New York City and Denmark becomes the “Denmark Corporation.” Ethan Hawke stars as Hamlet, alongside Julia Stiles as Ophelia, Liev Schreiber as Laertes and Bill Murray as Polonius. The themes of this “Hamlet” include corporate oppression and materialism, as Hamlet is brought down by his uncle’s greed; and the lack of privacy in the modern world due to overwhelming technology. “Hamlet” is an ideal play to update for the latter theme, since Shakespeare’s original “Hamlet” involves characters constantly spying on each other. In “Hamlet 2000,” they use cameras and surveillance bugs. “Hamlet 2000” is more about plot than poetry, and much of the dialogue is more mumbled than spoken poetically, almost as if it were colloquial slang. It is available on DVD.
