Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Kirpianuscus it is his film. at all. scene by scene. step by step. it is his play in more measure than the play of his character. and this did "Hamlet" from 1948 different by other adaptations. because the prince of Denmark is more darker than you supposed to be. because Olivier is Hamlet in a strange and dangerous manner , using ambition to transform the performance in a kind of metamorphosis. it is a heavy Hamlet, as a sort of psycho-analysis session for the public as patient. sure, it is a remarkable adaptation. maybe a masterpiece. but it remains , in high measure, the splendid film of Laurence Olivier. not surprising for a great actor who has need of glory.

Lee Eisenberg I understand that Laurence Olivier called his adaptation of William Shakespeare's masterpiece more of a study of "Hamlet" than a direct adaptation. Nonetheless, the result was a marvelous film. At heart, the movie is a look at base impulses. In fact, I see a connection to another 1948 movie: "Treasure of the Sierra Madre". The latter focuses on the horrific actions to which greed drives people, much like how "Hamlet" looks at vindictiveness. Neither offers a rosy view of humanity.The cold, Gothic sets frame the story perfectly. Elsinore's dreary look does as much to emphasize the characters' futile existence as any of the actors do. I should note that I've never seen a stage production of "Hamlet", so I'm not the best person to offer a comparison to a live version. I understand that Olivier cut much of the story to condense the movie so that he could emphasize the psychological aspect. Even so, he turned out a masterpiece, becoming the first person to direct himself to an acting Oscar, and giving us the first Best Picture winner not from the US. As for whether it was the year's best movie, I'd rank it as equal to "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", with both offering devastating focuses on the human condition. Definitely see it.

gavin6942 Prince Hamlet (Laurence Olivier) struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king."Hamlet" was the first British film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is also the first sound film of the play in English. That seems pretty hard to believe, but it is true. Stranger still, the first sound version was actually in Urdu.Olivier excised the "political" elements of the play (entirely cutting Fortinbras, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) in favor of an intensely psychological performance, partly to save time. Olivier himself stated that "one great whacking cut had to be made", and the cut he chose to make was the omission of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. This was not much criticized at first, but later critics did take more notice of it, especially after shorter productions of Hamlet that did not leave out these characters were presented on television.Olivier also played up the Oedipal overtones of the play by having Hamlet kiss his mother lovingly on the lips several times during the film. Film scholar Jack Jorgens has commented that "Hamlet's scenes with the Queen in her low-cut gowns are virtually love scenes." In contrast, Jean Simmons' Ophelia is destroyed by Hamlet's treatment of her in the nunnery scene.Changes or not, this is the "Hamlet" that all others should be compared to. Whether longer or shorter, political or not, this was the one that broke ground. And for that, it is a valuable contribution to film history.

evening1 A mesmerizing depiction of Shakespeare's premier play, with Laurence Olivier's quintessential Hamlet commanding every scene.Described on TCM as a film that introduced Shakespeare to the general public and made the bard seem "fun," this movie succeeds on that level and soars beyond.The play is pared to its essentials, with minor characters including Rosencrantz and Guildenstern cut -- but with the language, in all its magnificence, raised to the foreground.Olivier, looking surprisingly modern -- even hot -- gives a stellar performance. But all the actors bring their best to their roles. And how 'bout that Gertrude lip-kissing her sweet prince to the point of having to be beckoned away by Claudius? This is a production that surprises and thrills.