Hamlet

Name: Hamlet
Genre: Drama
Released: September 29, 1948
Duration: 154 min
Rating: 82
Cast: Anthony Quayle, Esmond Knight, Harcourt Williams, John Laurie, Laurence Olivier

1948

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Universal acclaim based on 10 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

General Film Distributors (GFD) | Release Date: September 29, 1948 | Approved

Starring: Anthony Quayle, Esmond Knight, Harcourt Williams, John Laurie, Laurence Olivier, Niall MacGinnis, Patrick Troughton, Peter Cushing, Tony Tarver

Summary: Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.

Director: Laurence Olivier

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Approved

Runtime: 154 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Staff (Not Credited)

This is picture-making at its best. Read full review

100

Michael Wilmington

It's as impressive for the near-flawless performances of its deep cast of British film and theatrical stars (including Jean Simmons as Ophelia, Eileen Herlie as Gertrude and John Gielgud as the voice of Hamlet's father's ghost) as it is for its director's surprisingly rich and baroque visual style. [04 Aug 2006, p.C8]

100

James Berardinelli

Considering that 90% of those seeing any production of Hamlet will know the story at the outset, the key to an adaptation's success is what the director does beyond the dialogue. That's one area in which Olivier's 1948 version excels. Read full review

Pauline Kael

Whatever the omissions, the mutilations, the mistakes, this is very likely the most exciting and most alive production of Hamlet you will ever see on the screen.

Empire David Parkinson

Olivier's classic and personalised version of the troubled Prince of Denmark is still highly atmospheric and intriguing. Read full review

Dave Kehr

Laurence Olivier's famous 1948 interpretation of Shakespeare's play suffers slightly from his pop-Freud approach to the character and from some excessively flashy, wrongheaded camera work—including the notorious moment when Hamlet begins the soliloquy and the camera begins to track back. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Despite winning several Oscars, Olivier's (condensed) version of Shakespeare's masterpiece makes for frustrating viewing: for all its 'cinematic' ambitions (the camera prowling pointlessly along the gloomy corridors of Elsinore), it's basically a stagy showcase for the mannered performance of the director in the lead role (though he's ably supported by a number of British theatrical stalwarts). Read full review

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brendanmcc02

Sep 4, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not a faithful adaptation, but a faithful one would have a runtime of 9 hours. The length of the material is always a dilemma for any filmmaker that braces Shakespeare's masterpiece: Hamlet.

Personally, I was fine with the cut material. One of the omissions were the duo of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; who's function were to reveal the dark side to Hamlet, when he has them ruthlessly killed without remorse. While this is not included in the film, there is still a dark edge shrouded in mystery with Olivier's Hamlet - evident through his brutal stabbing of his uncle and his morbid ruminations ("How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he rot?").

However, what I personally loved about the film was Olivier's respect for the many themes of Hamlet. When I first read Hamlet, I was fascinated by the Play's themes of Death and Legacy. Luckily enough, one of the main focuses of this adaptation were the themes of Death and Legacy. So in a way, this version was tailored to my taste.

Like the ribbon on an already-perfect gift-box, the final sequence of the film serves as a perfect finale to the tragedy of Elsinore. The shot first wades through the corridors of Elsinore as Hamlet is carried upon the shoulders of four soldiers - a regal and heroic image, this image cements the everlasting legacy that Hamlet will hold among the rooms and halls of Elsinore. The shot then lingers to the pansies that Ophelia left behind - calling back to the theme of legacy and remembrance. We then cut to the prayer room, this being the place where Hamlet succumbed to his procrastination and inaction earlier in the film. This illuminates the change in Hamlet's character, contrasting sharply against his "This is I, Hamlet the Dane!" moment in the graveyard. Following this, the camera pans to his mother's bedroom, calling back to Hamlet's verbal assault at his mother. I would argue that Hamlet's insanity reached an apex, causing him to be overwhelmed and to thus lash out at his mother in this scene. This highlights the contrast between Hamlet's troubled state earlier in the film compared to his great sense of purpose that he displayed when he returned to Elsinore. The camera then smoothly transitions (a very impressive feat for a non-American production in 1948) to darkly-lit image of Hamlet being hoisted to the tower on Elsinore: a highly effective metaphor, conveying the heroic legacy that Hamlet will leave behind. This is a perfect ending for the Dane, as he has always had a harrowing fear towards death - however, the memory and stories that he leaves behind will ensure that he will never be forgotten. So in a way, Hamlet has conquered his ultimate fear of death because he will always be remembered.… Expand

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