Hamlet

Olivier's script may have been trimmed for the cinema but this is the definitive Hamlet on film. That he also directed this murky evocation of the play adds to the value.... Full review

Olivier's reputation as the greatest Shakespeare movie actor is well deserved, in my view. This movie version of Hamlet is widely used as the standard by which all other movie versions of Hamlet are measured, and it is still my favorite,... Full review

I think it's safe to say this is the best Hamlet so far. Not that I've seen them all but it's hard to imagine how anything in this production could be much improved upon.The story, admittedly, is kind of dumb.... Full review

With this film, Sir Laurence Olivier set the standard as to how Shakespeare should be done on screen. His direction of his handpicked cast was flawless and his own straightforward interpretation of Hamlet is the one everyone else's is measured... Full review

Hamlet (Laurence Olivier), son of the murdered king of Denmark, contemplates whether or not to take vengeance on the murderer and now king, Claudius (Basil Sydney), Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet must also decide what to do about his mother, Gertrude (Eileen... Full review

Sir Laurence Olivier's excellent Oscar-winning 1948 adaptation of one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays is arguably the best one, although Kenneth Branagh's star-studded, uncut version, made 48 years later (see my review on it) is also very good. Olivier,... Full review

The titled melancholy Danish prince (Oscar-winner Laurence Olivier) seeks to avenge those involved with his father's death. It seems that Olivier's father (voiced by John Gielgud) still roams the Earth as a spirit that walks around aimlessly, unable to find... Full review

It stands to reason that Larry Olivier's version of Hamlet is one of the best, and even if he was a little old for the role (in his forties by this time) it really is the perfect role for him.One... Full review

The amount of lines taken from this play and used in our everyday conversation is staggering. Like all of the Bard's works, his endurance is not only the mastery of language, but really in storylines that just never get old.... Full review

For years I've considered the classical soviet screen-version of Hamlet directed by Kozintsev (1964) as the best adaptation of the play. I still think it's a masterpiece, however now it fills the second place in my preferences and the first... Full review

The Three Great Actors in American History....A handsome some man, able to effect dramatic changes in his appearance, Olivier had tremendous range as an actor, from deep passion to comedy.....His uncut production of Hamlet was especially notable.....Though Olivier may have been England's greatest twentieth-century actor, he was closely rivaled by John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson.....Considered by many to be the greatest English-speaking actor of recent times, Laurence Olivier was equally acclaimed in Shake ... Full Review

Olivier's Hamlet is of the more cunning/less mad variety, and it's probably because his Hamlet is already on a somewhat even keel that Olivier felt he could do away with Hamlet's buddies Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who usually act as a bit of ballast for an increasingly mad Hamlet. ... Full Review

So, in essence, any Hamlet is worth seeing. If anything can be called the greatest play ever written, it's Hamlet. Now that I've nit-picked Hamlet to death, I'm still going on record as recommending it. ... Full Review

more Jude Law's is not a funny Hamlet....more The explosion of interest in Harold Pinter plays has reached a new level with the Donmar Warehouse announcing a revival of adultery drama Betrayal........ ... Full Review

Throughout the history of filmmaking Shakespeare's plays have been a crucible and challenge for directors who wanted to really prove how legit they were. It's a chance for someone like Ethan Hawke to spout soliloquies, Laurence Olivier to go in... ... Full Article

AS everyone knows, the British cinema of the postwar period consisted of David Lean ( "Great Expectations" ), Laurence Olivier ( "Hamlet" ) and those charming Ealing comedies ( "The Man in the White Suit" ). ... Full Article

Jude Law is bringing his current West End triumph in the title role of " Hamlet " to Broadway in September. Previews begin Sept. 12, with opening night set for Oct. 6. ... Full Article

This week's Ketchup sees Hollywood continuing its love affair with remakes, sequels, and movies based upon old toys and comic strip orange cats, as well as yet another Hamlet movie. #1 THE GOVERNATOR'S MOVIES CONTINUE ON (MOSTLY) WITHOUT HIM: TOTAL... ... Full Article

UK, June 3, 2009 - A new film version of one of the greatest stories ever written is soon to hit screens, with director Catherine Hardwicke and actor Emile Hirsch set to re-team for Hamlet . 24-year-old Hirsch will also... ... Full Article

New York-based IndiePix, an internet-based distributor (on demand and DVD) of independent films, has launched its latest collection: 10 Shakespeare adaptations. The 10-film collection includes Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948) and Richard III (1955) plus Bollywood adaptations Maqbool... ... Full Article