Which movie version of Hamlet is best (for 12th grader)?

[LynnG in Hawaii]

I'm getting ready to read Hamlet with our 12th grader, and am hoping for a recommendation for a good movie version. Which one do you prefer and why?

Thanks in advance!

Lynn

[Karen in CO]

We really enjoyed Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. We did a very heavy study of Hamlet and Shakespeare and enjoyed this as a nice relief. It worked especially well for us since part of our focus during the Hamlet study was fate which is the theme of the movie. We saw a live Shakespeare in the Park version too.

[Lori D.]

Blech! Massive ego -- he's in EVERY single scene with the camera spinning all around him, always focused on him!

Upside: no scenes or lines are cut; the British actors make the dialogue very accessible/understandable.

Downside: (my rant above above Braughan -- lol!) Plus: in an uncalled-for scene, Hamlet (clothed) rolls around passionately with (naked) Ophelia in a bed. The ending shots of Hamelt dead look like they are idolizing/deifying him -- not in the spirit of the original play. Also, the few Americans in the production are *real clunkers* (aiyiyi -- Jack Lemmon! -- ouch!).


Don't know which other film version to direct you to, though. ; ) Warm regards, Lori D.

[MaryM]

Believe it or not, the Mel Gibson one was good and suggested by the Teaching Company guy who does the Shakespeare lectures.

mary

[CJinVA]

was just plain wierd. The Victorian costumes were strange enough, but the train engine finally did me in. Branagh did it again in another Shakespearean movie we watched recently -- A Winter's Tale, I think. Same strange Victorian-era costumes. Can't remember if Branagh's in it, or just directed that one.

Peter Leithart's Brightest Heaven of Invention lists 3 movie versions of Hamlet. I haven't seen any of them, so I can only summarize his thoughts:

Gibson version (1990) -- "most watchable" but doesn't follow the play that closely

Ian Richardson version (1960's) -- follows text the most, campy 60's influence on the costuming

Olivier version (1948) "feel of a filmed stage play" but cuts some subplots/characters (i.e., Rosencrantz and Gildenstern and Fortinbras)

[Sharon in MD]

evil usurper. I've seen only two versions....the Kenneth Branaugh, who I normally really like, at the BBC with Jacobi and Stewart.....it is no contest. Jacobi is magnificent as Hamlet and Stewart is great as well. Also, I found the anachronistic aspects of Branaugh's Hamlet to be very distracting. I think the BBC production is pretty darn good and I'd go for that one....plus you should be able to get it free from the library! Always a plus

Got to love Jacobi any way....at least if you ever watched Mystery, Cadfael, you know!

Think I'll go see if I can find and Ellis Peter's book to curl up with....

[Karenciavo]

I thought the Branagh version was fun and visually gorgeous, but you're right, Jack Lemmon was awful. :tongue_smilie: Hamlet's act 3 soliloquy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JD6gOrARk4) in Branagh's hands is very moving, compare to Gibson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwFzvg3L2Qg) and Olivier (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTG0vXniDQY).

[hypermusicmom]

Believe it or not, the Mel Gibson one was good



I agree. my son watched it many times. Be careful with too much Shakespere, my son would get all melancholy http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png-to depressed. A friend of mine said her daughter would behave similarly

[SwimmerMom]

I actually found the Mel Gibson version to be very disturbing! The way they portrayed the relationship between Hamlet and his mother was just weird!

One of the things I loved about the Branagh version was how they picked it up and plopped it in a different era and it still works. To me that shows the timeless nature of Shakespeare's stories--the truths of human nature endure no matter when they are set. (Just FYI that's what I also loved about Romeo+Juliet - they stuck it in Mexico (?) with jeweled guns, but the emotions of the story were still true).

Why not watch them both and have your 12th grader do a compare/contrast between the two movies and the written play? That would be a great assignment!

[Michelle in MO]

I actually found the Mel Gibson version to be very disturbing! The way they portrayed the relationship between Hamlet and his mother was just weird!

One of the things I loved about the Branagh version was how they picked it up and plopped it in a different era and it still works. To me that shows the timeless nature of Shakespeare's stories--the truths of human nature endure no matter when they are set. (Just FYI that's what I also loved about Romeo+Juliet - they stuck it in Mexico (?) with jeweled guns, but the emotions of the story were still true).

Why not watch them both and have your 12th grader do a compare/contrast between the two movies and the written play? That would be a great assignment!

but if I were to pick of the three main contenders, it would be that one. I liked Gibson's version, but SwimmerMom is right: the relationship between Hamlet and his mother is pretty weird in Gibson's version, and there's a very unusual bedroom scene between the two of them.

I normally like Branagh, but the Victorian costumes seem really strange to me.

I like SwimmerMom's suggestion to watch both (or perhaps all three, including the BBC version) and compare/contrast them with the play.

[JFS in IL]

The BBC with Derek Jacobi is the BEST version EVER!!! OK, the b/w Olivier version is good, too.

I got to see Mr. Jacobi at UCLA in '84 - as part of the Olympic hoohaw they had various stuff on campus, including some Shakespeare. I snuck in to a drama seminar (not my dept.) and heard him spontaneously do some Hamlet. I had a major Jacobi crush in those days!

[Lori D.]

Hi Karen! Yeah, I never mind seeing Shakespeare in a different setting/time frame or with a different interpretation (I love Akira Kurasawa's Throne of Blood -- 1950s film version of Macbeth) -- I was just urked at Kenneth's massive ego and unnecessary sex scene. I think that was the first film he made after (stupidly!) divorcing Emma Thompson, and he was on a major "I'm an amazing Hollywood star" trip at that time. Blech! : )

[Sharon in MD]

I just love those shows.....It got me started on the book series which read just like the show.

[Lori D.]

I'll jump in on that one, Sharon! I enjoyed both the books and the shows, but the books more than the shows. While I really liked Derek Jacobi as Cadfael, I felt there was a bit of an "anti-church" edge to the shows that wasn't there in the books. Maybe I was just imagining it. But the books also allow for so much more details of the political/social times that the series is set in -- gotta love that! And another totally OT thought: a fun suspense film with Derek Jacobi, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson is "Dead Again" (but be warned: LOT of bad 4-letter words!!)

[LynnG in Hawaii]

What a great discussion this has been! Thanks so much, everybody. I knew I could count on this board for some thoughtful, sincere responses. :)

Lynn