Hamlet (1948)
Country: GB
Technical: bw 142m
Director: Laurence Olivier
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney, Jean Simmons
Synopsis:
The Prince of Denmark is visited by the ghost of his father, who makes him promise to exact vengeance on the dead king's brother and usurper.
Review:
Olivier's second Shakespeare film is the curate's egg between two straightforwardly colourful history plays. The production, consisting of grim battlements and murky recesses, is supposed to evoke the tormented soul of the protagonist, or the state of Denmark, but can at times seem more like a Universal horror film. The text is heavily cut and the acting patchy, but as a time capsule of the athletic thespian in action it is probably as close as we will get to seeing him do his thing on stage.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 142m
Director: Laurence Olivier
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney, Jean Simmons
Synopsis:
The Prince of Denmark is visited by the ghost of his father, who makes him promise to exact vengeance on the dead king's brother and usurper.
Review:
Olivier's second Shakespeare film is the curate's egg between two straightforwardly colourful history plays. The production, consisting of grim battlements and murky recesses, is supposed to evoke the tormented soul of the protagonist, or the state of Denmark, but can at times seem more like a Universal horror film. The text is heavily cut and the acting patchy, but as a time capsule of the athletic thespian in action it is probably as close as we will get to seeing him do his thing on stage.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 142m
Director: Laurence Olivier
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney, Jean Simmons
Synopsis:
The Prince of Denmark is visited by the ghost of his father, who makes him promise to exact vengeance on the dead king's brother and usurper.
Review:
Olivier's second Shakespeare film is the curate's egg between two straightforwardly colourful history plays. The production, consisting of grim battlements and murky recesses, is supposed to evoke the tormented soul of the protagonist, or the state of Denmark, but can at times seem more like a Universal horror film. The text is heavily cut and the acting patchy, but as a time capsule of the athletic thespian in action it is probably as close as we will get to seeing him do his thing on stage.