I have never seen or read the play. I wanna know the story but I'm to lazy to read the play. Could someone tell me which movie is the best adaption of the play? I don't care who portrays best Hamlet and the other characters, I just want to watch the movie that is closest to the actual play. Can you recommend me which to watch?
shareI would go with this one. In my opinion, it's by far the best. Not only do you get the complete text in its full, unabridged, 4-hour glory, but the cast is superb and the 19th century setting is absolutely gorgeous.
Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson, is cut too much and plays havoc with the text.
The recent BBC production, staring David Tenant and Patrick Stewart, is good. It's also cut, though not as much, and the setting is modern. The actors also have a very different take on their characters than in Branagh's version.
For a first Time this is a good one. The cast is amazing and the four hour version is actually watchable.
I have watched it at least a dozen times.
indeed. probably the only 4 hour movie that is watchable.
Key to winning baseball games? Pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers.-Earl Weaver
My favorite (by far) is the olivier version
shareMad Max goes Hamlet is a good introduction.
It's that man again!!
I'd recommend to start with the shortest version you can find then work your way up to this one. So far I've watched three Hamlet movies, the first being Ethan Hawke, the second being David Tennant and the third being this.
By the way, NEVER read a Shakespeare play before you've seen it performed either as a movie or on stage.
By the way, NEVER read a Shakespeare play before you've seen it performed either as a movie or on stage
Kind of an unrealistic expectation considering most of us are forced in school to study them as texts, but I see the logic. They are plays after all, presumably written to be performed first and foremost.
shareYeah, there's a lot of them. They've been making productions of this forever and ever. And ever... and they've got to put a lot of effort in them.
And everyone on this page is gonna clamor for Branagh's version. And... so am I. They're right. Go see this one. Before Oliver's, before Mel Gibson's, before Ethan Hawke's... even before THE LION KING...
And as I write this, I see that this comment is over a year old--so I'm guessing by now you've personally resolved this and seen a "Hamlet" film. And hopefully, it was this one.
Yes, it is the best. When it was first made and remains so do this day.
--Sincere As Always, Dane Youssef
It's difficult to say since there have been so many and I think it's one of those characters/performances that the first production of it you see will kind of become "your" version of it, you know what I mean?
So for instance, this is the first full interpretation of the play I had ever seen and it's stuck with me ever since. Is it the best? That's all subjective, but it's the one I gravitate towards because it's the one I watched and learned from when just discovering the story.
Branagh is a deft populist in terms of Shakespeare and translating it for the masses in a more accepted cinematic form, although this one is obviously way too long for most audiences, but the way it's crafted is to help the viewer along, I think. So, going purely by that it might be a more "fun" watch, so to speak, for someone who is uninitiated with it. But like someone else said, finding a shorter one or even watching clips of it on youtube first might be an easier glide into it all.
I hope, by now, you've seen one version and have liked it! Selfishly, I just missed talking about this and felt the need to come comment, haha