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Hamlet

Play trailer Poster for Hamlet PG-13 1996 4h 2m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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95% Tomatometer 56 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
In the only unabridged film version of the classic play, here updated to the 19th century, Prince Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh) is traumatized by the revelation that his father was murdered by the present king, Claudius (Derek Jacobi), with the aid of Hamlet's mother, Gertrude (Julie Christie). Hamlet considers a plot for revenge and mistakenly kills Polonius (Richard Briers), the father of his love, Ophelia (Kate Winslet), causing a chain reaction that leads to a climactic and tragic ending.
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Hamlet

Hamlet

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Critics Consensus

Kenneth Branagh's sprawling, finely textured adaptation of Shakespeare's masterpiece lives up to its source material, using strong performances and a sharp cinematic focus to create a powerfully resonant film that wastes none of its 246 minutes.

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Critics Reviews

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Rob Humanick Slant Magazine 04/20/2011
A work of tremendous personal ambition equipped with a budget nearly equal in magnitude. Go to Full Review
Desson Thomson Washington Post 09/25/2002
There are many ... instances when you want to run screaming from Elsinore Castle. Go to Full Review
Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times 08/15/2002
4/5
With his handsome and compelling Hamlet, Kenneth Branagh brings the Bard's greatest tragedy passionately alive on the screen. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy May 10
3.5/4
A highly charged interpretation that paints the great Dane not so much as a melancholy, morally confused prince but rather a jock with a rapier wit and an unquenchable thirst for revenge. Go to Full Review
Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight 02/12/2022
3.5/4
This edition, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh and released in 1996, is one of the most well regarded of such works. Go to Full Review
Geoffrey O'Brien The New York Review of Books 08/16/2018
For all the sometimes athletic action, this Hamlet is strung on its language. The words are the play, unfolding in a space open enough to give scope to its unruly energies. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Wayne B Jul 5 Positives: Full text; beautiful people, costumes and sets; fairly clear delivery. Derek Jacobi is excellent as Claudius, as is Julie Christie as Gertrude. Negatives: Frenetic to point of being exhausting, probably necessary to come in at 4 hours. Some in the "all star cast" were never considered "Shakespearean actors" (and never should be, e.g., Jack Lemmon, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, bless them). Judy Dench and Sir John Gilgud who helped make the cast list sound really fancy simply did a pantomime. See more Julian Rex M @Julian_M Jun 20 Valiantly striving for the epic scope, characters, and emotion of Shakespeare's iconic source material, Kenneth Branagh brings Hamlet together into a grand cinematic masterwork due to the massive talent of his combined cast, crew, and own assured performance. See more Michael H 08/25/2024 The best Shakespeare adaptation of all time and the second greatest film ever. Epic, thrilling, exquisitely acted, Ken Branagh takes the greatest play ever written and creates a masterpiece of epic proportions. Stunning, magnificent, exquisite, mind blowing, a film everyone should see and then some. Masterpiece doesn't do it justice. See more Nicholas L 06/17/2024 Hamlet's madness is portrayed well. See more Umatsu O @Erohiel 05/01/2024 The best adaptation of the best play (including screenplay) ever penned to paper. Shakespeare's work is deeply profound, thought provoking, and timeless, speaking to subjects that are relevant to the human condition in all times and places, and doing so in ways that touch and rend the heart, and Kenneth Branagh absolutely does it justice. Contains SOME unfortunate casting choices (Marcellus definitely just reading straight off the script, for example), but it can't dull the accomplishment achieved here. I first watched this film at a mere 10 years old, and though Shakespeare's writing baffled me at the time, the sheer acting prowess and emotive delivery of the lines allowed me even then to understand most of what was happening and being discussed and found it compelling even for a child. Today as I watch it for the couple dozenth time with a nearly fluent grasp on the language, it moves me to tears. Hollywood has done wrong by Shakespeare for ages with adaptation after adaptation of stale, emotionless line deliveries from actors who very obviously don't understand what they're even saying, but Kenneth Branagh blows all other adaptations out of the water and delivers a performance that I believe even Shakespeare himself would have applauded. See more Teddy B 04/01/2024 Kenneth Branagh's masterwork, 'Hamlet' doesn't waste any time with its unique interpretation of the story that somehow manages to fit the entire playscript in it's lengthy runtime. See more Read all reviews
Hamlet

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the only unabridged film version of the classic play, here updated to the 19th century, Prince Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh) is traumatized by the revelation that his father was murdered by the present king, Claudius (Derek Jacobi), with the aid of Hamlet's mother, Gertrude (Julie Christie). Hamlet considers a plot for revenge and mistakenly kills Polonius (Richard Briers), the father of his love, Ophelia (Kate Winslet), causing a chain reaction that leads to a climactic and tragic ending.
Director
Kenneth Branagh
Producer
David Barron
Screenwriter
William Shakespeare, Kenneth Branagh
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Castle Rock Entertainment, Turner Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Fishmonger Films
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 25, 1996, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 7, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.4M
Runtime
4h 2m
Sound Mix
SDDS, Dolby Digital, Surround, Dolby SR, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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