Hamlet

A British film made from Shakespeare's play. The king of Denmark is dead. His brother has taken the throne and married the dead man's wife. The son returns. Hamlet sees his father's ghost and the ghost tells him he was poisoned. From there the film is a story of delay. Hamlet knows, he knows what to do, and he does not do it. He feigns madness. He pushes Ophelia away, turns on his mother, and sets a trap with the players who come to the court. The play within the play is the turning point. The king's face changes and Hamlet is certain. What the narrative is interested in is not revenge but decision: there is a line at the start in which the film presents itself as the story of a man who could not make up his mind, and the whole construction follows that reading. The text is seriously cut. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and Fortinbras are removed entirely and the running order is rearranged accordingly. The visual language is the film's real work. The castle set is built as a labyrinth with indefinite walls and corridors opening into one another, and the camera travels long distances without a cut. Black and white and deep focus are used; foreground and background are sharp at once. Laurence Olivier both directed and played the part, and dyed his hair blond for it. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and was the first film not made in America to do so; Olivier won Best Actor. Laurence Olivier, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie and Jean Simmons are in the cast. Who it is for: anyone who likes Shakespeare adaptations and classical British cinema. Who it is not for: anyone expecting the complete text; the cuts are large and some characters are absent.