Hamlet

laurence olivier performs double duty as hamlet and the director in this film. he is wonderful as hamlet, although he may be a little too old for the role at the time of filming. but what turns this into a better than average adaptation is the use of the camera. olivier uses the camera to make the source material more filmic and less stagey. the techniques use really seem to open the world up, even though all the action takes place in one location. in doing so, he proves that the bard can indeed be adapted quite wonderfully to film. however, some of the dialogue works better on stage than it... read more

this is the best received adaptation of the famous shakespeare play, and it certainly has its merits. olivier gives an excellent performance as hamlet as does jean simmons as ophelia. peter cushing also excels as the scene-stealing osric, albeit in very small doses. that being said, it still progresses at a slow pace, particularly early. that is understandable given the challenge of adapting a four hour play into a 2.5 hour film and determining what cuts to make and where. the direction, also by olivier, has room for improvement. while the shots are generally well constructed, many of the read more