Review of Hamlet (1996) by Steve Y — 05 Mar 2009
As a purist, I can say this is my favorite film version of Hamlet, despite the overwrought direction, the distracting star cameos (which are actually appropriate from an historical perspective), and the ham-handed performance of Kenneth Branagh, who chews his way through the frozen rooms of Elsinore Castle.
It's really a miracle this got made at all - truncation has long been considered the necessary evil of Shakespeare adaptation (film AND stage), but Branagh proves them wrong. Derek Jacobi deserves a hundred awards for his performance as Claudius, which is my favorite on film.
This review of Hamlet (1996) was written by Steve Y on 05 Mar 2009.
Hamlet has generally received positive reviews.
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