Review of Hamlet (1996) by Rafaele L — 24 Jan 2009

Kenneth Branagh's lavish, grandiose adaption of Shakespeare's Hamlet is in many ways an unique piece of film. First of all, that anyone should invest on such an project (a 4 hour uncut play) is a miracle in itself and surely something that would be impossible in today's world.

Then, to film it on glorious 70mm film, which not only is incredibly expensive but somewhat useless because 70mm projectors have almost cease to exist. To have such an excellent cast and pull out the stunt of playing Hamlet himself while directing the whole monster, these I would add as a true rarities as well.

Branagh makes great job, his perfomance as Hamlet is flawless and the film itself, despite it's horrifying lenght, is well paced and very well crafted. Needless to say, everyone in the cast are great, so is Alex Thomson's rich-coloured cinematography and Patrick Doyle's soothing score.

Great film and above all, great and important achievement.