Rating: 
Summary: Worthy exploration of forces behind the making of an epic
Review: This book is useful to anyone interested in the film or theatre work of Kenneth Branagh, in Shakespeare on Screen, or film and theatre in general. As previous reviewers have mentioned, it comprises an introduction to the film/play by Kenneth Branagh, the full text of 'Hamlet' used during filming, production photographs and a 'film diary'. The main purpose of my review is to correct the misapprehension of one previous reviewer about the writer of the 'film diary', in order to encourage interest in the film diary section of the book. A previous reviewer suggested that 'Russell Jackson' might be a filmographer. In fact, Russell Jackson is a Professor specialising in Shakespeare Studies and is the Director of The Shakespeare Institute, a prestigious school for Shakespeare studies in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK. This school has strong ties with the nearby Royal Shakespeare Company, and Professor Jackson himself is one of the leading scholars in the field of criticism of Shakespeare in Performance. He has published many articles in scholarly journals, and is the editor or co-editor of major books about Shakespeare in Performance such as 'The Oxford Illustrated History of Shakespeare on Stage'. Most importantly, Prof. Jackson has acted as 'textual advisor' to Kenneth Branagh on the sets of many (if not all) of his Shakespearean films; this means he was often responsible for advising Branagh how to interpret a particular line or scene. No one is more well-qualified to write the film diary. Prof. Jackson's film diary is not only anecdotal; it also describes many of the discussions actors had about how to play certain scenes and characters, and sometimes compares them to approaches that were made in other productions of 'Hamlet': it does become analytical at times. One cannot complain about the funny anecdotes Prof. Jackson relates about making this film, anyway. Amongst other things, he discusses the different viewpoints and acting styles brought to the film by the actors from varying countries, he discusses the difficulty of filming swordfights and snowstorms, and embellishing Blenheim Palace to make it look more fortress-like. Prof. Jackson also makes it clear that many of the people working on the film had been working with Branagh for years, and he captures a sense of this camaraderie. Branagh's own introduction to the book could perhaps have been longer, but is of value, letting readers know how he first became interested in acting, who his earliest acting idols were, and why he finds 'Hamlet' particularly interesting to act. I'm not sure why one previous reviewer expected the book text of the film's dialogue to be different from the film; the intention of the film was to make a filmed version using the 'full' (longest available, conflated) text of the play. The film uses every word from texts of 'Hamlet' that are seen as legitimate, and the text in the book transcribes exactly what is said in the film. There are however some comments interposed within the text spoken in the film - I guess comments by Branagh. These could be a little disconcerting as they break up the text, but one can easily jump over them if necessary. They would probably be very useful to a high school student studying the play who does not understand the play's language; they will also interest anyone wondering about Branagh's motivation behind particular readings of lines or portrayals of scenes. Lastly the photographs are great, and not really small - the book is somewhat larger than many hardback/softcover books. I recommend this book. For anyone interested in Shakespeare on Screen, I also recommend the book relating to Richard Loncraine's film of 'Richard III', which has an interesting introduction by Ian McKellen. Those who like Branagh's 'Hamlet' film might wish to also watch Zefferelli's film version of 'Hamlet' to compare two recent and very different approaches to filming the play.
Rating:
Summary: Hamlet the "filmscript," but not much more from Branagh
Review: This review is concerned not with Shakespeare's "Hamlet," but rather with Kenneth Branagh's screenplay edition. Since Branagh's film version had the virtue of including the entire play transforming it into a screenplay has limited value, mainly through the addition of stage directions. If you are screening the film for a class, then having a copy of the "script" is usually helpful, allowing teachers to refer to specific scenes with some attention to visual details without necessarily having to fast forward or backwards to a particular scene. There is also an introduction by Branagh that seeks to explain why he came to make the film at this particular time in his life and a film diary that smacks more of Hollywood behind the scenes than insights into the play. There are also beautiful photographs taken from the film. But since comparing the film to the script does not reveal any significant changes worth discussing, as you would find in the scripts for "Sense and Sensibility" or "Good Will Hunting" for example, this volume is ultimately disappointing. Certainly we could have hoped for more from Branagh.
Rating:
Summary: Hamlet the "filmscript," but not much more from Branagh
Review: This review is concerned not with Shakespeare's "Hamlet," but rather with Kenneth Branagh's screenplay edition. Since Branagh's film version had the virtue of including the entire play transforming it into a screenplay has limited value, mainly through the addition of stage directions. If you are screening the film for a class, then having a copy of the "script" is usually helpful, allowing teachers to refer to specific scenes with some attention to visual details without necessarily having to fast forward or backwards to a particular scene. There is also an introduction by Branagh that seeks to explain why he came to make the film at this particular time in his life and a film diary that smacks more of Hollywood behind the scenes than insights into the play. There are also beautiful photographs taken from the film. But since comparing the film to the script does not reveal any significant changes worth discussing, as you would find in the scripts for "Sense and Sensibility" or "Good Will Hunting" for example, this volume is ultimately disappointing. Certainly we could have hoped for more from Branagh.
Rating: 
Summary: Pictures worth it alone
Review: This screen play, introduction and film diary of Hamlet, Kenneth Branagh is like having several books in one. The screen play its self is based on the text of `Hamlet' as it appears in the `First Folio'.
You probably have several copies of Hamlet and maybe a few film versions. The advantage in this book is that it tells you what you are looking at. It goes beyond the inferences of Shakespeare's words and explains what they were trying to portray in the movie.
The introduction, only a few pages long is packed with information on how the movie came about.
The Film Diary (Rehearsal to Wrap) is written by Russell Jackson. This section also contains monochrome pictures of the film being made.
The section designated as "The Film" has several breath taking pictures that you probably did not notice while watching the film. It starts with The Ghost and ends with Fortinbras.
Rating:
Summary: Loads of fun to read!
Review: This version of "Hamlet", brought to the screen (and page) by Branagh, is great fun to read, owing to the humorous "inner monologues" inserted by the author into the text. Although they do sound "twentieth century-ish", they fit perfectly between the lines. In this case, "reading between the lines" was most enjoyable!
Rating:
Summary: Loads of fun to read!
Review: This version of "Hamlet", brought to the screen (and page) by Branagh, is great fun to read, owing to the humorous "inner monologues" inserted by the author into the text. Although they do sound "twentieth century-ish", they fit perfectly between the lines. In this case, "reading between the lines" was most enjoyable!
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