Hamlet

Rating:
Summary: Quite excellent
Review: I'm not sure what movie many of these reviewers watched, but it obviously wasn't this one. The movie I saw was brilliant, with good acting, very fitting music, and good direction; an excellent _adaptation_ of Shakespeare's play.

Hawke was excellent as Hamlet. Julia Stiles was pretty unconvincing, as Ophelia, at first, but only got better as the movie progressed. Kyle Maclachlan is probably the most "Shakespearean" of the major actors, and he does not disappoint. Bill Murray is the weakest, but he fits in well.

All in all, the key to understanding this Hamlet is that it is a _movie._ It's not a play on tape, but a movie (or film, for pretentiphiles), and it takes advantage of all the capabilities of that versatile medium. It's also an adaption of the play, and a significant portion of important dialogue was cut, which is unfortunate. Nonetheless, the plot is intact and the film has a hard-hitting emotional impact.

Don't expect a traditional and stale Hamlet, and you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A potent translation
Review: With his stunning new vision of the most revered of Shakespeare's plays, director Michael Almereyda has effectively transposed many of the enduring themes of that classic work to our contemporary hi-tech era. Even if you are not very familiar with Shakespeare's plays or have always been confounded by his verse, one can still appreciate this film for the tremendously inventive ways by which Almereyda has interpreted the core scenes of Hamlet in the context of corporate America. His visually striking translation of scenes like Ophelia's drowning and Hamlet's famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy are a delight and true brain candy. The cast is all around superb, with the classically delivered lines from actors Liev Schreiber (Laertes) and Sam Shepard (Ghost) nicely counterbalancing the very contemporary style of delivery from Ethan Hawk (Hamlet), Bill Murray (Polonius), and Julia Stiles (Ophelia).

There will no doubt be much comparison between this film and Baz Luhrmann's flashy modern remake of Romeo and Juliet. However, whereas Luhrmann's film ultimately fails in going beyond the boundaries of its visually striking presentation, Almereyda's Hamlet proves to be far more than a mere spectacle for the senses. In fact, this is the serious flaw that plagues most of the films coming from young, talented independent filmmakers these days: all style, no substance. Well, this Hamlet has both. By setting the film deep in the heart of a very real and very modern steel and concrete American jungle like New York City, which is infused with the relics of the mass media and cold capitalistic consumerism, Almereyda powerfully enhances for the audience the sense of the desolation of his characters that results from urban isolation. This is a theme that Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai has so masterfully examined with his films Fallen Angels and Chungking Express. In Hamlet, we get a powerful dose of both Kar-Wai's visual flair and the sensitive, crumbling heart that it sheathes.

Rating:
Summary: "Murder, most foul!"
Review: I once had the honor of playing Hamlet's father in a college production of this play, so I can honestly say that I've seen it enough times and memorized enough lines to at least understand some Shakespear. I know this play well. This version is an interesting idea, at best. Instead of recieving letters, in this modern-day world they receive faxes. Some of the dialogue is over the telephone or on cam-corder. Great ideas, all. But it just doesn't flow as well as I had hoped it would. There are better versions of the play out there, my personal favorite being the Mel Gibson version. The Olivier and Branagh versions, to my mind, were a little pompous, as if to say, "Look at what great actors we are!" To his credit, Ethan Hawke is a more introverted Hamlet struggling with unnerving circumstances. He acquits himself with integrity, as do many others in this cast. But there was a strange casting choice in this particular version. Bill Murray plays the character of Polonius. For the most part, he is surprisingly good; but there are moments when it seems he just wants to laugh at the absurdity of the language. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Shakespear. My all-time favorite film version of any of his plays is easily Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V." Sometimes the ideas of changing the time and place of the play works, like "Richard III" starring Ian McKellan, where King Richard is a Nazi. That was a great idea! But other times, the ideas are not buoyant enough to hold the play afloat. This makes for an interesting rental, but I couldn't see owning it.

Rating:
Summary: A Noble Attempt
Review: Any time a director brings Shakespeare to the modern day, I am willing to watch. This helps show the audience that the issues covered by the Bard of Avon are still relevant today. In this take on the tragedy, you will see Denmark Corporation rather than the country of Denmark. All else is a close parallel.

Hawke does well as portraying the brooding Hamlet. Unfortunately, he does not really excel past the brooding. For a role of this type, I would like to see a bit more range. Likewise, I do not see any range in the characters of Ophelia or Laertes. Bill Murray, who I feel should be an ideal Polonius, appears puzzled in playing the role seriously or comically. Sam Shepard is great as the ghost of Hamlet's father.

The setting of a corporation rather than the country is a good change. This does make it difficult because the original wording is kept. Words such as "prince," "liege," and "queen" do not seem to fit the setting. This is hard to overcome. Related to the words, for some reason everyone seems to want to speak softly (for introspection). This does make the film hard to listen to. At times you will feel like you are watching a foreign film.

Not all scenes are present. There is no "dagger I see before me," or "Alas, poor Yorick." Some scenes are altered, but I am not sure why. For instance, the guards who see the ghost first in the play are not all guards in the movie. Theoretically, this shouldn't be a problem, but I could not tell what Horatio's job was. Why was he in the corporate building at midnight looking at the monitors?

I would watch this as a counter to the other versions of Hamlet. I would not recommend this as your only viewing of Hamlet.

Rating:
Summary: "You come most carefully upon your hour."
Review: This version is an interesting idea, at best. Instead of recieving letters, in this modern-day world they receive faxes. Some of the dialogue is over the telephone or on cam-corder. Great ideas, all. But it just doesn't flow as well as I had hoped it would. There are better versions of the play out there, my personal favorite being the Mel Gibson version, but the Keneth Branagh version is also superior. Ethan Hawke is the typically introverted Hamlet struggling with unnerving circumstances. He acquits himself with integrity, as do many others in this cast. But there was a strange casting choice in this particular version. Bill Murray plays the character of Polonius. For the most part, he is surprisingly good; but there are moments when it seems he just wants to laugh at the absurdity of the language. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Shakespear. (...)

Rating:
Summary: Something stinks in Denmark
Review: Shakespeare never could have imagined that his Hamlet would use a handgun to shoot Polonius, use a video camera to confirm the guilt of his uncle, and use a laptop computer to reverse instructions of his own death. Yes, this is a Hamlet for a new millenium. Ironically, the modern elements do not hinder the story, rather, remain as the few bright moments in thie film. Where this modern re-telling collapses is its casts inability to handle the language. With the exception of Kyle McLachlan as Hamlet's uncle, the cast is largely unable to make the language seem natural. Especially awkward is the young Julia Stiles as Ophelia. Ethan Hawke as Hamlet does a credible job with the language, but what he does with the words, he does not do with his physical performance. Much of this faults the director. Young Hamlet's "To be or not to be" is probably the most popular dramatic quote ever. In it Hamlet contemplates many things including his own suicide. But, in this version it is done as a voice over as Hamlet picks out some videos from Blockbuster Video. In short, Hamlet is now the ultimate slacker. The widescreen picture is at times, especially with the many product placements from Pepsi, American Airlines, Paine Webber and Blockbuster Video. Look up Branagh, Olivier or even Gibson instead.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible!
Review: No doubt that Shakespeare has rolled in his grave 'cause of this film. It sickens me to see the bastardization of another great piece of literature by Shakespeare (the other is the bastardization of Romeo And Juliet starring Claire Danes).
To see the real Hamlet that was Shakespeare's vision check out the version with Mel Gibson instead.

Rating:
Summary: One to Make You Think
Review: If you have not studied and understand Shakespeare's usage of words, then this movie will be a terrible long bore filled with words you would have trouble pronouncing, let alone understanding. You may have understood some of the plot had the setting and the dialouge not been so different. 14th century Denmark and 21st century New York are two completly different worlds, with different words. If you found it horrible confusing, study Shakespeare's language and then give this movie another look.

Now if you understand Shakespeare, but have not read the play, you could follow the plot, and identify with some of the characters. Hamlet was played a bit meloncholy, but it fit. If you truely like dramas, then you can agree with me that when he put the gun to his head and said "To be or not to be," it was moving, at least I thought it was. Ophelia's sudden maddness seemed, well, sudden, but again, my boyfriend never shot my father either. The poloroid pictures perfectly captured the drowning with flowers, and yet kept it contemporary. The final scene brought tears to my eyes. I felt so much empathy for Hamlet, and while I knew it was a tragedy, I was completly shocked when he died.

Overall, this was one of the better modern-day Shakespearean plays I have seen.

Rating:
Summary: What the heck just hit me?
Review: When I first began watching this movie it was a let down, I had been expecting so much more. I almost shut it off but my husband convinced me to keep watching and....I LOVED IT.
I am not much of a Julia Stiles fan but when she is lamenting over her father's death and casting polorids of flowers to the ground, I amost cried with her. Her performance there is worth owning the movie in my opinion. I recommend you get through the somewhat dull beginnig and see the masterpiece of the end.

Rating:
Summary: Play murdered by Hawke's untalented, one sided performance
Review: Okay. when this movie started, it was promising. The setting of New York year 2000, Denmark as Giant Corporation, Elsinore a hotel... but then, Ethan Hawke appeared, and it all went down hill. THIS MOVIE ISN'T SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET. It's some watered down ...version.
For anyone who has read and understood the play, Hamlet is a complicated character. He is clever, educated, and in many parts pf the play utterly hilarious. Hamlet is in some sense troubled, but he is not mad. He pretends to be; teasing Polonius, tricking Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, trying the patience of his mother and uncle. This is what makes him so memorable. BUT Hawke's performance loses this. His hamlet is forever moping, sullen and melancholy. He drones lines like 'My wits diseased' with the same monotone seen throughout the film, when this line is supposed to be sarcastic, mock-crazy. Hawke makes Hamlet into the stereotypical suicidal boring teen. Whether this is due to poor direction or the fact that Hawke doesn't get Shakespeare, I dont know. But it ruins the play. It ruins all the propects of a terrific movie. I mean the cast could have been great. But somehow, the idea flopped. My advice: stick to Mel Gibson and Kenneth Branagh, or better still, see a stage version. It will bemuch more rewarding.