Hamlet

Rating:
Summary: Oof. Pretty bad, way too stylized
Review: Perhaps I was spoiled by Baz Luhrmann's excellent modern interpretation of "Romeo + Juliet," but I found it difficult to sit through the length of this version of "Hamlet." I grant you that "Hamlet" is a very difficult play to put to film; there is so much character depth, so many details to put into the story that a proper version would be far too long for most audiences. It's a big story designed for a big stage, and it doesn't lend itself well to film adaptation in my opinion.

Ethan Hawke is practically oozing angst throughout, which is pretty apropriate, but his mumbling about with his little video camera gets way too old way too fast. The direction is also way too stylized - too edgy, too frenetic; it tries to jazz up something that really can't be turned into a funky, hip-hop, fast-paced story.

Too much of the meat of the play gets left out, and too much of what's left in would be difficult to follow if the viewer didn't have a basic grasp of the storyline ahead of time. Also, and it pains me to say this, Bill Murray is horrible...he should have stayed away from the role of Polonius. Granted, Polonius should be played by someone who does foolishness well (and Murray has absolutely done so, elsewhere,) but there is a large difference between Shakespearian humor and modern humor. Murray, sadly, doesn't have the Shakespearian abilities required.

There are no special features on the DVD, which is unfortunate; perhaps some interviews with the director and screenplay writer would cast some light on some unclear areas.

I won't be viewing it again, even to try to better understand it; it's just not worth squirming through again.

Rating:
Summary: Lackluster and disjointed
Review: There are problems with this film. While "Hamlet" the play is arguably the greatest drama ever penned, it is here done in a curiously understated and often "un-dramatic" style -- what is served by this approach? And when Shakespeare is performed by manifestly non-Shakespearian-quality actors, it leaves quite a bit to be desired, notwithstanding the occasional flashes of excellence (except that Bill Murray's flashes were very rare).
The cuts in the play, and other liberties taken, result in something of a disjointed and disappointing production. Cutting edge scholarship, which does NOT interpret the "To be or not to be" speech in the vein of suicidal ideation, is not here represented (VERY disappointing).
A glaring understatement is the unfortunate decision to present Sam Shepard's "Ghost" as not at all ghostly! Hamlet's equivocation mostly is to be viewed as a result of his uncertainty regarding the shadowy Ghost's credibility (In the Middle Ages, if not now, ghosts were viewed as mere goblins, unpossessed of the decedent's actual spirit. Hamlet understandably fears that he is being diabolically duped into performing unjustifiable murder.)
The unrelenting "product placement" throughout the film is not only distracting but downright annoying. It is said that when actors are filmed smoking, that what we have is an ad for smoking -- but when Marlboro packs are seen sitting on the table, well, that's an ad for Marlboro. This creeping commercialization will continue until theatre audiences decide that their only remedy is to "boo" every time "Pepsi" or "Marlboro" logos appear!

Rating:
Summary: absolutely brilliant
Review: i cannot even begin to express how much i appreciated this movie. when i rented it, i watched it 3 times before reluctantly returning it to the video store. buying it was necessary, since it's rare that a movie moves me like this one did. hawke does hamlet such justice, and the pain he displays onscreen, is conveyed and experienced by the viewer. hamlet is shakespeare's most complicated character, and hawke does such a brilliant job, he to me, makes the most perfect hamlet. each scene is intricately composed, and contain superb acting. i could live without bill murray as polonius (since this really isn't a groundhog day part...), but all in all, it's a fantastic movie. the modernisation of hamlet needed care, and caution, but the director seemed to have no problem with it.

i can't speak for anyone else, except myself. and other people who have seen the movie, thought of it as mediocre. but, from my point of view, an incredible movie, which i love. truly brilliant.

Rating:
Summary: Not entirely good, but not entirely bad
Review: I approached this with high expectations. I thought that it would be a nice modernization of Hamlet. I was wrong. Now, there's nothing directly wrong with the modernization. In fact, it's quite a shame that the basic plot had to be killed and maimed so much, defying most any sane interpretation.

My yelling at the television started when Ophelia visited Hamlet. Before this, there had only been mumblings about Hawke's lack of emotion. I thought that this scene might redeem the picture. Nope. Now, I believe that it is fairly accepted that for Hamlet's treatment of Ophelia to be construed properly, it must be stipulated that he has overheard Cladius and Polonius conspiring against him. Furthermore, the stuff that he says is directed moreso at the King, who he knows is listening, than at poor Ophelia. Oh well. Did I miss the fact that Hamlet actually knew? Was his surprise at uncovering the bug false? Hrmm. Oh well.

All in all, the cutting of various things bothered me as well. Rosencratz and Guildenstern were almost useless. Polonius was signifigantly cut, so much so that when he dies it almost seems as though he is most completely a victim. Oh well. The guns, the guns. Cladius is also not shown as much as a manipulator as he should be. As to why Hamlet does not kill him in the Limo, I haven't the faintest idea. All in all, the poorest Hamlet adaptation I've ever seen. I eagerly await a DVD of Branaugh's version. Yay.

Rating:
Summary: Style Over Substance
Review: The concept was good: update 'Hamlet' for all those gen-x'ers out there to make it more accessible. The execution, however, leaves out great scenes (like the gravedigger's), and muddies the dialogue through the first third of the film (how high should I have to turn up the volume to hear Hawke?). I loved the style -- modern city, high tech gadgets, and slick music; however, if I hadn't known the story going in, I would have been completely lost. Liev Schrieber is excellent as Laertes, and Kyle MacLachlan and Diane Venora are good as Claudius and Gertrude (although Venora is short-changed in screen time); Bill Murray is wasted as Polonius, and Julia Stiles has some good moments (but not great) as Ophelia. Ethan Hawke doesn't seem to know how to play the lead: rebellious or moody? At some points, such as the beginning of the film and at the end, there's a great character trying to get out, but unfortunately, it can't. A much better version of the play is Kevin Kline's (where Venora played Ophelia).

Rating:
Summary: Among the worst ever!
Review: This is the worst performance I have so far seen of Hamlet, my favorite of Shakespeare's plays. Compared to the sterling quality of the Kenneth Brannagh production, which breathes brilliant life into the characters, this effort is like a stinking wind off the East River. Not recommended!!!

Rating:
Summary: And it had so much potential...
Review: Contrary to the Amazon review, this rendition of Hamlet was quite disappointing. Hats off to Ethan Hawke for great acting. My compliments end there. Bill Murray was awkward. Someone just needed to steal that hat Ethan Hawke wouldn't take off. Apparently the makers of this movie were overbudget...this assumption stemming from the blantant advertizing throughout. Does every video in a blockbuster store have to have the logo on it? Do we have to have the pop machine as the focal point instead of the actors? Subliminal messages seem far less obtrusive.

Rating:
Summary: Awful- with one priceless moment
Review: My only real comment on this horrific version of Hamlet is the what this production does to Hamlet's soliliquy.

One of the most celebrated scenes in the world's cultural history takes place- in a 7-11/Gas-N-Sip with Ethan Hawke wearing one of those grunge rock Peruvian wool caps with earflaps and tiedowns walking through aisles of fruitloops, Slim-Jims and cokes! A priceless moment of unintended comedy.

Horrible rendition of Hamlet though.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, modern version
Review: This modern version of Hamlet in a contemporary setting is wonderful. I loved everything about this movie. Yes, I have read the play and have seen other versions in film, but I heartily recommend this as a SUPPLEMENT to your Shakespeare studies/obsessions!

Rating:
Summary: Mumbo-Jumbo
Review: This potentially intriguing attempt to rethink "Hamlet" as a contemporary play must be admired for its courage and boldness in fearlessly hacking away any vestiges of Elizabethan mores or customs by depicting the story in the present day. In an intrepid endeavor to make the tale more accessible to his audience, director Michael Almereyda sacrifices many of the more familiar passages in the text, making this "Hamlet" much more of an adaptation than any previous attempt to film the play.

In some cases, the experiment really works. Hamlet is depicted as an amateur filmmaker who attempts to snare Claudius with a homemade short subject of "The Mousetrap." While this means sacrificing the speech to the players, it forces the viewer to accept Almereyda on his own terms. And if Laurence Olivier could do without Rosencranzt and Guildenstern in his film, Almereyda can do without the gravediggers and "Alas, Poor Yorick." But ultimately Almereyda is confronted with the grim reality that he is trying to cram a colossus into garment in which it would never fit: the duel in Act V is a fiasco, with Laertes inexplicably pulling out an automatic pistol and blowing everyone away in a bloody melee. It is a scene more fit for Peckinpaugh that Shakespeare, and turns everything that precedes it into a mockery.

Almereyda's raping of the text results in numerous casualties amongst the cast. Julia Stiles' Ophelia comes off the best, investing the character with such a touching vulnerability that I would rank it as the most moving depiction of that character that I have seen on film. Less fortunate are Bill Murray as Polonius and Kyle MacLachlan as Claudius, whose interesting performances might have been extraordinary if their roles had not been cut to the bone. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Sam Shepard's Ghost lacks any impact at all and can only be dismissed as inadequate.

But what truly sinks the film is the appallingly amateurish performance of Ethan Hawke in the title role. Hawke sleepwalks through the film, [pulling] the life out of every scene in which he appears and forcing the audience to wonder what possessed Almereyda to cast this no-talent in the role in the first place. Hawke is only saved the distinction of giving the worst Shakespearean performance in the history of film by virtue of the fact that Keanu Reeves' embarrassing turn as Don Pedro in "Much Ado About Nothing" was committed to celluloid.

This film is an intriguing "Might Have Been," but Almereyda and Company do themselves in when Hawke's Dane is going through film clips in his home studio and at one point screen a five-second clip of John Gielgud performing the "Alas, Poor Yorick" speech. In that blink of an eye, an astounding reminder of what the play might be in more capable hands makes Almereyda's "concept" appear as the mere mumbo-jumbo that it is.