Then it is no longer a swordfight, but a brawl in which Laertes is killed by falling off a two story balcony and the King is killed but a swinging chandelier (or was it a sword thrown from that balcony?) in the mean time, Fortinbras Norwegian forces are able to sneek up on the palace and capture the whole while overwhelming the meager guard. Not everything bigger is better- an example is the closing duel where Hamlet and Laertes remain on the carpet in conformity to the rules until Hamlet scores the second hit and Laertes breaks the rules in an obvious way (he had been cheating all along with the envenomed sword, recall). The shifting perspective, borrowed from Olivier's 1949 film, causes us viewers uncertainty and brings us into Hamlet's unbalanced world. The camera uses big vistas: we see Fortinbras' entire army on the snow-covered plain the Ghost leads Hamlet to an isolated heath where the sod opens in places to reveal fires of Purgatory to which the Ghost must return the palace (the Blenheim, whose duke appears in the film as English Ambassador)is spacious for most of the indoor shots, many of which have the camera circle the actors.
#Kenneth branaugh hamlet full movie movie
This version incorporates big names, from Charleton Heston (as the chief player), to Robin Williams (Osseric, the vain master of ceremonies for the final duel) the movie uses the entire script Shakespeare wrote (that's four and a half hours!). There may be better Hamlets on film, but there are none bigger, or grander than Kenneth Branagh's magnum opus.
#Kenneth branaugh hamlet full movie full
By restoring Shakespeare's tragedy to its full length, Branagh has created a film of striking size and scope. Shot in 70-millimeter film, Branagh's HAMLET takes on the epic sweep associated with the films of Cecil B. Branagh has assembled a stellar cast (including Kate Winslet, Billy Crystal, and Robin Williams) for this titanic enterprise, which presents HAMLET in its four hour entirety. The prince's course of action sets the wheels of this great tragedy in motion, as the corruption of the Danish court begins to engulf everyone around it, including, finally, Hamlet himself.
Late one night Hamlet is visited by his father's ghost, who comes to tell him that Claudius poisoned him in his garden to win the crown, and that Hamlet, as his son, must now avenge his death. His mother (Julie Christie) has quickly married Claudius (Derek Jacobi), Hamlet's uncle, who now reigns as the new king. This classic tale tells the story of Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh), the prince of Denmark, a man suffering from grief at the death of his father, the king. Director Kenneth Branagh returns to Shakespeare following his ground-breaking HENRY V and whimsical production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.