Rent Hamlet (1948)
3.8 of 5 from 88 ratings
2h 33min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Laurence Oliver delivers one of his greatest Shakespearean performances as Hamlet. Seldom has the tragic story of the Danish prince tortured by his duty to his murdered father and by the guilt and fear he feels at the prospect of revenge, been so brilliantly portrayed. It is the tragedy of a man who thinks but fails to act. For as long as Shakespeare is performed this film will stand as a definitive production.
- Actors:
- Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, John Laurie, Esmond Knight, Anthony Quayle, Niall MacGinnis, Harcourt Williams, Patrick Troughton, Tony Tarver, Peter Cushing, Stanley Holloway, Russell Thorndike, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Norman Wooland, Felix Aylmer
- Directors:
- Laurence Olivier
- Producers:
- Laurence Olivier
- Writers:
- William Shakespeare, Laurence Olivier
- Others:
- William Walton, Carmen Dillon, Roger K. Furse, Desmond Dickinson
- Studio:
- Carlton Video
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch if You Like All Is True, A Few More Screen Princes, Acting Up: British Actors at the Oscars, Acting Up: British Actresses at the Oscars, Getting to Know: Kenneth Branagh, Hitchcock in the 1940s, Instant Expert's Guide to John Huston, Introducing a British Film Family, Ireland At the Oscars, Lions on the Lido, Oscar Nominations Competition 2024, Oscar's Two-Time Club, Oscars: Winners & Losers, Remembering Raquel Welch, The Best Films Based On Shakespeare, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 1, The Instant Expert's Guide to Sidney Lumet, Top 10 Best Picture Follow-Ups, Top 10 British Actresses of the 1940s, Top 10 Films By Year, Top 10 Films of 1948, Top 10 Films Set in Venice, Top 100 BFI Films
- Awards:
1949 Oscar Best Art Direction Black and White
1949 Oscar Best Costume Design Black and White
1948 Venice Film Festival Best Actress
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 19/10/2009
- Run Time:
- 153 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Trailer
- Stills Galleries
- Promotional Material
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Reviews (1) of Hamlet
Shakespeare Noir. - Hamlet review by Steve
Olivier cut the great play down (it's still 150 minutes!), particularly the (edgy, paranoid) comedy and left us with a film about identity as we journey deeper into the prince's state of anxiety and insecurity. It is in deep focus black and white and set in an Elsinore of yawning shadows and expressionist perspectives. It's basically Shakespeare-noir. The film is all about Olivier, and though there is a fine cast, his performance mostly eclipses them. And though Larry was too old (at 41, his mother was played by Eileen Herlie who was 30) it's still a brilliant portrayal and the film is my choice for the best of the Bard on screen. And it won the best film Oscar, which I think still makes it the only wholly British produced film to do so.
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