Top 25 Stars (male) – No. 14 (Laurence Olivier)
Top 100 British Films – No. 69
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The play's the thing."Hamlet belongs into the theater," says Mel Gibson, the star of the tragedy's 1990 adaptation by Franco Zeffirelli, in an interview on that movie's DVD. And while primarily expressing regret over his own lacking opportunity to explore the role's complexities by nightly slipping into the prince's skin on stage, he also has a point regarding any screen adaptation's validity: the many facets of Hamlet's character have, after all, been debated by literature's greatest minds since the Bard's very own time. For that reason, too, any newcomer is well-advised to first read the play – not see it on stage, nor watch any of the myriad movie versions – but keep an open mind and let the Bard's words speak for themselves. All these centuries later, Shakespeare alone still remains the one true authority on Hamlet's character; and while reading, too, necessarily creates an interpretation in the reader's mind that others may or may not agree with (as does any staging of the complete tragedy), the interpretative element is enhanced even more if this complex play is reduced to somewhat over half its length to comply with cinematic necessities. Nothing proves this better than Sir Laurence Olivier's 1948 movie, which won him Best Director and Best Actor Academy Awards, in addition to the film's Best Costume Design and Best Set Decoration honors.
Without question, in his day Olivier was considered the quintessential Hamlet; the actor who owned the role like none before and few, if any, afterwards; not least because of this movie and his participation in the 1937 Helsingør (= Elsinore) staging. Olivier's approach follows the still-predominant understanding of Hamlet as a wavering man, a man "who cannot make up his mind," as he says in the movie's prologue, which borrows from the passage "so oft it chances in particular men that, for some vicious mole of nature in them ... they ... carrying ... the stamp of one defect, ... their virtues else, – be they as pure as grace ... shall in the general censure take corruption from that particular fault," from Hamlet's monologue preceding the encounter with his father's ghost (here: an uncredited Sir John Gielgud). Olivier's prince is weary, subdued: but for confrontations like those with Ophelia ("get thee to a nunnery"), with Gertrude after the play designed to "catch the conscience of the king," and with Laertes over Ophelia's grave, he speaks softly; and unlike other interpretations of the tragedy's single most famous soliloquy, even "to be or not to be" – although dramatically set on a parapet above the ocean's raging waves – already begins half-defeated and emphasizes the reluctant suicide over the reluctant avenger. Yet, while this works well within this film's context, perhaps just because the medium also invites interpretation by cutting and rearranging scenes, it seems somewhat ill-matched with Hamlet's later violent curses of his own inaction and renewed vows of revenge ("O, vengeance! This is most brave ..." and "From this time forth, my thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth"); passages essentially omitted here. A torn man he is certainly, but I think with room for a broader range and more forcefully expressed emotions than Olivier allows himself – I'd have liked to see how his approach worked in the full play's theatrical productions. (It also feeds into the Freudian concept of Hamlet's and Gertrude's relationship, and the idea of more than friendship between him and Horatio: equally aspects I don't find firmly anchored in the play.) But there we are: interpretation is the key to it all!
Equally without question, from today's perspective Olivier's Hamlet – a splendid portrayal, whether or not one agrees with the interpretative approach – stands out vis-à-vis the remaining cast's performances even more compellingly than it must have to its original audience; and some today might disagree with a September 30, 1948 New York Times review praising the "beautiful acting and inspired interpretations all the way." Sir Laurence's costars were near-uniformly well-established actors of their time: Basil Sydney (Claudius) a theatrical leading man and matinee idol since before 1920, also with a prolific – though less illustrious – film career, Eileen Herlie (Gertrude) celebrated, inter alia, for stage appearances in "Rebecca" and "Medea," Felix Aylmer (Polonius) a noted Shaw interpreter with (even then) 30 years' stage and almost two-thirds that in screen experience, and Norman Wooland (Horatio) a Stratford-on-Avon regular since the 1930s. Yet, even method acting aside, none of them inhabit their roles in the more complete, natural(istic) way modern audiences have come to expect; rather, the era's stilted stage performances are in evidence, and although then-19-year-old Jean Simmons garnered an Oscar nomination for her Ophelia, her achievement is neither her own career's greatest nor the best-informed portrayal of the maid. (Why Terence Morgan – Laertes – received fan mail for this, his first movie, also escapes me.) I sometimes wonder what might have been gained by cutting speeches down to more succinct dialogue; although behind the scenes this might well have created a feeling that "[e]verybody had a part either too long or too short" (Austen, "Mansfield Park"), thus ultimately doing more harm than good, even if it had made room for Hamlet's ambiguous school-fellows Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who I think add depth and texture to the play and to those screen versions preserving them; although Olivier's decision to excise them entirely was certainly gutsy. (The same is true for Fortinbras, but there dramatic dynamics do provide more obvious grounds for the character's elimination in a screen adaptation.)
Both costume design and set decoration, lastly, were unquestionably worthy Oscar winners; and while one may debate some cinematographic choices (e.g. the famous pull-back from Claudius's and Laertes's conspiracy), generally the camerawork enhances the movie's richly-layered, darkly-atmospheric setting. Thus, it all comes down to that central question: to cut or not to cut – and if so, what? The first part may not have offered any alternative; it took, after all, until 1996 for Kenneth Branagh to show that Hamlet can be done completely and successfully as a movie. As for the second part ... de gustibus non est disputandum. So, yes, a milestone in Olivier's career and Shakesperean history certainly; however, these days at least, simply no longer the sole definitive interpretation of "Hamlet" in existence.
"Hamlet" (1948) at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
Laurence Olivier's official website
Themis-Athena's select John Gielgud filmography and audiography
Since brevity is the soul of wit ...I will be brief; though whether witty, too,
As this production is – why, I know not.
For 'tis not a trifle thing to take a play
Like Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and cut its length
Almost in half, without thus giving up
Half of its meaning. Yet, Signor
Franco Zeffirelli: even he,
Who aught already did for "Romeo
And Juliet," hath made his mark
Again here in most splendid fashion.
The Prince of Denmark's been portrayed
By Thespian royalty near and far,
First among these the great Sir Laurence.
Yet here now comes Mel Gibson: a most
Unusual choice, 'tis true; and better
Known for other roles. But although
Action star and ladies' favourite,
This venture made him humble; justly so:
"The play's the thing," he says as Hamlet,
And as himself, he adds: "Hamlet belongs
On stage." And he deplores that merely
One of his enactments of each scene
Should be preserved on film forever,
And that he never had the chance
To delve into the role anew from
Night to night. – Fear not, good Sir: I think
You did great honour to the Bard's intent;
Well understood unhappy Hamlet's
Scorn, his rage, his doubts, his terrible
Paralysis, all his tormented soul.
I also do agree that although
Ten years older than the prince when you
Took on the part, those extra years
Provided further insight of the kind
That's needed for this complex role.
Hadst but maintained you this same sense
Of Hamlet's gravitas until the end,
Of my full'st praise you wouldst have been assured.
Alas, the levity that you let creep
Into the final duel with Laertes
In my view ill becomes that scene, and
Although Hamlet on its eve hath had
A premonition of his death;
Hath spoke of providence and sparrows,
And looking at the sunset sighed, I doubt
That when he meets Ophelia's brother,
He's so far gone beyond all caring
That he'd make light of their encounter.
("The rest is silence," too, would have
Impressed me more without the lisp.)
But let that go. For I do
Join you in applauding those who
With you hearkened the appeal
Of Signor Zeffirelli; and who
Most heartily deserve to share
This feature's laurels. Princes of
British theatre: the late, great
Alan Bates – usurper Claudius –
All ruthless power, cunning, even
Carnal, brushing away his pangs of guilt;
Yet, reck'ning he doth not escape.
Paul Scofield, next, th' ill-fated ghost;
Not bearing arms, as Shakespeare wrote,
But verily a perturbed spirit,
As Hamlet calls him, in his pain.
And Ian Holm as counsellor
Polonius: not ponderous, nor
Slow of tongue and eye but quick, and yet
Slain by the prince, in Claudius's place.
They all have stood on stage a thousand times,
And brought to life the Bard's great plays,
So well doth it behove one new,
As Master Gibson is, to Shakespeare's world
To credit them for lessons learned;
And not just for their acting.
Also permit me, pray, to speak about
The ladies in this male-dictated play:
Glenn Close's Gertrude, youthful queen
Who gives the lie to Hamlet's chide
And his unmerciful reminder
Of her flesh's humbleness, and of her
Age. A bit too Freudian, perchance,
Her and her son's relationship
(That's an approach I've never liked).
But a commanding presence, all be told.
Yet, even more praiseworthy is Miss
Hel'na Bonham-Carter; her
Ophelia well-neigh impossible
To replicate, she's that convincing.
Now rose in bloom, in love; now in distress,
Now finally in lunacy; she wails,
Her hair is tangled, clothes in rags,
Prophetic words she speaks disguised as
Songs and flower talk, before she drowns
And thus propels this drama's end.
What else? Oh ay, of course: Kudos must
Also go to David Watkin,
In charge of camera, and Signors
Ennio Morricone and Feretti
– By first name Dante – for this film's score
And the design of its production.
Faithful reporting, too, would be amiss
Without a word on Hamlet's foils:
Horatio, his school fellow,
In Stephen Dillane's able hands, as is
Laertes in Nathaniel Parker's;
And Trevor Peacock as the gravedigger,
Spot-on: a diamond in the rough.
As player king, moreover, have a
Look out for Pete Postlethwaite;
And unlike the movie by Olivier
This one includes both Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern – Michael Maloney and
Sean Murray. Fortinbras, though, you'll
Search in vain in this production, too.
The words, of course, are those of Shakespeare,
Though moved around a bit, but not in
Ways that by and large, methinks, the Bard
Would take exception to. Save, that is,
"Get thee to a nunnery," which doth
Assume a diff'rent connotation here:
A kinder, gentler Hamlet, who still
Contrives to show some care about Ophelia.
(But would he really? Nay, I think not.)
"To be or not to be" not in the
Courtyard but the crypt, however,
That is amazingly intense: both
The performance and the imagery.
As generally Zeffirelli
In troth well uses film's ability
To convey meaning visually, as
In the burial of Hamlet Senior,
The prince's wordless visit to
Ophelia, and in the punishment
Of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
But let me close now. Brief I would be,
That was my promise – well, there goes that.
Such is reviewing! Yet, what I wish,
In faith, dear reader, thou hadst found
Within these lines is that I recommend
This film. So go and watch it – presently!
"Hamlet" (1990) at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
Themis-Athena's select Mel Gibson filmography
Themis-Athena's select Alan Bates audio- and filmography
... will be posted upon the 2006 release of the movie's DVD edition.
(Err, so how about an advance copy, Sir Ken? Naw ... I didn't really think so ...)
"Hamlet" (1996) at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
Themis-Athena's select Kenneth Branagh filmo- and audiography
Kenneth Branagh's Renaissance Films
Themis-Athena's select Derek Jacobi filmography and audiography
Themis-Athena's select John Gielgud filmography and audiography
Themis-Athena's William Shakespeare page
Themis-Athena's "The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare (BBC)" page
Themis-Athena's "Henry V" movie page
Themis-Athena's "King Lear" movie page
Themis-Athena's "Much Ado About Nothing" movie page
Themis-Athena's "Richard III" movie page
Themis-Athena's select annotated Shakespeare filmography
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