Hamlet (1948)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Laurence Olivier

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Release Date:

12 August 1948 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

William Shakespeare's tale of tragedy of murder and revenge in the royal halls of medieval Denmark. Claudius...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Revenge | Ghost | Tragedy | Play

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Laurence Olivier	...	Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Jean Simmons	...	Ophelia, Polonius's Daughter
Eileen Herlie	...	Gertrude, The Queen
Basil Sydney	...	Claudius, The King
Norman Wooland	...	Horatio, his friend
Felix Aylmer	...	Polonius, Lord Chamberlain
Terence Morgan	...	Laertes, Polonius's Son
Anthony Quayle	...	Marcellus
Esmond Knight	...	Bernardo
John Laurie	...	Francisco
Niall MacGinnis	...	Sea Captain
Harcourt Williams	...	First Player
Patrick Troughton	...	Player King
Tony Tarver	...	Player Queen
Peter Cushing	...	Osric

Runtime:

155 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12473) | UK:U | South Korea:12 (2002) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Two Cities Films

Trivia:

The first film to win both the Academy Award for best picture and the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Award for best picture.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: So oft it chances in particular men / That through some vicious mole of nature in them, / By the o'ergrowth of some complexion / Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason, / Or by some habit grown too much; that these men - / Carrying, I say, 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... This is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Chick Flick: The Miracle Mike Story (2003)

It Won!!!

The writings of William Shakespheare are always accredited as being the greatest literary works in the history of western civilization. The film, "Hamlet", won the academy award for best picture in 1948; suffice it to say, that an accolade such as this merely scratches the surface on the brilliance of this Shakesphearian production!! So many famous quotes of Shakespheare's are from "Hamlet" "Sweets to the sweet" "The dog will have his day" "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark" "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" "Get thee to a nunnery" "Sometimes Sister" these are some famous quotes from "Hamlet". There are also renowned soliloquies "Too too this flesh shall melt-" and of course "To be or not to be-", as well as many other quotes and speeches etc, I have just rattled off a few!! When an actor or actress takes on a Shakesphearian endeavor, it becomes an acutely sensitizing challenge for them which represents an artistic epitome in their careers!! Shakespheare evokes an absolute height in human creativity, and the succinct polarization of both genders in "Hamlet" establishes a necessary storyline cohesiveness which is pertinent to all of the main characters in the movie. While a film like "Hamlet" is viewed as lofty in it's disposition, the actuality of Shakespheare's work is that more often than not, the esoteric philosophies which are so eloquently manifested from the romanticist characters are usually vitiated with an emphatic desperation!! These philosophies are preempted by the visceral components of perseverance. Shakespheare has always had a penchant for his characters to be provoked into agitated responses. "Hamlet" is an example of such emotions, "King Lear" and "Merchant of Venice" are also such examples of these intense displays of rancor!! I have seen this version "Hamlet" many times. Sir Lawrence Olivier does a remarkable job at directing this film (He also plays the role of Hamlet). Olivier won for best actor in 1948 with this role!! Olivier is a Shakesphearian aficionado who has the ability to carry off a successfully cunning articulation of "Hamlet" by astutely depicting it's fatalistic irony!! The solemn imagery in "Hamlet" is extremely poignant!! Shakespheare had such a profound prescience with human emotions that he has manufactured an eternal impact on man's conception of what intellectually spellbinding literature should be!! I do like the 1948 performance better than the 1996 version with Glen Close and Mel Gibson,the gripping enmity in the 1948 movie seemed more believable!! The fact that "Hamlet" won for best picture in 1948 is a very insignificant modicum of this movie's formidable allure!! Such an embodiment of pejorative candor which is illustrated in "Hamlet" became an enticing attribute to the film that the movie viewer could easily appreciate!! The myriad of belligerent proclivities demonstrated by the part of Hamlet encompasses a mindset which nurtured an extremely tumultuous cerebral unrest!! This is the principle reason that Olivier's rendition of "Hamlet" is so incredibly stunning!!The cinematography is sensational in this film, and the acting from virtually everyone with this presentation of "Hamlet" is paramount!! See this film!! It will elevate your intellectual awareness of Shakespheare, and hopefully, it will also enlighten your perspective of this great masterful work of Shakespheare's which became an academy award winning major motion picture!!