Gary Oldman must have been busy. He’d have made it glorious. Anyone other than Keanu would have made it at least slightly better - he just sticks out like a sore thumb.
Ah, but do you think any other *director *would have made Keanu *better in the role? That was, after all, my original contention, that Branagh pulls admirable performances out of the most unlikely actors.
*At that point in his career, I hasten to caveat. Scuttlebutt has it that Keanu himself was alerted to the level of his suckitude in that role, and enrolled in acting classes shortly thereafter. Most accounts are that he improved after that.
Another fan of the Gibson version (Zefferelli version).
I especially loved Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia.
She just broke my heart.
No, I agree - I don’t think anyone else would have been able to sand the wood any smoother.
From memory, no cite sorry, he casts them because they don’t have many of of the hang ups that British actors carry over from the stage.
I’m a big fan of the Branagh version, but I’d disagree with out on most of the performances (Except of course Lemmon, who recites his lines like someone who’s only just being introduced to the concept of Iambic Pentametre, and is stuck in the mode of counting out the stresses.) William’s Osric is silly, but as the final bit of comic relief before the finale, he’s supposed to be. That the character is a nervous twit works because, well, he is in close proximity with someone who’s killed three people.
I’d gladly donate one or two pieces of my anatomy to see the entirely of Hamlet as performed by the cast of Rosencrantz And Gildenstern Are Dead.
Speaking of Jacobi - This is my favorite Hamlet with Jacobi as the Prince. It appeared on PBS in the '80s as part of their program to stage and televise all the Shakespeare plays. It is now available as part of a set. There are a number of sets; Romances, Histories, Comedies, which are horribly expensive unless you can find them at Costco as I did.
Ooooooh! With Patrick Stewart and Claire Bloom! Want!
Did you find them at Costco recently? she asked, fondling her membership card greedily.
The Royal Shakespeare Company are doing Hamlet next year with David Tennant as Prince H and Patrick Stewart as Claudius. Those tickets will go in seconds.
WhyNot, your review of Branagh’s Hamlet is spot on, even down to Jack Lemmon’s oddly lackluster performance.
Ok, my mouth is now watering. I think this just jumped to the top of my “DVDs to Buy” list.
Seconded. Iain Glen’s Bard is so good, you’re dying for a chance to watch him do the whole thing.
I still think Olivier’s version is the most satisfying filmic treatment. Not perfect by any stretch, but Branagh is mostly wrong in the title role (though there are some standout supporting performances, particularly Winslet and the remarkable Heston) in a film that is also in dire need of pruning (just because you can do the whole thing doesn’t necessarily mean you always should).
I must correct myself. It was a BBC production, later broadcast on PBS.
About a year ago, I think. However, I don’t think that there is a lot of rhyme or reason to when things get stocked or where.
You can find it here. Watch out for sticker shock.
I want to see the Muppet version, with Kermit as Hamlet, Miss Piggy as Ophelia, Statler and Waldorf both as Polonius (Hey, they both played Marley), and with his old puppet Yorick making a Guest Appearance as Yorick.
The show-stopper is his soliloquy, done to music: “It’s not easy Being”
Really misremembering today. Make that “Tragedies, Histories, Comedies.”
You are clearly a person of exquisite discernment! May I humbly suggest that S&W play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? I think WS wrote Polonius with Sam the American Eagle specifically in mind.
The Players: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
Horatio: Gonzo
Ghost: Uncle Deadly
Laertes: ought to be Link, but I prefer Sweetums
Thanks for the background. Still, I got that involuntary uncomfortable feeling the English were snickering at the Americans. But I guarantee the room got quiet when Charleton Heston spoke.
It occurs to me Heston gives no inkling, in the Player King’s preliminary back-and-forth with Hamlet as Hamlet is giving directions how he wants the ‘play within the play’ to be acted, of the power he is about to unleash. He responds very prosaically and acquiescingly to each of Hamlet’s suggestions, one by one. Jack Lemmon could have done as well.
But Branagh knew what was coming. One evidence is the crucial role of the play within the play in Branagh’s Hamlet. Many productions reduce the visiting troupe of actors to walk-ons.
I came in to mention this version. According to a sweet little story told on the (finally!) released DVD of the Branaugh version, it was a stage performance of Jacobi’s Hamlet that made Branaugh decide to be an actor.
I also have to recommend the Branaugh version for Nicholas Farrell’s Horatio. I can’t recall ever really noticing who played Horatio in any other production of Hamlet I’ve seen, film or stage–he’s just that guy who Hamlet talks to while he’s holding poor Yorrick’s skull–but Farrell gives a very natural and touching performance that has stood out for me since the first time I saw it.
Here is the anecdote, told by Derek Jacobi on a PBS Home Video, “Discovering Hamlet” (1990, Unicorn Projects):
And season 3 is King Lear and also just amazing. Although all three seasons make me regret not having seen much live Shakespeare.
Lalla Ward as Ophelia did the trick for me. Those BBC versions were standard fare when I did Shakespeare at Uni, and I still want to get the set.
The Othello with Bob Hoskins as Iago is … chilling.
We went to see Twelfth Night performed live in the Close at Winchester Cathedral recently. The cast were dressed as a 20s Jazz band (sharp suits), and carried/played instruments the whole time. Sharp, sexy and a whole lot of fun.
Si