Perfect Production!
Added 10/24/2009
Really this is an amazing version of Hamlet. Someone told me it was boring because it was full text, but I do not agree. When I watched it I was enraptured the entire time. I really loved it. I showed it to my high school senior English class and they loved it too. I recommend this version for school use. Kevin Branagh is amazing! Perfectly casted, amazing set!
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Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet
Added 10/2/2009
I recently used this video with my senior students. I teach in a low economic area of Los Angeles. The students responded well to it and were able to follow the plot except for the one section where the troupe of actors comes to perform at Elsinore. This whole section is a giant actor-manager-playwright in-joke that Shakespeare inserted but which my students were mystified by. Additionally, I had to explain to them that Hamlet is requesting the players to alter the play to look more like the scene of his father's murder.
The costume and staging of the play are subdued and not distracting. The acting...that is the movement of the characters and their facial expressions are well done enough that my students could interpret emotions even without understanding the words.
There are some surprise cameos: Robin Williams, Charleton Heston, etc.
Overall, Branagh has done a great job with the staging of this play and it works well with students.
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Hamlet - Kenneth Branagh H
Added 10/1/2009
This is the Shakespeare everyone should be introduced to. Branagh is faithful, understandable and musical in his delivery. This sacrifices nothing, but tells the gut-wrenching tragedy so every viewer experiences the sorrow and the frustration. The surround-sound of the DVD makes the ghost scenes beyond errie as Hamlet Sr.'s voice washes around the room. He sounds like he is in front of you, then beside, then behind all within one word. Geilgud is good in his version, but he allowed the art to eclipse the story. Branagh has found the balance.
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Awe inspiring
Added 9/14/2009
What a magnificent movie! Reviewer Dennis Littrell already covered almost everything, but I wanted to add my vote of 5 stars to the count. There are other movies that deserve 5 stars on a 5-star scale, but very few like this Hamlet that deserve 100 on a 100-star scale. To differ with Littrell a mite in detail, I think Heston was so perfect as the Actor I wouldn't consider his switching roles with Gielgud, and Branagh's presence/stature amply filled the role of Hamlet. Bravo, Branagh, on direction and portrayal.
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I love Kenneth Branagh Shakespeare- and this is no exception. Beautifully acted and produced, this is faithful to the play, whilst still allowing some modern interpretation. Unlike many other Shakespeare productions, you can understand what the characters are feeling and saying, even if you don't fully understand the literal meaning of every word, because the emotion and personality are brought forward through excellent acting. So often with Shakespeare you get the impression that the actors are just saying the words- that even they don't understand what they are saying. Not so here.
A fantastic watch- break it up into acts, four hours is long- and let the language just wash over you.
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