Movie Review: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Hamlet is mourning the loss of his father and enraged by the sudden marriage of his mother to his uncle. Hamlet is haunted by his father’s ghost who instructs him to seek revenge for his death. Hamlet plots to discover his father’s murderer. The normally introspective Hamlet’s unusual behavior convinces others he has gone mad. Madness, infidelity and murder ensue.

Shakespeare’s play has been recreated a number of times on the screen. I have studied Shakespeare and worked on scenes from his plays. I sat through three shows of the full production of Hamlet (and a fine production I might add) during my theater school days, and I’ve seen a number of versions on film. This is the definitive Hamlet, due primarily to the brilliant performance by Sir Derek Jacobi. His Hamlet is a revelation, it is a richly layered, fearless portrayal that reaches your soul and drags you along with Hamlet through his perilious journey. If you want to engage in the language and drama of Shakespeare’s work, Jacobi’s performance will take you there.

The cast is uniformly excellent, with standout peformances by Patrick Stewart as Claudius and Claire Bloom as Gertrude. The sparse sets are closer to a theatrical production style allowing viewers focus on the supreme acting instead.

For Shakespeare fans: if you have not seen the 1974 television version of Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival production of King Lear starring brilliant performances by James Earl Jones as Lear and Raul Julia as Edmund, do yourself a favor and rent it.

TV 1980. Directed by Rodney Bennett. Starring Derek Jacobi, Patrick Stewart, Claire Bloom, Eric Porter, Lalla Ward, David Robb and Patrick Allen.

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