Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.
- Won 4 Oscars
- 16 wins & 6 nominations total
- Undetermined Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- William Shakespeare
- Laurence Olivier(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Best Picture Winners by Year
Best Picture Winners by Year
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen the movie was released, Sir Laurence Olivier said it had been filmed in black and white for artistic reasons. The true reason, as he later admitted, was that "I was in the middle of a furious row with Technicolor".
- GoofsA clock is heard chiming the half-hour in Westminster chimes. If chiming clocks were invented at the time of the action they wouldn't sound the Westminster chimes which date only - as the name suggests - from the installation of the Big Ben clock in 1859.
- Quotes
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue:
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.
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Une vague nouvelle (1999)
One or two things to note - the camera angles and shots are often stunning, from above, using angles and shadows, extreme close-ups, and so on. This gives the sometimes ponderous adaptation atmosphere and the black and white photography is gorgeous. Amongst the supporting cast Jean Simmons is a childish, doting Ophelia but this works well. Not working so well are the soliloquies largely within Hamlet's head (and therefore, voiceover). This seems a little gimmicky and only really makes sense with 'To be or not to be'.
That aside, this really is Larry's show and he is brilliant. Despite a few cuts it does the original play proud and is, like Welles' Macbeth and Othello, a truly cinematic reading.
- didi-5
- Aug 16, 2003
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Гамлет
- Filming locations
- D&P Studios, Denham, Uxbridge, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(studio: made at D&P Studios)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £500,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 34 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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