The internet has made digging up real information virtually impossible. When it first appeared, I remember that many people believed that all our library books would be scanned onto microchip (and then quietly destroyed as no longer necessary).
Well, a lot of them have been destroyed, but unfortunately somebody forgot to scan them first.
Hamlet has been a fascinating subject for female actors since the beginning of film itself (Sarah Benhardt is apparently the first to have the play recorded on film). Sometime before the second World War, a female actress in England decided to make a complete film of the (then) accepted authoritative copy of the whole of Shakespeare's play. The film ran some 5 hours.
I have searched and searched for information about this woman and her film, and have come up with naught. I mention this at all because Branagh earned a reputation for his version of Hamlet even before the film's release with his promise of the "complete version of the whole play" (according to currently accepted authoritative texts).
Well, as it turns out, having a complete version of a play doesn't actually mean one has a good performance of it.
Branagh clearly wants us to forget the Olivier version - but unfortunately makes all of Olivier's mistakes without any of Olivier's delicious Gothicism (which is really what makes the Olivier play special). So Branagh is loud, ego-centric, pretentious, neurotic - all the worst aspects of Olivier's Hamlet - but never brooding, mysterious, or ethereal - many of Olivier's best qualities. Olivier's Hamlet appears to be visiting from another world - and none too happy about his short stay in Denmark. Branagh's Hamlet is visiting a Kenneth Branagh film festival, and got lost at the wine-and-cheese buffet.
Understand that I really admire Branagh's previous Shakespeare efforts, and believe him to be an excellent actor. But Mary Shelley's Frankenstein showed us a side of Branagh - loud and egotistical - that we didn't really need, and then he pours that all into this film - which unfortunately we have to suffer with for four whole hours, if we choose.
Will some internet computer wiz please remember not to preserve this film?
Well, a lot of them have been destroyed, but unfortunately somebody forgot to scan them first.
Hamlet has been a fascinating subject for female actors since the beginning of film itself (Sarah Benhardt is apparently the first to have the play recorded on film). Sometime before the second World War, a female actress in England decided to make a complete film of the (then) accepted authoritative copy of the whole of Shakespeare's play. The film ran some 5 hours.
I have searched and searched for information about this woman and her film, and have come up with naught. I mention this at all because Branagh earned a reputation for his version of Hamlet even before the film's release with his promise of the "complete version of the whole play" (according to currently accepted authoritative texts).
Well, as it turns out, having a complete version of a play doesn't actually mean one has a good performance of it.
Branagh clearly wants us to forget the Olivier version - but unfortunately makes all of Olivier's mistakes without any of Olivier's delicious Gothicism (which is really what makes the Olivier play special). So Branagh is loud, ego-centric, pretentious, neurotic - all the worst aspects of Olivier's Hamlet - but never brooding, mysterious, or ethereal - many of Olivier's best qualities. Olivier's Hamlet appears to be visiting from another world - and none too happy about his short stay in Denmark. Branagh's Hamlet is visiting a Kenneth Branagh film festival, and got lost at the wine-and-cheese buffet.
Understand that I really admire Branagh's previous Shakespeare efforts, and believe him to be an excellent actor. But Mary Shelley's Frankenstein showed us a side of Branagh - loud and egotistical - that we didn't really need, and then he pours that all into this film - which unfortunately we have to suffer with for four whole hours, if we choose.
Will some internet computer wiz please remember not to preserve this film?