What an empty interpretation of Hamlet. The castle had very little furniture, and the only thing visible onscreen aside from people throughout the movie was mist. It felt like its emptiness was intended to make the audience fully understand how rotten the state really was in Denmark. Also, Laurence Olivier played Hamlet so numbly. His performance was completely different from any other Hamlet I've seen. Most people play him angry and crazy, but Olivier's subtleties were really the best thing about the movie. My serious problem about it was Olivier's editing job of the play. I'm sorry, but it is NOT acceptable to cut ANY portion of the "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy, and Hamlet just yelling, "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king!" was totally pathetic. And instead, they gave us 15 straight minutes of insane Ophelia, and the "Speak the speech I pray you" scene in entirety. I didn't like Polonius. Beyond just being an annoying character, I think of him as a pompous jerk, but in this he was more clueless and bumbling.
Two memorable shots: 1. The gravedigger casts aside Yorick's skull, and Hamlet's shadow approaches to engulf it. 2. The camera slowly revolves around the room during the play within the play, showing the audience members' reactions, finally ending on Claudius freaking out.
Notes to myself: THE FOP MESSENGER WAS SO GOOD. 9/10
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I love that you found such a famous performance to be underwhelming. It's always interesting to hear the opposite view of what we're told to think about these classics.
Post a Comment