Opinions vary about how well Branagh’s somewhat pompous film version of Hamlet works. Like virtually every production of Shakespeare, it does indeed have problems and it has had to make hard choices, not all of which work out.
One of the major problems with the movie is that it frequently approaches melodrama rather than drama, owing to the fact that Branagh apparently over-dramatized it for commercial reasons, sadly focusing on the title character’s energetic rage rather than the intellectual pensiveness of the director’s powerful and critically acclaimed stage version. Hamlet should be a character that the audience finds sympathetic. If he’s angry and hysterical in too many places, he will not appear to be the hero of the play, who’s continually contemplating cunning plans and projects. It could be argued that he is indeed very confused and emotional throughout the first four Acts, but it is also a fact that byzantine schemes were set in motion in his mind ever since he first spoke to his father’s ghost, and he could not carry out such schemes without a great deal of emotional self-restraint. This is, of course, another of the original play’s inherent/apparent contradictions, where sundry interpretations must compete to make the most convincing case. Arguably, a modern peformance of Hamlet must focus chiefly on the character’s supreme (if flawed) cleverness, and Branagh’s movie misses its chance to do that, which is a shame.
Another problem with the movie is that it is simply too bright. White walls; bright lights; rich colors everywhere. A few years ago I had a chance to mention this to Dr. Russell Jackson—a scholarly text consultant on the movie—at a talk he gave here in Denmark, and he pointed out that instead of a dark, moody atmosphere, the Elsinore castle had secret doors everywhere! Granted, that point is well taken, and it is not a bad idea, but watching the movie again with this in mind, this element still does not make up for the sense of the unknown that should permeate this play. The “secret doors” element never achieves the ominous feeling of metaphor or analogy that it attempts, which results in the play being too gaudy and losing its trademark sense of a thousand mysteries looming. This is the biggest problem with this production. But while it's a significant problem, it is not fatal for the movie. Almost everything else works out absolutely beautifully. Is Branagh a mite too old for the title role? Perhaps, but this is by no means fatal, either. His acting carries the part.
Thus die my complaints. Even with the faults described above, grave as they are, the movie’s cornucopia of action and abundance of contemplation set it apart as a seminal Hamlet, and even if it's not quite as powerful a drama as it has the potential to be, it's still every bit the literary and pleasantly puzzling spectacle that it equally ought to be. A good performance of a Shakespeare play should not simply be melancholy recital; it should be an uproarious gamut of structured emotionality, with every character being visibly surprised at the outrageous power and shocking beauty of the words he or she both hears and speaks. Branagh understands this, and let us thank Fortune for that.
The movie achieves perfection in many areas. We get the complete text of the longest version of the play, innovatively and expensively brought to the screen, mostly enunciated in perfect and modern and highly understandable voices—even if they sometimes do speak too quickly in order to get the massive text over with (a favorite line of mine, for instance, which speaks volumes about Shakespeare’s writing method: “O ‘tis most sweet, when in one line two crafts directly meet”, is spoken in so throw-away and rambling a voice that it is robbed of significance). But in any one staging of Shakespeare, it simply is not possible to do complete justice to every one of the play’s plethora of phraseological pearls, nor to speak slowly enough for the audience to really appreciate the full depths of the language. For that, one must delve into the print versions of the plays.
All the actors in this version are simply mesmerizing and utterly and instantly classic, including Jack Lemmon who plays the sentinel, Marcellus. Julie Christie as Gertrude is surely one of the best ever, and even the American actors are astounding, esp. Charlton Heston as the Player King—who would have thought? (A story is going around that Heston once played Hamlet on stage, and when a critic in the front row couldn't stand his hammy acting and said out loud, "This is terrible!" Heston reportedly retorted right from the stage, "Well, I didn't write this crap!" Of course it may not be true, but it's a funny story, and if true, a bold and ironic choice for Branagh to include Heston here.) Robin Williams as "Young Ozric" is perhaps not young enough for the part, but he makes it a risible one, which is warranted.
Overall it is an exceedingly well-produced version, with most of the key scenes being supremely memorable. Kenneth Branagh is an expert interpreter and popularizer, with an attractively casual attitude to the words and a deep and appropriately and unashamedly enthusiastic appreciation of the text. In the world of Shakespeare acting, the two brightest luminaries remain Olivier and Branagh, and while Olivier is the superior actor, Branagh brings Shakespeare down from the pedestal of snobbery and artifice, and transforms it into churlish, easy-going, populistic worldliness while compromising none of its dignity. Branagh brings out a truer Shakespeare than the world has yet seen.
The DVD Extras:
The newly released Region 1 DVD, which is the first DVD version of the movie, is a two-disc widescreen edition with half of the movie on each disc. With it is presented a brand new Branagh introduction to the film, and an interesting background promo piece done for the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, and a nice set of trailers for several other Shakespeare films, old and new. The main point of interest, however, is of course the full four-hour audio commentary by Branagh and Russell Jackson, filled with both “daft anecdotes” (as Branagh puts it) and fascinating insights into the sets, the acting, and the finer points of the play. At one point, they almost start discussing the differences between the first and second quartos, but to the disappointment of the true Shakespeare aficionado this discussion is quickly cut short. They try to keep the comments on a layman’s level, and it is an entertaining and jovial commentary track with many behind-the-scenes details. In the final analysis, though, it must be said that the audio commentary doesn’t add much serious interest to the film; for that I would suggest that you buy the book of the screenplay instead, which is informative, insightful, and entertaining.
But there’s one more thing on the DVD. “To Be On Camera: A History With Hamlet” is a 24-minute behind-the-scenes feature about the making of the movie, filled with interviews with the actors while they were on the set and in costume—including Branagh’s acting double used in rehearsals—and coupled, of course, with copious comments from Branagh himself. This is a fun, lively and enlightening feature which to my mind is the best part of the extra material.
The DVD of this grand Shakespearean spectacle is a rich experience and can only be recommended. This DVD will in any case be a major gem in any collection of Shakespeare films, and the fact that it is finally out on DVD after more than ten years is certainly cause for much celebration. This review is based on the Region 1 version; a Region 2 DVD for European audiences should also be out soon.
