That's why you see people like Billy Crystal as the Gravedigger or Robin Williams as Osric. What's Up to Dateīranagh likes casting big stars in his movies, to help the audience better identify with the text. You're not sure if he's going to yell at Hamlet or swallow him whole. He's scary, in the same way that King Kong is scary. Every time he speaks, the ground shakes, and his voice promises unholy damnation to anyone who hears it. Just take a look at the ghost, played by noted Very Large Man Brian Blessed. (Those jeweled Faberge Easter eggs? Those were Nicholas's.) Everything here is big and bold: the palace, the parties, even the train that brings Rosencrantz and Guildenstern a'calling.Īnd the way Branagh shoots it is no exception. Very passive-aggressive, Hammie.īranagh also ups the epic factor here-and why not, when you're working on the silver screen? Denmark here looks a lot like Russia in the early 20th century, when the royal family under Nicholas II lived large and spent heavily. Just sayin'.) Only Hamlet wears black, serving the role of the honest man in the room to remind everyone of the way things really are. (Considering that the old king just died and Fortinbras is marching on the palace, that's probably a mistake. Everything is bright here: people wear colorful outfits, confetti falls from the ceiling, and the party never ends. This version stands out from the rest because it's not all gloom and doom. For example, the main hallway is decorated with mirrors that lead to hidden rooms, and the sets have all sorts of filigrees and sculpted edges that stress their appearance. So we (here in the audience) focus on all the prettiness of the surfaces themselves and slowly become aware of what's really going down. In his mind, the court's corruption has been papered over with pretty pictures, and people are doing their best to ignore it. No, Branagh-like every other fancypants person on the planet-has an opinion about this play, and it definitely comes through in his adaptation.īranagh seems to stress the hidden secrets and other goodies lurking just below the surface. But that doesn't mean it's your great-grandma's Shakespeare. He keeps every 'dost thou' and 'pray forsooth' right where it should be. Most versions of Shakespeare's longest play drop at least a few lines or even a few scenes to keep the running time down. This bad boy presents the whole text unabridged. When he set out to deliver a whole new Hamlet, he promised to deliver the end-all-be-all, throw-out-your-other-versions take on Shakespeare's beloved play. You have to give Kenneth Branagh props for his sheer audacity.

Hamlet kenneth branagh full movie