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Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9780800196349
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
ISBN: 0800196341
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Release Date: March 03, 1998
Running Time: 242 minutes
Sales Rank: 2872
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 1996
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Kenneth Branagh's four-hour production of Shakespeare's full text for Hamlet is visually lush (shot in 70mm, which is rarely done) and full of fascinating story moments that normally get cut from shorter stage versions. (Your idea of what kind of fellow Polonius is may change quite a bit.) The unexpurgated approach is truly enlightening, and Branagh intermittently succeeds at giving familiar moments in the drama an original cinematic spin, including Hamlet's spooky confrontation with his father's ghost (Brian Blessed). (Branagh also imposes some Hollywood glitter on the proceedings by casting the likes of Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Charlton Heston, and Jack Lemmon in the smaller parts.) The pre-Titanic Kate Winslet is very good as the doomed Ophelia, and Derek Jacobi delivers a wonderfully nuanced performance as Claudius, whose character is definitely filled out by the restored material. Branagh's own performance is a little revisionist--some viewers have quibbled with it while others seem fine with it. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Not appealing!
Hamlet is not normally a movie I would even consider looking at, I just bought it to look at for a school project.
Rating:  - The most brilliant version of Hamlet ever produced
I was overwhelmed by this production of Hamlet. Kenneth Branagh is wonderful and plays the part of Hamlet with such sensitivity and vitality - makes the unabridged lines accessible, even to people unused to Shakespeare. Kate Winslet is excellent. The whole cast and the scenes - especially the scenes - are staggeringly good. The only Hamlet on film, worth watching! Kenneth Branagh is a genius.
Rating:  - Good, but not great Dane
Branagh's Hamlet
Watching Kenneth Branagh's massive film of the complete text of Hamlet for about the fourth time, I realized that this film mirrors the talents and career of its talented actor/director. Ever since his highly successful film of Henry V, which ably competes with the classic version of Olivier, it seems that Branagh has been trying to film another great Shakespeare movie, ... Read More
Rating: - Shakespeare the way it was meant to be exeperienced
Before I go into the visual and interpretive masterpiece that is Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, let me begin by asserting my firm belief that Shakespeare was meant to be experienced, not merely poured over. While the language is obviously crucial to understanding the play as a whole, simply watching the emotional interactions and contemplations of this play can be just as powerful. If you don't have the opportunity to see a live performance of Hamlet (which would be the real tragedy) Branagh's adaptation ... Read More
Rating:  - Know when to step aside.
Yes, this is one of Kenneth Branagh's productions of Shakespeare; and he typically saves the most interresting role for himself. He is a good actor, but in my opinion, the multi-emotional role of Hamlet is beyond his ability. When Hamlet is instructing the actors he hires for the play within the play, he begins to act, but then stops himself in deference to the troupe of real actors, headed by none other than Charlton Heston. Branagh should have taken a cue from Hamlet.
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