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Hamlet
1996 242 min United States of America PG-13 18+
★8.2
Drama
Director: Kenneth Branagh
🎭 Based on
«Hamlet»
byWilliam Shakespeare
Trailers
EN
EN
EN
Description
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother now marrying the murderer... his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
Budget:
$18M
US Gross:
$4.71M
Worldwide:
$4.7M
Starring
Kenneth Branagh
Actor
Julie Christie
Actor
Derek Jacobi
Actor
Awards
Academy Awards 1997
— Best Production Design
Academy Awards 1997
— Best Costume Design
Academy Awards 1997
— Best Score for a Drama
BAFTA 1997
— Best Costume Design
BAFTA 1997
— Best Production Design
Academy Awards 1997
— Best Adapted Screenplay
Key opinion
Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 adaptation of Hamlet is a polarizing, ambitious undertaking that features a sprawling ensemble cast and full fidelity to Shakespeare’s text. While many praise its epic scale, visual beauty, and performances, others find the four-hour runtime and Branagh's bold directorial choices to be indulgent or stylistically inconsistent.
| Acting | The ensemble cast is exceptionally strong, featuring high-profile performances that effectively anchor the dense source material. | |
| Production | The production design, characterized by 19th-century aesthetics and meticulous use of mirror-filled sets, provides a regal and visually striking backdrop for the tragedy. | |
| Cinematography | The cinematography is masterfully executed, utilizing 65mm film and grand framing to create an epic, painterly visual experience. | |
| Runtime | The four-hour runtime is a point of deep division; proponents view the complete, uncut text as an immersive masterpiece, while detractors find the length exhausting and sluggish. | |
| Acting | Branagh's performance style fluctuates between being perceived as deeply authentic and emotionally resonant, or excessively theatrical, clownish, and over-exerted. | |
| Theme | The directorial approach to thematic depth and innovation is debated, with some appreciating the faithful, grand classicism and others finding it derivative and lacking a fresh, unique perspective. |