Customer Reviews

Hamlet

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No filmed version of "Hamlet" is entirely satisfying. The play is too rich to be reduced to a single definitive interpretation. But Kevin Kline's production of the more accessible of Shakespeare's two greatest tragedies ("King Lear" is equally great but sparer and more difficult) is one of the better versions available. Hamlet may be the most intelligent and verbally-skilled character ever written, and sometimes the wit and depth of his lines can obscure the real tragedy of his situation. Kline plays the character as deeply sad as well as intelligent. His reading of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, for example, is masterful: we witness someone who is not just considering suicide as an intellectual puzzle, but is despairing enough to be seriously considering it. This is a human and emotional Hamlet, in contrast to Branagh's (who even in the worst straits seems almost to be enjoying himself), Gibson's (alternately frightened and enraged), Williamson (existentially disgusted), or Olivier's (weak and indecisive, and in my opinion the only indefensible choice here).

Kline has some wonderful bits of "business," too: tearing the page out of the book and sticking it on Polonius's forehead, pointing to the book after Polonius hears him say "tedious old fools" as if he is merely reading, clasping Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's heads to his chest once he has decided he cannot trust them -- all very clever. (However, the scene where he dangles Ophelia like a puppet is a bit overdone.) Laertes cutting Hamlet on the hand during a break is a good choice too (Laertes should not be able to lay a glove on Hamlet without cheating). On the other hand, Kline's version of Hamlet's feigned madness seems quieter than the "antic disposition" the character claims he will "put on."

The rest of the cast is not as strong, unfortunately. Josef Summer captures Polonius's egotism and foolishness, but we get no sense of the cunning that has made him a power at court. Diana Venora plays Ophelia with a little too much self-awareness and resignation for her mad scene to be believable when it arrives. Dana Ivey is a fine Gertrude, but the role is not one of the play's strengths. Worst of all, Brian Murray hardly registers as Claudius, who can be played as purely evil, as tormented by guilt, as a decadent drunkard, or even as a reluctant murderer, but here is a puffed non-entity.

Most productions of "Hamlet" make cuts, and Kline's choice is to remove all the politics. An actor is listed playing Fortinbras, but I cannot remember him (though it has been a few months since I have watched this version). We neither see nor hear much about him, which robs the play of some of its power: Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes are three men in the same position; their differing responses -- respectively that of the Renaissance philosopher and poet, the modern military man, and the hothead -- provide one of the most basic themes of the play.

But "Hamlet" is not merely a personal or family play; it is also a play about nations, about the damage a ruler of bad character does to a country's reputation. As the gravedigger tells us, Hamlet was born the day his father slew the elder Fortinbras; Hamlet's life exactly spans the period of Denmark's ascendancy over Norway. In a sense, he is born to remedy a cosmic error. All of that is gone (as are other more minor but still missed elements such as the character of Reynaldo, and some of the comments on acting and the theatre). Fortunately, Kline rejects any facile Freudianism, such as we see in the Gibson/Zeffireli version.

The staging is simple. About the most you can say of it is that neither it nor the costumes distract us from the acting. The lighting, however, is quite elegant, and the camera work intimate without causing claustrophobia.

Overall and despite its flaws, Kline's "Hamlet" remains a skillful and moving effort, ennobled by the actor's sensitive and thoughtful portrayal of literature's first and greatest modern man.

Though I'm one who often perceives other reviews at this site to be injudiciously overated, I give 5 stars to this version of Shakespeare's most famous play without hesitation or reserve. Kevin Kline's direction is inspired by the emotion and wit of the words, and his acting performance is nothing short of the finest I've ever witnessed, and I've seen many. Please yourself, be a witness to excellence, buy it!

I have mixed feelings about this Hamlet; there are some things about it I emphatically do not like, and others I emphatically do like.

I DO like the fashion in which is was cut. Rozencrantz & Guildenstern, for instance, were kept in, as well as Fortinbras. There are important scenes and stories with both so I was glad to see them there.

I also like Kevin Kline's Hamlet. At first I thought I wouldn't, because in his first scene ("little more than kin & less than kind"), he didn't seem bitter enough to my taste. I also though that, as an actor, Kline sometimes over did the crying. But as he eased into the role and I grew used to it, I began to like his interpretation. He was very good at personifying Hamlet's merry but oh so bitter madness.

Everyone else was, I thought, well cast, which the exception of Ophelia. How lamentable, especially when her brother was so well played! Apparently she was trying to give a new interpretation of an Ophelia more wayward and rebellious than usual...but Shakespeare wrote Ophelia, and he made her gentle,not wild (until that madness sets in and that's for contrast); timid, not self-assured. "I will the effect of this good lesson keep" was spoken with sarcasm! Sarcasm to Laertes from Ophelia? What is the point in life? Admirably, however, Laertes and Hamlet both played their scenes with her excellently in spite of her shortcomings. There was a LOT of physical action during Hamlet's scenes both with his mother & Ophelia; a bit more than I'm used to, but it seems to be Kline's strong point.

I have to admit that modern dress in Shakespeare always gets under my skin. Why are they in post-victorian dress and speaking in "thees & thous"? The grandeur of Elizabethan costume that so sweeps the audience in is not good enough for them? But this Hamlet was very well performed, and though the clothing still clashes with its historical context, I had forgotten about it fifteen minutes into the play.

Oh, dear, I'm giving this four stars. I'm just so in love with Hamlet I can't nitpick such a good production apart. This is excellent, maybe not for a first viewing (and I only say that because of Ophelia), but a definite should-see.

Made in 1986 and shown originally on Masterpiece Theatre on PBS, this is Hamlet at its finest. Kevin Kline brilliantly plays Hamlet. Set in a minimalist staging, this only helps to focus you more on the actors abilities. A definite must see for all Shakespeare lovers.

This film is truly educational to watch for any student or aspiring actor. While I don't consider Kline's HAMLET the greatest ever, there is certainly something to be learned from his use of verse. An excellent speaker and player of language, Kline explores the full range that Shakespeare's text has to offer. Sadly, however, I found his performance almost startlingly melodramatic and gratuitous. Interesting to see how far he has come as an actor since filming this. While the supporting cast is quite strong and enjoyable to watch, I found Kline taking far too many opportunities to explore the pleasure he derives from hearing his own voice than approaching any semblance of honesty in his portrayal of this, one of Shakespeare's most difficult roles. I think that it is quite difficult to film Shakespeare in the first place and this film utilizes an approach that is half stage and half film. Not necessarily and effective technique, in that in trying to accomplish both, we miss out on a lot of the momentum of the work itself.

What makes a Hamlet great is the performance of the person playing the title role. In this version Kevin Kline is brilliant. I taped this performance when it was on PBS years ago and I have watched it many times. It is long overdue on DVD/Video Tape. This should be shown to all students of Shakespeare as the definitive way to perform the part of Hamlet (Sorry Mr. Branagh!)

This has become my favorite Hamlet. Shakespeare's huge achievement was in creating Hamlet as his most intellectual character demonstrating thought processes we have adopted and come to consider modern. Shakespeare's language is used more or less the same across many productions on film. Mr. Kline's Hamlet adds acting skill to the language to make the high level of activity of Hamlet's mind come alive. This is a production from the theater, and a theater with minimal staging at that. This accentuates the activity of the mind, the mind of Hamlet and of others, and works in bringing us what I consider the best experience of the play I have seen.

This 1990 version of Hamlet, starring Kevin Kline in the title role, was filmed from an actual Broadway production. On one hand it means this is perhaps as close as you could get to the "authentic Shakespeare feel" in a movie. They are not taking advantage of gorgeous landscapes or thousands of extras. They are acting on a stage, live in front of an audience, bounded by its stage walls just as in Shakespeare's time. On the other hand, Kevin chose to move the setting forward into a much more modern time period. The actors are wearing suits and military uniforms, and seem to be in the 1940s.

I'm generally not a fan of "adjusting Hamlet's time". I understand the desire to shake things up a bit, to not simply re-tell a tale that's been told thousands of times before. Still, it is jarring to see Hamlet's uncle looking almost like Captain Kirk in his ribbons. I admit I do like Ophelia's gentle dress, so there is some good in what they've done. The set tends towards the stark, concrete pillar look. I would have liked it to look more regal, more like a castle that had been lived in and loved for centuries.

The thing that stands out most about this performance is the over-the-top emotions. Hamlet is wriggling around on the stage, tears streaming down his face. He's picking up Ophelia and flinging her around in circles. He's falling backwards off of platforms, being caught by others. Oddly, then there are other lines which I would have thought warranted such emotion - and they are given with barely a flicker of interest. It's a bit jarring.

My boyfriend had problems because of Kline's very distinctive voice. We've seen him in so many other movies that my boyfriend almost expected Kline to break out of character sometimes and do a new accent. I didn't have this problem myself, but I could see how it might happen. Kline doesn't "submerge" himself well into this character. He seems like an antic Kline playing a part.

That being said, I did feel new poignancy at several lines, where they really nailed a certain emotion. Still, somehow they trimmed out some of my favorite lines too. I do like that they kept in the Fortinbras storyline, even having him arrive at the end to sort of "end the loop" since Hamlet was born when Fortinbras' father was slain.

Where in other versions there would be one or another of the "supporting cast" that stood out to me, in this one none of them did, which I felt was a shame. Horatio, one of my favorite characters, was very mild here, almost stilted to me. Ophelia seemed a bit too willful given her dutiful daughter dialogue. Both the mother and uncle were lacking in presence, especially the uncle who supposedly had talents of charisma. Even Laertes seemed a bit wooden to me.

I'm not saying they were "stagey wooden" - I have certainly seem versions where it seemed like everyone was nervously reciting the words by rote as they marched from spot A to spot B. There were some good emotions shown on some lines. Still, in general the characters didn't seem "real" - they seemed parts being played.

I definitely own this and would recommend other Hamlet fans have it in their library. However, it's not one I go back to for the pure pleasure of watching and enjoying it, of listening to the words roll.

I saw this production when our local PBS station aired it over 17 years ago and I never forgot it. I was thrilled to find it on DVD. Costuming is understated, contemporary and the focus of Kevin Kline's minimal set designs is the lighting (mood) rather than overproduced dressings which are inconsequential here when the stength in this "HAMLET" are the actors; their hands, eyes, posture, movement, voice, inflections absorb and hold you with completeness. There is no distraction because it is obvious Kevin Kline decided that less was more in his interpretation and he knew exactly what he was talking about. It is Simple and SIMPLY the best!

If you like Hamlet, Kevin Kline provides a wonderful performance with unique depth in this stage production. However, if you just want to see a great rendition of the play that is entertaining and equally well done, watch the Mel Gibson/Franco Zefferilli movie.