Hamlet: 1948

Hamlet is the first Academy Award Best Picture that I actually own, but I have to admit, I don't really like it. I've seen two film versions of Hamlet: the Laurence Olivier version from 1948 and Kenneth Brannagh's version from 1996. Of the two, I most definitely prefer Brannagh as he doesn't overact like Olivier. When watching the 1948 version, I felt like Olivier was hitting me over the head with how upset Hamlet is. It's just too much. Perhaps on the stage, this would seem appropriate where an actor needs to project his feelings to the people sitting far away, but onscreen, it's just obnoxious. Plus, it's difficult to enjoy the film in the first place when Hamlet is not one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. I appreciate the play for what it is, but the female characters are so weak, with Ophelia giving up far too easily and Hamlet's mother being portrayed as a disloyal, even stupid wife, that I find little other than the language, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and some of the soliloquies enjoyable. And if I want to enjoy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, I can always watch Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which I definitely recommend to find out what really happened to these two buffoons.

Since I'm taking the time to re-watch and thoroughly discuss Hamlet, instead I thought I'd give you a list of my favorite Shakespeare film adaptations. My tastes definitely run towards the comedies, but one tragedy does make the list:

1. As You Like It: Directed by Brannagh, this version is set in feudal Japan. The cinematography is simply gorgeous, but it's the storyline that makes this film. Rosalind is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, female characters in Shakespeare's play, and her sense of humor drives this romantic comedy. A few years ago, I saw the Chicago Shakespeare version of the play, and it reaffirmed my love for this story. Check out the trailer below for the film:

2. West Side Story: In my last year of grad school, I took a film class, and my major paper in the class was a comparison of West Side Story to Romeo and Juliet. This analysis required multiple viewings of West Side Story, and each time affirmed my love for the film. Tony and Maria are a modern Romeo and Juliet, and their story is just as tragic. But I actually prefer how West Side Story ends. And the music, oh, it's lovely. Lucky for me, it won Best Picture in 1961, so I have another excuse to watch it again. 

3. Much Ado About Nothing: Another Brannagh version, I absolutely love Brannagh's portrayal of Benedick, the self-proclaimed bachelor who is easily convinced that Beatrice (played the fabulous Emma Thompson) is in love with him. Benedick and Beatrice's storyline is complemented by the more immature love of Hero and Claudio. Add in Keanu Reeves playing the villainous Don Juan, and I'm sold. Watch the trailer and see for yourself:

4. The Taming of the Shrew: Elizabeth Taylor knows how to be a shrew. I've been fortunate enough to see several stage versions of this play, and while I greatly enjoyed the stage performances, there is something about Elizabeth Taylor playing Katherine the shrew that beats everything else. Her final scene is also brilliant; just when we think she's tamed, Taylor's delivery of Katherine's soliloquy and actions perhaps suggest otherwise. This is the perfect moment when we see just how much Shakespeare's lines and lack of stage directions leave the interpretation up to the performers and director. Watch the trailer to experience just part of Taylor's perfect performance. It's also just a great example of a late 1960s trailer.

5. Shakespeare Retold: This collection of four adaptations of Shakespeare's plays is a fun way and short way to revisit Shakespeare. The collection includes Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Macbeth. My favorite of the set is a toss-up between Much Ado and Shrew. In the Shrew adaptation, Katherine is prime minister of England, a perfect position for a bossy yet strong woman. And while she is tamed, this version makes it less harsh than some productions of the play.

6. A Midsummer Night's Dream:  Kevin Kline as Nick Bottom...need I say more? The film has a love triangle that changes, several times, due to meddling fairies, and those meddling fairies are experiencing their own love problems. Add to that an aspiring group of actors, who include the ridiculous Bottom, and you have a crazy night in the woods. This is another film that has gorgeous cinematography, and the costuming shows the power of using film for Shakespeare's play. The play is considered an "easier" one as far as language, but the storylines can be confusing as they are woven together. It's worth the effort, though.

7. Macbeth: The version I'm referring to here (as there are many, including a rather terrible Orson Welles version that I recently tried watching but couldn't make it much past Duncan's murder) is actually the stage version recorded by the Folger Shakespeare Library. This version was directed by Teller of Penn and Teller, so the staging and effects are absolutely amazing. And while it is recorded, there is an audience whose reaction proves to you that what you're seeing on stage is magic, courtesy of the incredibly talented Teller. In this version, there is also an incredibly humorous portrayal of the porter, who is clearly hungover. In other versions I've seen, this scene is often downplayed even though it provides some much needed comic relief. I like to think that Teller's version is what Shakespeare intended. 

I know there are many, many other adaptations and borrowings of Shakespeare's plays, and I certainly haven't seen them all, but the ones listed here are some of my favorites. So instead of watching Hamlet, I suggest that you try one of the films above. You won't be disappointed.