This version is way better than the 1990 one. Every single aspect of the film is better and it gives a much better treatment to the play. Whenever Hamlet and film come up in a conversation, this will be the one my thoughts go to.
this version is so ridiculous and silly but also like the single best way to do this scene. Like in the scenes where he's just getting hit in a run of the mill fencing match things wrap up so quickly but here things get drawn out to a satisfying conclusion Also the sword flying through the air is the funniest thing ever
it's a full movie and this is one scene. you don't like it because you don't know who was who? it's the end of the play, and you don't think they made it clear within a scene you didn't see?
0:51 Hamlet: Wait a minute, did you just try to take down the opposing fencer? Laertes: Yeah, so? Hamlet: That's against the rules, isn't it? Laertes: Screw the rules; I have blonde hair!
I love Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet, don't get me wrong, but both he and the actor who plays Laertes are both too old. They both did an incredible job, but I always saw Hamlet in his late twenties to early thirties. That's why I like Tennant's version a bit more. Both take on different faces of Hamlet, but I think Tennant captures that bit of little boy Hamlet has in him. And David Tennant is really pretty :]
I should add, not only is Oliver's film of Hamlet better than this, so is the Russian version, by Kozintsev. That version, from 1964, is disgracefully unrecognized in America, but I think it is a fine film of the play. And he wrote a fine book about his experience in making that film. (Kozinstev later did a version of King Lear that was also quite competent as a film.)
+garrison968 It's nice that in English-speaking countries there are connoisseurs of fine performances of my compatriots. Although, of course, not all the best plays of Shakespeare were delivered in Russia (the Soviet Union until 1991). For example, "Romeo and Juliet" I like the statement by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968 (although not had the pleasure to see the original, not enough language skills).
I think his Lear much better than "competent" and to my mind better than the obvious other big screen contender Brooks/Schofield despite using Pasternak's re-write. Brook came perilously close to taking the daughters' part completely. Perhaps Jüri Järvet is a little too passive and inclined towards a traditional, very sympathetic interpretation but as a whole the film is a great success and the direction brilliant. However my favourite Lear on film remains Ian Holm - a dangerous little git who showed us precisely why his daughters had issues without unbalancing the play.
Tennant's version was much better with the acting, the tone of the scene, the choreography and such, but they cut so much dialogue out and switched things around that it feels wrong.
Ok plainly a bad idea to pretend there such a thing as a "full text" when Q2 and the Folio are incompatible. And do we gain anything from shoving in the likes of Judi Dench, Ken Dodd or even Jack Lemmon to boost the cast list. Aren't they just a distraction really. The film looks gorgeous obviously but like this scene is full of tricksy bits - sometimes they work, I liked the mirrors in get thee to a nunnery, but more often like this Errol Flynn nonsense or Richard Briers briefing Reynaldo they are just at best a distraction and at worst stupid. I had issues with Zefferelli, mainly surrounding his tinkering and chunking with the text, but I think it hangs better together as a film. Personally I preferred Branagh's stage performance with the RSC and indeed the Jacobi directed small scale touring production when Branagh played Hamlet with his Renaissance company.
Oh, and I said "I did not like the scene." and "I could not tell who Hamlet was and who was Laertes". That better be full credit. Its not like they say names or anything.
God I never thought I'd say this but ....Mel Gibson did a much better job. I cannot believe KB thought that having hamlet swing, by chandelier, to exact his vengeance, was a wise move. I have no love for Mel, and a ton for Kenneth, but this just isn't as good. It feels bloated with reimagining....and Kenneth comes off more as an actor acting, rather than a son seeking the truth of his fathers assassination. I'm no Mel Gibson fan, but he really made that role, and those lines we all know so well, seem almost spontaneously human in there delivery.
Totally concur. I loved Branagh's "Henry V" but saw this when it came out and was sore disappointed. Watching this scene again reminded me of how this failed to reach the same standard as Gibson's version.
I’m going to assume you’re on the younger side and don’t know much about Shakespeare. This movie was originally written as a play by William Shakespeare in England in 1609. At this point in time the English language was very different from what we speak today. Shakespeare, being a skilled writer, made the language even more complex. In order to stay faithful to the original play, the writer and director chose to keep all the original lines and translate none of it to modern English.
I'm reading this act right now for class. Allow me to provide subtitles: 0:07 Hamlet: One. Laertes: No. Hamlet: Judgement? Osric: A hit, a very palpable hit. 1:21 Hamlet: Another hit! What say you? Laertes: A touch, a touch; I do confess't. 1:31 Hamlet: Come for the third, Laertes. You do but dally. I pray you pass with your best violence; I am a-fear'd* you make a wanton of me. Laertes: Say you so? Come on! (slash) Have at you now! 2:44 Osric: Nothing neither way! King: Part them! They are incensed! Hamlet: Nay, come again! 2:52 Osric: Look to the Queen there, ho! 3:10 Horatio: They bleed on both sides. 3:23 Osric: How is't, Laertes? Laertes: Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric. I am justly killed with mine own treachery. * - It was "I am sure" in the actual play.
so over the top that its not Shakespeare. And btw, its not the whole scene , its gets worse. IMO, this film began Branagh's decline as a film director of Shakespeare. His first two tries were good, Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing. Since then, he has done nothing in that class, and that includes this film.
+Frank Nashton I could not disagree more. I went out of my way to see it on a big screen when it first came out. In no way did it justify its inclusion of the whole play and its four hour length. In fact, it made me understand and respect the decision by others to cut out certain aspects. Further, Branagh over directed much of the play. This scene being a prime example. And also, there were very few acting performances that were distinguished. IMO, Olivier's version is still the best film of Hamlet. Well directed, well acted, and with a point of view of the play, the Jones' Freudian concept, which informs the production but does not overpower it.
![DDG & G Herbo - Nosey [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/I9Ra0Zc2NlQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Despite all the naysayers on this post, still my favorite film version of Hamlet. And I've seen them all.
Including the MST3K one?
This version is way better than the 1990 one. Every single aspect of the film is better and it gives a much better treatment to the play. Whenever Hamlet and film come up in a conversation, this will be the one my thoughts go to.
Good to see Derek Jacobi playing Claudius again. 😄
this version is so ridiculous and silly but also like the single best way to do this scene.
Like in the scenes where he's just getting hit in a run of the mill fencing match things wrap up so quickly but here things get drawn out to a satisfying conclusion
Also the sword flying through the air is the funniest thing ever
RIP Robin Williams
Wait, who was Robin Williams playing?
@@kylestubbs8867 Osric
Hamlet looks a little like the Pink Panther, the Steve Martin version.
it's a full movie and this is one scene. you don't like it because you don't know who was who? it's the end of the play, and you don't think they made it clear within a scene you didn't see?
Thanks. Kozinstev's Shakepeare films were disgracefully overlooked.
There is something... gay about this fight.
Agreed
Watching Branagh, I just kept thinking of that SNL line with the overdramatic actors
"ACTING! GENIUS! THENK YEW! No, thank YOUUU!"
love the music patrick doyle does for this scene!
0:51
Hamlet: Wait a minute, did you just try to take down the opposing fencer?
Laertes: Yeah, so?
Hamlet: That's against the rules, isn't it?
Laertes: Screw the rules; I have blonde hair!
0:51
hamlet is the blonde man
Who feels stupid for forgetting that Robin Williams was in this film? Oh, yeah, I do.
1:17 lmfao. Good lord this is a hilarious scene.
(1:17)
How did you ever guess my secret identitiy?! *ninja rolls*
I love Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet, don't get me wrong, but both he and the actor who plays Laertes are both too old. They both did an incredible job, but I always saw Hamlet in his late twenties to early thirties. That's why I like Tennant's version a bit more. Both take on different faces of Hamlet, but I think Tennant captures that bit of little boy Hamlet has in him. And David Tennant is really pretty :]
Kenneth Branagh was only 36 when this was filmed.
Kenneth Branagh was actually younger than David Tennant though, he was 36 while he was 38.
Mario and Luigi.
I should add, not only is Oliver's film of Hamlet better than this, so is the Russian version, by Kozintsev. That version, from 1964, is disgracefully unrecognized in America, but I think it is a fine film of the play.
And he wrote a fine book about his experience in making that film. (Kozinstev later did a version of King Lear that was also quite competent as a film.)
+garrison968 It's nice that in English-speaking countries there are connoisseurs of fine performances of my compatriots. Although, of course, not all the best plays of Shakespeare were delivered in Russia (the Soviet Union until 1991). For example, "Romeo and Juliet" I like the statement by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968 (although not had the pleasure to see the original, not enough language skills).
I think his Lear much better than "competent" and to my mind better than the obvious other big screen contender Brooks/Schofield despite using Pasternak's re-write. Brook came perilously close to taking the daughters' part completely. Perhaps Jüri Järvet is a little too passive and inclined towards a traditional, very sympathetic interpretation but as a whole the film is a great success and the direction brilliant. However my favourite Lear on film remains Ian Holm - a dangerous little git who showed us precisely why his daughters had issues without unbalancing the play.
what kind of fencing was that?
Trent: god sake Robin just knock it off don’t you recognise the guy
Nearly 4 years later:
Gilderoy lockhart: I should have took jousting lessons
What was that? A comedy?
DID Anyone get through this movie without sleeping?
Just kiss already!
Tennant's version was much better with the acting, the tone of the scene, the choreography and such, but they cut so much dialogue out and switched things around that it feels wrong.
I can't watch the filmed version without being reminded how much more I enjoyed it on stage when it was new. But it remains a fine production.
hamlet was red lol saw the color mask he was holding
bravo ! bravo ! bravo!
i love shirtless ken
Hamlet is the blonde one.
Ok plainly a bad idea to pretend there such a thing as a "full text" when Q2 and the Folio are incompatible. And do we gain anything from shoving in the likes of Judi Dench, Ken Dodd or even Jack Lemmon to boost the cast list. Aren't they just a distraction really. The film looks gorgeous obviously but like this scene is full of tricksy bits - sometimes they work, I liked the mirrors in get thee to a nunnery, but more often like this Errol Flynn nonsense or Richard Briers briefing Reynaldo they are just at best a distraction and at worst stupid. I had issues with Zefferelli, mainly surrounding his tinkering and chunking with the text, but I think it hangs better together as a film. Personally I preferred Branagh's stage performance with the RSC and indeed the Jacobi directed small scale touring production when Branagh played Hamlet with his Renaissance company.
Oh, and I said "I did not like the scene." and "I could not tell who Hamlet was and who was Laertes". That better be full credit. Its not like they say names or anything.
and by kind, i mean style
damn finals
God I never thought I'd say this but ....Mel Gibson did a much better job.
I cannot believe KB thought that having hamlet swing, by chandelier, to exact his vengeance, was a wise move.
I have no love for Mel, and a ton for Kenneth, but this just isn't as good. It feels bloated with reimagining....and Kenneth comes off more as an actor acting, rather than a son seeking the truth of his fathers assassination.
I'm no Mel Gibson fan, but he really made that role, and those lines we all know so well, seem almost spontaneously human in there delivery.
Totally concur. I loved Branagh's "Henry V" but saw this when it came out and was sore disappointed. Watching this scene again reminded me of how this failed to reach the same standard as Gibson's version.
Hamlet as per Obi wan
Laertes as per Anakin
Setting this film in some kind of unreal "1650 meets 1850" version was the first mistake
.
really gay
I loved all the …I guess you can call them cameos of big name celebs like robin williams here and Billy crystal in this film
this one is literally the play
how their lines were very confusing for me to understand i know that hamlet wants revenge but the lines were like what? 0.o
It’s cause they decided to have it take place in like the mid 1800s but they didn’t bother to adapt the language past the medieval era.
I’m going to assume you’re on the younger side and don’t know much about Shakespeare. This movie was originally written as a play by William Shakespeare in England in 1609. At this point in time the English language was very different from what we speak today. Shakespeare, being a skilled writer, made the language even more complex. In order to stay faithful to the original play, the writer and director chose to keep all the original lines and translate none of it to modern English.
I'm reading this act right now for class. Allow me to provide subtitles:
0:07
Hamlet: One.
Laertes: No.
Hamlet: Judgement?
Osric: A hit, a very palpable hit.
1:21
Hamlet: Another hit! What say you?
Laertes: A touch, a touch; I do confess't.
1:31
Hamlet: Come for the third, Laertes. You do but dally. I pray you pass with your best violence; I am a-fear'd* you make a wanton of me.
Laertes: Say you so? Come on! (slash) Have at you now!
2:44
Osric: Nothing neither way!
King: Part them! They are incensed!
Hamlet: Nay, come again!
2:52
Osric: Look to the Queen there, ho!
3:10
Horatio: They bleed on both sides.
3:23
Osric: How is't, Laertes?
Laertes: Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric. I am justly killed with mine own treachery.
* - It was "I am sure" in the actual play.
3:13 to 3:17 Hamlet has the high ground just like Obi wan
Tyrese Gibson.
Has anyone noticed that the music score for these scenes are almost a copy of Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho?
Hola, Rory, its the person that steals all your paper in Language Arts. :D
so over the top that its not Shakespeare.
And btw, its not the whole scene , its gets worse.
IMO, this film began Branagh's decline as a film director of Shakespeare. His first two tries were good, Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing. Since then, he has done nothing in that class, and that includes this film.
+Frank Nashton
I could not disagree more. I went out of my way to see it on a big screen when it first came out. In no way did it justify its inclusion of the whole play and its four hour length. In fact, it made me understand and respect the decision by others to cut out certain aspects.
Further, Branagh over directed much of the play. This scene being a prime example. And also, there were very few acting performances that were distinguished.
IMO, Olivier's version is still the best film of Hamlet. Well directed, well acted, and with a point of view of the play, the Jones' Freudian concept, which informs the production but does not overpower it.
+Frank Nashton
Wasn't Jack Lemmon in it, who did not have the foggiest idea of what he was doing.
Love's Labour's Lost was a prime example of taking a concept and running over a cliff edge with it.
I love how the Norweigan soldiers just swing through the doors as of they're the FBI.
@SasukeDracoNick Oh...got 'em mixed up...meh
1:51 "Oh you gun' get it now."
@24ajboucher Nah, this movie is awesome. Though I will agree that Robin Williams is out of place in it haha.
If you know the scene, you can tell from the dialogue here
that was an awesome fencing scene....much better than the Princess Bride.
Robin Williams makes me vomit. Mork is always just under the surface.
🖕