Hamlet

Yes, I'll concede that Kenneth Branaugh's uncut version of Shakespeare's text (never played on the Elizabethan stage, in all likelihood) is a benchmark for cinematic *Hamlet*s, but Williamson's performance (particularly his voice-over soliloquies) is still highly thought-provoking thirty years later. The film is like a moving Rembrandt painting (*The Night Watch* comes to mind) with its restless, shifting light and dissolves. It took great courage, for example, for Richardson not to show the Ghost, but rather to reveal him as a burning white light whose impact we feel by the responses of Horatio and the guards. Big budget and big screen it's not, but Richardson's direction has meticulously thought out many significant production details. This is definitely a cerebral *Hamlet* that gives the view

So far, the film version of Tony Richardson's adaptation has been more than satisfactory. This is a must for Shakespeare fans. Nicol Williamson who should have been knighted by now which bothers me more than anything else that he has not been quite rewarded is brilliant in his role as Hamlet. He even outshines Sir Anthony Hopkins C.B.E. who plays his uncle, Claudius. I know Nicol has some personal problems which makes him a very difficult actor to work aside but he is brilliant and talented actor. Maybe he has stayed away from acting rather than go insane or mad. The scenes where his Hamlet is going mad is better than Lord Laurence Olivier. You really believe it. Some people have preferred his Hamlet to other actors who have played the role in the past. I am sure Nicol Williamson deserves to be there somewhere in the top ten list of great Hamlets. Being an artist like an actor without going crazy, mad or insane is an amazing accomplishment. For Nicol, I think he was blessed and cursed with talent and yet with difficulty. I am not excusing his difficult behavior but he is one of the most talented actors and should be rewarded with knighthood like his peers who have taken on the role of Hamlet like Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir John Gielgud, Lord Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh (C.B.E. refused honor in 1996), and others. I hope people will also recognize Judy Parfitt as Queen Gertrude who is quite wonderful in the role. Marianne Faithful plays Ophelia but it is really Nicol's film and worth watching again.

I saw this production at the Round House in London, when Nicol Willianson (who destroyed his career by his undisciplined waywardness) was a hot property. The film of that production cuts Shakespeare's original by more than half, yet what survives IS 'Hamlet'. Williamson is a sardonic Prince, masochistically ready to condemn his irresolution, but his performance has a breathtaking urgency. Judy Parfitt's Gertrude and Mark Dignam's Polonius could hardly be bettered and Gordon Jackson's bespectacled Horatio is to my mind his best performance. Marianne Faithful is an endearingly vulnerable Ophelia, Michael Pennington an impassioned Laertes, and though far too young Anthony Hopkins has many fine moments as Claudius. Roger Livesey does a lovely double act as the First Player and Gravedigger, there never were a creepier Rosencrantz and Guidenstern than Ben Aris and Clive Graham and Peter Gale is a splendidly camp Osric. Tony Richardson races through the play with considerable intelligence and ingenuity. 'A hit - a palpable hit'!

This is an excellent version of the Bard's great tragedy, and it certainly deserves a lot more than 21 votes and one user review! I like this version more than the 1948 film starring Laurence Olivier, (which was a disappointment for me) but less than the 1996 "unabridged" version starring Kenneth Branagh. Being a Shakespeare buff, I have to like Branagh's excellent film more than this one because it contains the entire play. On the other hand, even though Branagh does a really good job of portraying the "Prince of Denmark" I do like Nichol Williamson's performance even more. I highly recommend this version to all fans of Shakespeare, Williamson, and great movies in general.

Nicol Williamson is a unique actor. Maybe it's his choices or his level of commitment- but he seems to create a whole other world for whatever project he's working on. His may not be the definitive Hamlet (is there such a thing?) but it is certainly an involving interpretation. This version also features Anthony Hopkins... could you do better for Claudius?