![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Hamlet is drawn mad by this news and deliberates over revenge, upending his friends and family’s lives in the process. For those who don’t already know the basic premise of the play, Hamlet (Branagh), Prince of Denmark, learns that his uncle, King Claudius (Jacobi), killed his father as a conspiracy to get with his mother Gertrude (Christie) and usurp his brother’s title. It stars Branagh, Julie Christie, Billy Crystal, Gerard Depardieu, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Jack Lemmon, Rufus Sewell, Robin Williams and Kate Winslet. It's an excellent production.Hamlet, directed by Kenneth Branagh, sees Branagh also adapt the classic William Shakespeare play in its entirety. Although I personally do not find this offensive as a viewer, I have to be sensitive to the values of my community, and I strongly advise teachers who want to show this to preview this film and make sure that it's acceptable for your school, students, and district. More problematic is that during Ophelia's mad scene, when she is referring to "Young men will do't if they come to it," she thrusts her hips into Claudius and then lies on the floor raising and lowering her hips in a manner suggestive of intercourse. You do not see frontal nudity, rear ends, or genitalia. One heads-up: If you are a teacher intending to show this to a class, please be aware that there is some brief nudity in Act IV (the second half of the movie) in a very brief flashback scene in which Hamlet and Ophelia are shown naked on a bed kissing. Branagh takes very few interpretive risks with the text, unlike Gibson, Jacobi, and Tennant, but while this does not make for an exciting re-reading of the play, it does provide a fantastic "baseline" to evaluate other productions. This is the most faithful adaptation of Shakespeare's play currently available. ![]()
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