Written by William Shakespeare in 1604, Hamlet has become something of a stereotype in terms of theatre: one has only to say: "To Be, Or Not To Be", or stand with a skull in one's hand, and anyone who speaks English will know immediately what you're talking about.
But Hamlet is truly a great play, very probably the greatest play in the English (or any other) language, a play in which nearly everyone can find something that relates to them personally. We won't even get into the area of sarcasm-- Hamlet sort of but not really invented it. But even if you DIDN'T drive your girlfriend insane because you accidentally killed her father because you thought he was your uncle who's sleeping with your mother after killing your father, you've probably wondered more than once if you yourself were crazy (or soon to become so).
Right?
First, The Play's The Thing
(hmmm... seems like I've heard that somewhere before...)
Thanks to Project Gutenburg (whose tireless efforts in the area of anti-illiteracy everyone should support) for the text.
And, for those of you not easily offended, here's The Skinhead Hamlet.
Secondly, the aural Hamlet:
The Old Vic Company, 1957 (2 cassettes, app 3hrs) Listen For Pleasure LFP 7021
Sir John Gielgud as Hamlet
The Sir John Gielgud Broadway production, 1964 (4 LPs)
Richard Burton as Hamlet
The BBC Shakespeare Series, 1988 (2 cassettes, app 3hrs) The Mind's Eye 0-88142-879-5
Ronald Pickup as Hamlet
The Renaissance Theatre Company, (3 CDs or cassettes, 210 minutes) Bantam DoubleDay Dell Audio 0-533-45536-2 (CD)
Kenneth Brannagh as Hamlet
The Shakespeare Recording Society (UK) also recorded Hamlet sometime in the 1970s, but unfortunately I have no information on this recording.
Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, 1989 (2 cassettes, app 2hrs) The Mind's Eye
Tom Stoppard's brilliant re-working of Hamlet, from the perspective of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
And finally (because it's the longest list), Hamlet on the big screen:
(compiled with much help from the Internet Movie Database-- please help support the IMDb by visiting its sponsors!)
Of the film versions I have seen, I can most highly recommend the 1996 Brannagh, the 1948 Olivier and the 1990 Zeffirelli (pretty much in that order). The two John Gielgud versions are probably excellent: as for the 1939 version, his London Hamlets of that same era were very highly regarded. As for the 1964 version, the audio recording of his 1964 production is excellent, and I feel it would be safe to assume that this is a film of that production. The 1969 Tony Richardson version is worth seeing if for no other reason than the (in my humble opinion) woefully miscast Marianne Faithfull as the screen's most unnerving Ophelia.
Of the versions that I have not seen, I cannot help but think that the 1976 Celestino Coronada version, with the actors seemingly trading roles, would be quite unusual.
As for the rest, I can only say that I think the versions from India, Brasil and Ghana would be nothing if not entertaining.
1.Hamlet (1900) Silent France 1900 Black and White
Sarah Bernhardt ... Hamlet
Directed by Clement Maurice
2.Hamlet (1907) Silent France 1907 Black and White
Directed by Georges Melies
3.Hamlet (1909) Silent France 1907 Black and White
Directed by Georges Melies
4.Hamlet (1910/I) Silent Denmark 1910 Black and White
Directed by August Blom
5.Hamlet (1910/III) Silent UK 1910 Black and White
Directed by William G.B. Barker
6.Amleto (1908/I) Silent Italy 1908 Black and White
7.Amleto (1908/II) Silent Italy 1908 Black and White
Directed by Luca Comerio
8.Hamlet (1910/IV) Silent France 1910 Black and White
9.Amleto (1910) Silent Italy 1910 Black and White
Directed by Mario Caserini
10.Hamlet (1913) Silent UK 1913 Black and White
Directed by Hay Plumb
11.Hamlet (1914) Silent Italy 1914 Black and White
Directed by Arturo Ambrosio
12.Hamlet (1917) Silent Italy 1917 Black and White
Directed by Eleuterio Rodolfi
13.Hamlet (1921) Silent Germany 1921 Black and White
Directed by
Sven Gade
Heinz Schall
14.Khoon Ka Khoon (1935) India 1935 Black and White
Directed by Sohrab Modi
15.Hamlet (1939)
John Gielgud .... Hamlet
16.Hamlet (1947) (TV) UK 1947 Black and White
Directed by Basil Adams
17.Hamlet (1948) UK 1948 Black and White / Color
Awards/Notes: (AA) (GLV)
Directed by Laurence Olivier (AAN)
18.Moi, Hamlet (1952) Italy 1952 Black and White
Language: Italian
Directed by Giorgio Simonelli
19.Hamlet (1954) India 1954 Black and White
Produced by: Hindustan Chitra
Directed by Kishore Sahu
20.Hamlet (1955) (TV) Sweden 1955
Language: Swedish
Directed by Alf Sjoeberg
21.Hamlet (1959) UK / USA 1959 Black and White
Directed by
Michael Benthall
Ralph Nelson (I)
22.Hamlet (1960) West Germany 1960 Black and White
Language: German
Directed by Franz Peter Wirth
23.Hamile (1964) Ghana 1964
Directed by Terry Bishop
24.Gamlet (1964) Soviet Union 1964 Black and White
Language: Russian
Directed by Grigori Kozintsev
25.Hamlet (1964/I) USA 1964 Black and White
Directed by John Gielgud
26.Hamlet (1964/III) (TV) UK 1964 Black and White
Directed by Philip Saville
27.Hamlet (1964/IV) USA 1964 Color
Directed by Joseph Papp
28.Hamlet (1969) UK 1969 Color
Directed by Tony Richardson
29.Hamlet (1970) (TV) USA 1970 Color
Directed by Peter Wood
30.Heranca (1970) Brazil 1970 Color
31.Hamlet (1972) (TV) UK / USA 1972 Color
Directed by David Giles
32.Quella sporca storia nel west (1972) ...aka Johnny Hamlet Italy 1972
Directed by Enzo G. Castellari
33.Hamlet (1973) Canada 1973 Color
Directed by
Rene Bonniere
Stephen Bush
34.Hamlet (1976) UK 1976 Color
Directed by Celestino Coronada
Cast (in alphabetical order)
Quentin Crisp
Anthony Meyer .... Hamlet and Laertes
David Meyer .... Hamlet and Laertes
Helen Mirren .... Ophelia and Gertrude
35.Intikam Melegi - Kadin Hamlet (1977) ...aka Angel of Vengeance - The Female Hamlet, The
Turkey 1977
Language: Turkish
Directed by Metin Erksan
36.Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980) (TV) UK / USA 1980 Color
Directed by Rodney Bennett
37.Tragiska Historien om Hamlet, Prinz ar Danmark, Den (1984) (TV) Sweden 1984 Color
Directed by Ragnar Lyth
38.Hamlet (1987) UK 1987 Color
39.Hamlet (1990/I) UK / France / Spain 1990 Color
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
40.Hamlet (1990/II) (TV) USA 1990 Color
Produced by: WNET / New York Shakespeare Festival / Thirteen
Directed by Kevin Kline
41.Hamlet (1996) UK / USA 1996 Color
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest...
