Hamlet (1948)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Hamlet (1948) – L. Olivier

Twenty years ago (or more) I was immersed in Shakespeare -- and watching Olivier's Hamlet, abridged though it may be, brought back my reading and acting as a distant dream (even though I played Rosencrantz, or was it Guildenstern, who was cut out of this version). Things here are less stagebound than you might expect, with the camera prowling the barren castle's hallways, moving amongst the players, and even venturing outside from time to time. To call it film noir might be too rich, but these dark deeds lend themselves to the shadows and chiaroscuro that noir also used. Stripped to its essence, the bard's great tragedy seems somehow heightened, careening from set piece to set piece, until silence.