May. 22, 2002 - 8:54 pm
this was the winner of Best Picture for 1948. directed by and starring Laurence Olivier. the first of only 2 times that a man has directed himself to a Best Actor Oscar. the other time? Roberto Benigni who directed and starred in Life Is Beautiful (1997).
some people say that Laurence Olivier is the best actor of the 20th century. i don't know about all that, but he is pretty awesome. his voice and enunciation are great. and he really used it well in this film. parts of Hamlet's monologues were altered to be narration. like instead of him speaking constantly when he's alone, they converted it to a voiceover. as if it's him thinking these words instead of actually saying them. i quite liked it. especially when it's Laurence Olivier's voice. i can definitely see how he could be a real ladykiller.
another amazing thing about this version is the cinematography. tons of complex tracking and craning shots. great editing too. complex dissolves leaving multiple images on the screen at once. that really played in well with the special effects like when we see the ghost of Hamlet's father appear.
i'm still driven to give it a 7/10 though. it kind of drug for me. it's probably because they were using Shakespeare's material. i'm bothered by listening to his language. it's like trying to read the King James version of the Bible. i don't like poetry being read as prose. i don't mind reading Shakespeare, but i don't like to see it performed usually. the thing we must ask ourselves after seeing this film: why when you are playing Hamlet at the age of 41 would you cast a 28 year old woman to play your mother?