Stubs – Hamlet

Hamlet (1948) Starring: Laurence Olivier, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Jean Simmons, Stanley Holloway. Screenplay by Laurence Olivier. Based on the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare (London, 1601, published 1603). Directed by Laurence Olivier. Produced by Laurence Olivier.  Run Time: 155 minutes. U.K.  Black and White. Drama, Tragedy

There are several well-known film adaptations of William Shakespeare’s plays, but perhaps none won bigger acclaim than Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet (1948). Perhaps no actor in film history is closer associated with Shakespeare than Olivier. He appeared in a little over fifty films during his career, six of which were films based on the works of the Bard. Prior to Hamlet, Olivier had starred in As You Like It (1936) and Henry V (1944), the latter which he also produced and directed. For that film, he would receive Academy nominations for Best Actor and Best Picture, neither of which he would win, but he did receive a Special Award "for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen."

Following that triumph, Olivier returned to the stage and did not make another movie until he made Hamlet. Olivier adapted Shakespeare’s play, eliminating nearly half of the dialogue, three main characters from the play: Fortinbras, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and removing most of its political elements. Instead Olivier concentrated on the psychological and Oedipal aspects of the work.

The film opens on the battlements of Elsinore, where sentry Bernardo (Esmond Knight) relieves Francisco (John Laurie) of his watch. Bernardo asks him if he has seen anything. Another sentry, Marcellus (Anthony Quayle), arrives with Horatio (Norman Wooland), Prince Hamlet's friend. Twice previously, Marcellus has seen an apparition, but Horatio is skeptical. Suddenly, the three see the Ghost, and even though Horatio demands that it speak, the ghost vanishes then, without a word.

Inside the castle, there is a celebration in progress for the marriage of Gertrude (Eileen Herlie) and King Claudius (Basil Sydney). Everyone seems to be having a good time, with the exception of Prince Hamlet (Laurence Olivier). Something seems rotten to Hamlet about the circumstances; his father,the old King Hamlet has only been dead for a month, apparently killed by a snakebite, and his mother is already married to his Uncle.  

Hamlet (Laurence Olivier) with his mother, Gertrude (Eileen Herlie) and King
Claudius (Basil Sydney) at a celebration in honor of their marriage.

Even after the court has left the Great Hall, Hamlet continues to fume over the hasty marriage, muttering to himself the words "and yet, within a month!" Soon, Horatio and the sentries arrive and tell Hamlet about seeing his father’s ghost. Hamlet accompanies them to the battlements and sees the ghost for himself.

After the celebration, Hamlet fumes over his mother's hasty marriage.

Hamlet follows the ghost, which beckons him forward, after which it reveals itself to be the Ghost of Hamlet's father (Laurence Olivier). He tells Hamlet that he was murdered, who did it and how it was done as the audience sees the murder re-enacted in a flashback as the ghost describes – Claudius is seen pouring poison into a sleeping King Hamlet's ear, thereby killing him.

Hamlet does not at first accept what his father’s ghost tells him to be the truth, but prepares to act mad to test Claudius' conscience. Hamlet’s feigned insanity attracts the attention of Polonius (Felix Aylmer), the Lord Chamberlain. Convinced Hamlet has gone mad, Polonius pushes the point with the King. He tells him that Hamlet’s madness is derived from his love for Ophelia (Jean Simmons), Polonius's daughter. In order to convince the king, Polonius sets up a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia. After overhearing their exchange, Claudius is convinced.

A wandering company of stage performers arrives at Elsinore and Hamlet invites them to stay, requesting them to enact the play The Murder of Gonzago for the king. Hamlet makes a few alterations to the play, so as to make it mirror the circumstances of his late father's murder. Claudius, obviously uncomfortable with the message being sent, calls out for light and retires to his room. Hamlet is now convinced of Claudius' treachery and seeks to kill him. He finds Claudius alone, praying. Not wishing to send his father’s killer to heaven, he decides to wait and bide his time.

Hamlet stops himself from killing the King.

He instead goes to his mother and confronts her about the matter of his father's death and Claudius' role. During this confrontation, he hears a voice from behind the curtain, and, believing it’s Claudius eavesdropping, plunges his dagger into the body. Hamlet discovers that he has killed Polonius instead. Hamlet is not very upset and continues to confront his mother. He then sees his father’s ghostly apparition and proceeds to converse with it. Gertrude, who cannot see the ghost, is now also convinced that her son has gone mad.

Hamlet confronts his mother.

Claudius finding out that he’s killed Polonius deports Hamlet to England, giving orders to have Hamlet killed once he arrives. Fortunately, Hamlet's ship is attacked by pirates, whom he befriends and who return him to Denmark.

Meanwhile, Ophelia goes mad over Hamlet's rejection and the idea that he had killed her father. She drowns herself, committing suicide. Laertes (Terence Morgan), Ophelia's brother, is driven to avenge her death, as well as his father's.

Ophelia (Jean Simmons) commits suicide when Hamlet rejects her.

Claudius and Laertes, after learning of Hamlet's return, prepare to have him killed. They want to make it look like an accident. Laertes is to challenge Hamlet to a duel, wherein Laertes will use a poisoned blade that will kill with a bare touch. In case that fails, Claudius also prepares a poisoned drink.

Hamlet is informed about Laertes’ challenge by Osric (Peter Cushing), a courtier, and accepts. Initially, the scheme Claudius and Laertes planned looks to be failing. Hamlet wins the first two rounds of the duel. Gertrude, suspecting poison, drinks from the cup intended for Hamlet.

In-between bouts, Laertes rushes Hamlet and strikes him on the arm, fatally poisoning him. Not knowing this, Hamlet continues the duel, eventually disarming Laertes and switching blades with him. Hamlet then strikes Laertes in the wrist, fatally wounding him.

Already mortally wounded, Hamlet wins the duel with Laertes.

Gertrude then dies from the poison, but not before warning Hamlet not to drink from the cup. While he lays dying, Laertes confesses the whole plot to Hamlet, who then, in a fit of rage, flies down at Claudius from the top of the stairs, killing him. Only then does Hamlet die.

Horatio, horrified by all this, orders that Hamlet be given a decent funeral, and the young prince's body is taken away to the embattlements where the story began.

The young prince's body is taken away to the embattlements where the film began.

This film set a number of firsts when it came to Awards. Hamlet was the first film in which the leading actor had directed himself to an Oscar-winning performance. Olivier was the first actor to win an Academy Award for a Shakespearean role. The film was the first non-American film to win Best Picture and it is the only one to have won both Best Picture and the Venice Film Festival – Great International Prize of Venice (The Golden Lion). While the Venice Film Festival has been overshadowed by the Cannes Film Festival, Venice is the oldest (founded in 1932) and some say most prestigious international film festival. The film also won the BAFTA for Best Film From Any Source, but did not win Best British Film. That distinction went to Carol Reed’s The Fallen Idol.

Hamlet was not without its critics. They pointed out the truncation of the play and the slant from politics to Oedipal fixation. The exclusion of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern robbed the film of any possible comedic moments which Shakespeare had included in the play.

Over the years, some of the luster has gone from Hamlet. Once considered to be the definitive cinematic Hamlet, that hasn’t stopped others from making their own adaptations of Hamlet, including Bill Colleran in 1964 directing Richard Burton in the lead; Tony Richardson in 1969 with Nicol Williamson in the lead; Franco Zeffirelli, in 1990 with Mel Gibson in the lead; Kenneth Branagh directing himself in 1996; Michael Almereyda in 2000 with Ethan Hawke in the lead; and Gregory Doran directing David Tennant in a BBC version in 2009.

Everything about this Hamlet screams seriousness, starting with the score written by William Walton. You know right away that you should leave any joy you had coming in at the auditorium door. This is a dark movie in almost every regard. The black and white cinematography by Desmond Dickinson is both reminiscent of German Expressionism as well as film noir. The sets are both improbably large but the passageways somewhat claustrophobic, as if playing against the public spectacle of the royal court and the dark, death-obsessed mind of Hamlet.

Olivier may be the great Shakespearean actor of his generation, but his performance here, especially nearly 70 years hence, seems stodgy and unrealistic. Perhaps it works better on stage, but his Hamlet on film comes off as a dated interpretation. It’s the kind of acting that you think of when you think of Shakespeare, which is unfair to the source material.

Despite their direction, a couple of the actors seemed to break through. Peter Cushing, best known as for his appearances in horror films and as Grand Moff Tarkin in the first Star Wars, practically disappears as Osric, the foppish courtier, which I think is a sign of how well he played the role. His Osric provides the only smiles and near laughs in an otherwise dour film. It should be noted that a frequent co-star of Cushing’s is also in the film; somewhere in the background, is a spear carrying Christopher Lee.

Peter Cushing plays Osric, a courtier in Hamlet.

Jean Simmons, who would have a long and distinguished career, was nominated for her role as Ophelia. The Academy has a history of rewarding actresses who play crazy or disabled, so the nomination as Best Supporting Actress isn’t really a surprise. Her madness just seems to come on her all at once. Perhaps there is more in the original play that explains it, but here she seems to snap like a twig.

Jean Simmons plays Ophelia and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by the Academy.

I also found myself liking Norman Wooland as Horatio. I think he had a very good presence in the movie.

While Olivier did edit out great portions of the play, I have no doubts that he respected the author of the play more than I can imagine. He excised portions and characters that took screen time away from the themes he wanted to concentrate on with his adaptation. Still, there are the usual quotable lines and soliloquies, though Olivier isn’t above truncating them as well. Despite that and even if you are a relative novice, this is one of those Shakespeare plays that you are no doubt more familiar with then you may realize as time after time something you’ve heard before will be spoken. 

"To be or not to be" is one of the famous soliloquies in Hamlet.

Olivier’s Hamlet is very much a filmed stage play, though there are a few shots outside the confines of a sound stage. This is not a film that plays well to a modern audience, who may be used to more natural acting. Practically everything Hamlet says is spoken with the same intensity and speed of delivery. This has been my complaint before about films based on Shakespeare’s works; if the dialogue is spoken too fast, the uninformed audience can get lost trying to keep up.

Some of the sets are impressive, but still somewhat bare.

There is a bit of flourish near the end of the film, when Hamlet and Laertes are involved in their swordplay. It must be criteria for a Shakespearean trained actor to be good with a sword, since both actors show a real flair, fighting with two swords each. But this little bit of action is not enough to save the film for me. I’ve seen old posters advertise this Hamlet as “One of the screens most exciting experiences,” but the film critic for Look magazine, to whom the blurb is credited, and I must have had very different experiences while watching it.

The swordfight at the end of the film offered some flourish.

Of the Shakespeare films we’ve seen and reviewed as part of Shakespeare September, Olivier’s Hamlet is perhaps my least favorite. I had trepidations about the film going in, remembering what bits I’d seen reminding me too much of school. Good films can introduce their audiences to new texts and give them an appreciation of that text. Great films accomplish this much more subtly and also draw the audience in. Olivier’s Hamlet never forgets its own importance and you get the feeling you are always on the outside looking in.

Stubs – Othello

Othello (1995) Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh, Irène Jacob, Nathaniel Parker, Michael Maloney. Directed by Oliver Parker. Screenplay by Oliver Parker Based on the play Othello by William Shakespeare (London, ca. 1604, published 1622). Produced by David Barron, Luc Roeg.  Run Time: 125 minutes. U.K. U.S. Color Drama, Tragedy

In our continuing study of movies based on the plays of William Shakespeare, next up is the 1995 version of Othello, based on the play of the same name, also known as The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. The play was written around 1603-04 and based on the short story Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain") by Cinthio, first published in 1565. The first known performance of Othello was November 1, 1604 at Whitehall Palace in London.

The play is somewhat unique in the canon of Shakespeare’s plays in that the eponymous character is a non-white, Moor. Moors were medieval Muslim inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), Sicily and Malta. The Moors arrived on the Iberian Peninsula in 711 from North African Morrocco and remained until they were expelled in 1492, the same year Christopher Columbus sailed for the New World under the Spanish kingdom’s flag.

The term Moors was a derogatory term for Muslims and was applied in Europe to Arabs and Sub-Saharan Africans. While Shakespeare left Othello’s race ambiguous, he is often portrayed as a black African.

Othello has inspired two operas, both called Otello and both in Italian. The first has a libretto by Francesco Maria Berio di Salsi and music by Gioachino Rossini. This Otello was first performed on December 4, 1816. Seventy-one years later, Giuseppe Verdi and librettist Arrigo Boito wrote a second adaptation. This one was first performed in Milan on February 5, 1887.

Films have been made using both the plays and the operas as a basis since 1909, though oftentimes Othello was played by a white actor. Emil Jannings, the great German silent actor, played the role in 1922; Orson Welles in his own version in 1952; and Laurence Olivier played Othello on film in 1965. Our Othello marked the first major film production to cast a black actor, Laurence Fishburne, as Othello.

The film marks Oliver Parker’s directorial debut. While the film follows the play’s plot very closely, lines are cut and some scenes are added. This is to be expected as every screenwriter/director wants to put his own mark on the project and not merely film the play. Live-theater and film are similar, but very different ways of telling a story and Parker cannot be faulted for using the aspects of the media that were not available to Shakespeare when he wrote this play.

The film, like the play, opens in Venice. Desdemona (Irène Jacob) is hurrying to her secret marriage ceremony to Othello (Laurence Fishbourne), a Moorish general in the Army. Roderigo (Michael Maloney), who is in love with Desdemona, complains about this to his friend, Iago (Kenneth Branagh), an ensign under Othello, who hates him because he believes Othello slept with his wife, Emilia (Anna Patrick). For money, he promises Roderigo that he’ll split up the marriage, so he can have his chance with Desdemona.

The two go to wake Brabantio (Pierre Vaneck), Desdemona’s father, to tell him of his daughter’s elopement. Brabantio is enraged at the news and gathers the family to go after Othello. Afterwards, Iago finds Othello and warns him that Brabatino is coming after him.

Brabantio and his family confront Othello and his men, but while there is some sword-play, they are called to the Duke of Venice’s (Gabriele Ferzetti) residence. News has arrived in Venice that the Turks are going to attack Cyprus and Othello has been summoned.

Othello (Laurence Fishbourne) confronts his father-in-law. Iago (Kenneth Branagh) is to the left.

In front of the Duke, Brabantio accuses Othello of seducing Desdemona by witchcraft. To clear the air, Dedemona is summoned to the residence. Desdemona confirms that she loves Othello, which satisifies the senate and the Duke, but Brabantio is still not overjoyed.

Brabantio (Pierre Vaneck) is not happy about Desdemona's (Irene Jacobs) marriage to Othello.

The real business before the Duke is gotten to and Othello is sent to Cyprus to command the Venetian Army against the Turks. Othello leaves, accompanied by his new wife, Cassio (Nathaniel Parker), a new lieutenant, Iago, and Emilia, who is also Desdemona’s attendant.

The Turks flee Cyrus and Othello orders a general celebration. While Othello is spending private time with Desdemona, Iago schemes to ruin Cassio. After admitting to Iago that he can’t hold his liquor, Iago gets him drunk and then persuades Rodrigo to draw him out into a fight. When Othello learns of the fight, he blames Cassio and strips him of his rank.

Desdemona joins Othello on Cyprus after the Turks flee.

Iago, always the mixer, convinces Cassio to use Desdemona as a go-between to help rehabilitate his reputation with Othello. Iago then persuades Othello to be suspicious of Cassio and Desdemona.

When Desdemona uses a handkerchief with strawberries on it, a family heirloom of sorts for Othello and his first gift to her, to help bind Othello’s headache, she accidentally drops it on the bed. Emilia, who has watched this, scoops it up and delivers it to Iago, but has no idea why he wants it. Iago then plants the handkerchief in Cassio’s residence.

Still trying to convince Othello of Desdemona’s affair, Iago has Othello watch as he speaks with Cassio about the handkerchief. Instead of the handkerchief, Iago speaks to Cassio about his affair with Bianca (Indra Ové), a local woman with whom Cassio has been spending a lot of time with lately. While they are speaking, Bianca confronts Cassio about the handkerchief and chastises him for giving her a gift he received from a prior lover. Cassio pleads with her that that is not the case and follows after her.

Iago talks with Cassio (Nathaniel Parker) under false pretenses to prove a point to Othello.

Othello, having seen this exchange, is convinced by Iago that Cassio had received the handkerchief from Desdemona, despite the great significance Othello placed on it in the context of their relationship. Othello is enraged at his wife’s betrayal and resolves to kill her. He then asks Iago to kill Cassio.

From then on, Othello is rather cruel to Desdemona, even striking her in front of visiting Venetian nobles, including Lodovico (Michael Sheen).

 Lodovico (Michael Sheen) is one of the visiting Venetian nobles.

Meanwhile, Roderigo is not happy with the lack of progress Iago has made and wants his money back. Iago convinces him to kill Cassio; Iago hides while Roderigo attacks Cassio on the street, but in the swordfight, Roderigo is wounded by Cassio, even though Iago creeps up from behind Cassio and badly cuts his leg during the skirmish.

Cassio cries for help and Iago, along with the Venetian nobles, comes to help. While the others attend to Cassio, Iago pretends to help Roderigo, whom he quietly stabs to prevent him from revealing the plot. Later we see Cassio and Roderigo being attended to in an infirmary. Roderigo is not quite dead when he arrives, but dies while Iago watches.

Later that night, Othello confronts Desdemona and refuses to believe her pleas that she has been faithful to him. He then smothers her with a pillow. She is not quite dead when Emilia arrives to tell Othello about Roderigo’s death. When Desdemona dies, Emilia screams for help. Lodovico, Iago and others arrive.

Othello can't be convinced of Desdemona's fidelity.

Still in the bedroom, Desdemona’s body still where she was killed, Othello admits to the murder. Emilia begins to explain the situation, implicating her husband when Othello mentions the handkerchief as proof of Desdemona’s betrayal. Iago then stabs Emilia in front of everyone. She asks to be laid down next to her mistress to die.

Realizing Desdemona’s innocence, Othello stabs Iago, but not fatally, saying that he would rather have Iago live the rest of his life in pain. For his part, Iago refuses to explain his motives, vowing to remain silent from that moment on. Othello commits suicide with a dagger he has hidden and dies on the bed next to Desdemona. Cassio is made Governor of the island by Lodovico and Iago is sent away to be punished.

Iago gets what's coming to him when Othello stabs him.

Unlike the play, the movie ends with a burial at sea for the bodies, presumably of Othello and Desdemona. Othello, like The Merchant of Venice (2004) and Romeo and Juliet (1968), was shot on location, with some scenes shot in Venice. Like Merchant, the authentic backdrops add to the realism of the story.

The acting for the most part is very good. Laurence Fishbourne was an established actor by this point in his career, having starred in such films as Boyz In the Hood (1991) and having appeared on stage. Up until then, he was not an actor one associated with Shakespeare. However, he is very good in the role and brings out all sides of Othello’s character.

Laurence Fishbourne as Othello.

He is teamed with Kenneth Branagh, an actor who is very much associated with the works of Shakespeare, having appeared in several stage productions and writing, directing and starring in the films Henry V (1989) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Branagh is excellent at the conniving, scheming and generally evil Iago. The character has so much screentime and carries the plot that he could be considered to be the lead, though not the hero of the piece.

Kenneth Branagh plays Iago.

Other fine performances are turned in by Indra Ové as the beautiful Desdemona, Nathaniel Parker as Cassio and Anna Patrick as Emilia. Of these, I think Parker’s Cassio is the best and certainly the meatiest of the roles. Just for reference sake, the Parkers, director and actor, are brothers and Anna Patrick is also Nathaniel’s wife. Sometimes nepotism pays off, as they are both very fine actors.

For a first time director, I think Oliver Patrick did a good job of keeping the story moving forward. I’ve seen that some adaptations can take up to three plus hours to tell the story. The shorter running time means that a lot of the play was excised In order to keep things moving. While that might be seen as a disservice to the Bard, it is not out of line with the writer’s own work. Even though we may see Shakespeare as a lofty writer of tragedies and comedies, he was in reality writing for the enjoyment of the common man, which made up the audience at the Globe Theatre where much of his work premiered. This Othello, with its shorter run time, is perhaps better suited for today’s audience, with shorter attention spans, than a full out and out adaptation of the entire play.

The film received over all positive reviews, with Branagh called out for his Iago. He was even nominated for the Screen Actors Guild’s Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. Fishburne would receive an Image Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture and the film would be nominated for Outstanding Motion Picture. However, despite the good reviews, this production was far from a success. Budgeted at $11 million, this Othello brought in less than $3 million in the U.S.

For me, this was my first exposure to Othello. This recent immersion in Shakespearean films has exposed me to a lot of stories that I had either avoided or neglected, depending on your point of view. For some reason Othello always seemed sort of intimidating to me. This production made this story much more accessible for me.

However, even though the acting was good, I still found myself getting lost sometimes in the meter of Shakespeare’s dialogue. Despite that, the film was not really hard to follow on a high level, but some subtleties with story and dialogue sort of washed over me and I’m sure I’ve missed out on some based on my own lack of knowledge of Shakespeare.

If you’re new to Shakespearean films like I am, then I would certainly recommend this film to you. Again, the acting and directing are very good and the pace of the film keeps things moving. However, I’m not sure if the more knowledgeable of the Bard you are the less you may forgive the cuts or the additions that were made. If for no other reason, the film should be seen for Fishburne’s and Branagh’s performances.