Develiker
terrible... so disappointed.
Sabah Hensley
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
Ezmae Chang
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Allissa
.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
otisfirefly2001
I am only going to comment on the Mystery science theater 3000 version.How could this ever be saved? In a movie that is obviously shot on one movie set(no attempt is really made to give the impression of location changes). Not even Mike and the 'bots could save this garbage. The movie is so horrible, and bad that their jokes just fall flat. Though I do enjoy some of the lines, such as Servo remarking, "What's worse then clowns? Danish clowns." I feel that the only way this movie is watchable is on MST3K. And not even they could save this trash. Do yourself a favor and skip this one. Try another MST3K episode Like Puma Man; Jack Frost; Overdrawn At the Memory Bank; Space Mutiny. there are tons of other great episodes then this one. Why they chose to put this episode on DVD is beyond me.
Shannon
** Possible spoilers ahead **I saw this movie only through the aid of Mike and the bots from Mystery Science Theater 3000 a.k.a MST3K. I am a fan of Shakespeare. I've read "Hamlet" a few times. This is the fourth film version of Hamlet I've seen, and it is the worst. The Mel Gibson and Laurence Olivier versions are just breathtakingly wonderful. Branagh's version is slightly tolerable (watch Branagh's "Henry V" instead). This 1960 version just absolutely reeks of badness.Not only is Shakespeare rolling in his grave but Laurence Olivier is probably rolling in his, too, and I don't blame them. There is just one scene with about 10 props and that's it. I loved the riffs from MST3K such as "Hamlet-Man," and "the famous rap artist, the notorious K.I.N.G." Oh, and this movie is very poorly dubbed into English. The filmmakers and directors of this sad, sad, film version of Hamlet are all Laurence Olivier wanna-bees. It was blatanly obvious that they were copying Olivier's film techniques from his version of Shakespeare's tragedy. Here's some advice for future filmmakers (especially those who want to bring Shakespeare to the big screen): NEVER, and I mean NEVER try to copy filmmaking techniques from older, classic films and try to make them breathtaking. It will never work.My hats off to MST3K for making this film tolerable.
divaclv
Here we have undeniable proof that even the best material cannot save a shoddy, poorly-mounted production. Yeah, I know Hamlet is supposed to be a pretty bleak story about death, vengance, madness, and all those other wonderful things that spice up life. But this dreary, depressing piece of German Existentialism pretty much sucks any trace of life from Shakespeare's unparalleled poetry.Depression seems to be common stock in Denmark. First there's Hamlet himself, played in such a broody, pouty manner by Maximillian Schnell that one ends up wishing he'd opted for "not to be" instead of "to be." He's found the perfect mate in Ophelia, who balances dead-faced melancholy with histronic whimpering. Polonious, meanwhile, isn't depressed but his stood-under-a-tree-in-an-electrical-storm hair and bad German accent (that is, the bad German accent of the actor who dubbed the English track) is very depressing. Even the comic gravedigger seems in need of Prozac.Then there's the production values, what little there is. Gertrude and Claudius, despite being the most powerful and therefore wealthiest people in Denmark, only have one change of clothes. Hamlet's late father dresses like a Sigfried and Roy wannabe, but it doesn't matter as nearly all of his big scene is spent focused directly on Hamlet's face, putting one uneasily in mind of Alanis Morrisette's "Head Over Feet" video. The wood-and-Styrofoam set would embarrass a high-school drama club, and the poor lighting and dark clothes make for a lot of disembodied heads and hands floating across the screen.Credit the MST3K boys for tackling this misguided piece and bringing some life back to one of the Bard's greatest works.
Gislef
...this verson doesn't mangle the Bard that badly. It's still a horrible minimalist production, Hamlet's Dutch uncle is inexplicably dubbed by a Spaniard (whether it's Ricardo Montalban or not is subject to debate), and Maximilian Schell overacts like never before. Most of the dialogue makes it through unscathed, and the fact that the MST3K version feels obliged to point out repeatedly that the speeches are long *duh* doesn't strike me as incredibly humorous. Mostly it's just bad acting, though.