Check out upcomingmovies.com for fall 1999! GASP!

-- mikken (mikken@neo.rr.com), July 24, 1999

Answers

Well, at least the guy, Greg, said "Though I anticipate this film, I would still submit that it would have a tough time besting Kenneth Branagh's 1996 Hamlet, which though overlooked, was one of the best films of that year, and indeed, one of the most amazing Shakespeare film adaptations ever." I'm not looking forward to this quite as much as he is though. Interesting premise though. I think Branagh was planning to update his Macbeth as well, to something like Wall Street Macbeth...

-- Virginia (vleong@ibm.net), July 24, 1999.

Has anyone seen Hamlet(2000) yet? It hasn't come to my area and I wanted to hear the opinions of Branagh fans.

-- mikken (mikken@neo.rr.com), June 14, 2000.

I saw it last weekend at a small art-house theatre. It's not really comparable to Branagh's in terms of interpretation as they're completely different but in terms of the acting, Mr. B's wins hands down. I think that there were some very good ideas at play but the director didn't go as far as he could have with them. For example, "to be..." at Blockbuster against a backdrop of "Action" signs...and then what? It's an "updated" version of the play (hey, so was Branagh's) but I didn't think it was as radical as Baz Lurhman's R&J (even though I *hated* that one). The actors aren't wonderful although Bill Murray as Polonius and the guy who plays Laertes were better. A LOT of the text was cut out and/or rearranged so if you're familiar with the play, you'll cringe when something you expect doesn't come. You hear the gravedigger sing a bit of Dylan but all of his lines are cut. In particular almost all of the "rogue and peasant slave" speech is excised. All of the soliloquies were voiceovers, which didn't quite match with what I was looking at. Besides, the solil. are supposed to be the parts in which the actor is allowed to shine! The Moustrap scene is funny though. You'll find they kept the fencing in at the end, which was incredibly out of place; I'm sure they could have thought of something more suitable. The ending was a disappointment. The reviews for it were good but I didn't think it was *that* good. But, if you like Shax, see it just to see yet another way that Hamlet could be interpreted. Was Shax ambiguous or what?

-- Virginia (vleong@attglobal.net), June 14, 2000.

Well I've just read that. Now, I'd like to cut the livers out of those who cut bits out of HAMLET and see how they like it. : ) WS ain't ambiguous: it's only how he's processed. This one sounds like a HAMLET hamburger: a bit of beef, minced and sliced thin, in a cotton wool bun, with a scrap of pickle to try and spice it up. Me, I want the whole pure bloody steak to chew on.

-- catherine england (catherine_england@hotmail.com), October 28, 2002.

I liked it. It was a bit more in touch with reality than Baz's R+J (which I really liked, incidentally). I find it really entertaining watching what directors can do with Shakespeare, see just how far they can stretch it. Like the Richard III with Ian McKellen - "My kingdom for a horse!", when he's stuck in his Landrover ... that was really funny ... ;)

-- Eimear (eimear_ryan@oceanfree.net), March 17, 2003.

The New Hamlet...what can I say but HOW COULD YOU CUT OUT MY "OH WHAT A ROGUE AND PEASANT SLAVE AM I" SPEECH!!!! i AM IN SHOCK, THAT WAS THE BEST SPEECH IN THE BOOK. Apart of course from the conversation between Polonius and Hamlet (...you are a fishmonger, hehehehehe) Overall it was ok, 5the actors could have been better though, and the ending needed more drama, it was to cliche in my opinion, especially under the circumstances!

-- Kelly Ruskin (kelyla8@hotmail.com), June 14, 2003.

Hamlet is incredible! One of my fave movies of all time, by far! An amazing interpretation...

-- Sierra (1203@insex.com), August 24, 2003.

Is everyone talking about that fucking atrocious Hamlet based around that business empire? The one with Bill Murray in it? If so, there really is no debate in the matter:

IT IS SHIT

-- Patrick Von Doomsday (the_right_hand_of_doom@msn.com), August 25, 2003.