Search - Hamlet

Although criticized by Shakespeare devotees upon its release because of director, producer, and star Laurence Olivier's decision to excise large portions of the text, his cinematic version of -Hamlet is widely considered the best out of several dozens (and counting). Hamlet (Olivier) is a medieval Danish prince who's still melancholy over the sudden death of his father and the quick, subsequent remarriage of his mother, Queen Gertrude (Eileen Herlie) to his uncle, Claudius (Basil Sydney). Informed by the ghost of his father that Claudius murdered him, Hamlet schemes to take revenge. Unsure how best to proceed, his delays and the horrible secret burdening him eventually lead to the violent snuffing out of several lives in both his family and that of courtier Polonius (Felix Aylmer), whose daughter Ophelia (Jean Simmons) is in love with Hamlet. Greatly influenced by the inventive camera work in Citizen Kane (1941) and by modern, psychological reinterpretations of Shakespeare's play, Olivier's masterpiece was the winner of four Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Best Actor (Olivier), Best Black and White Art Direction/Set Direction and Best Black and White Costume Design. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Laurence Olivier - Hamlet
Eileen Herlie - Gertrude
Basil Sydney - Claudius
Jean Simmons - Ophelia
Norman Wooland - Horatio
Felix Aylmer - Polonius

1948	Best Film - Any Source (winner)	British Academy of Film and Television	Laurence Olivier
1948	Best Actor (winner)	Golden Globe	Laurence Olivier
1948	Best Actor (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Laurence Olivier
1948	Best Black and White Art Direction (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Roger Furse
1948	Best Black and White Art Direction (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Carmen Dillon
1948	Best Black and White Costume Design (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Roger Furse
1948	Best Director (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Laurence Olivier
1948	Best Drama or Comedy Score (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Erin Casimir
1948	Best Supporting Actress (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Jean Simmons
1948	International Grand Prize for Best Film (winner)	Venice International Film Festival	Laurence Olivier
1948	International Prize for Best Actress (winner)	Venice International Film Festival	Jean Simmons
1948	Best Actor (winner)	New York Film Critics Circle	Laurence Olivier

These movies have the touch and feel of Hamlet...
1	Criterion Collection: Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women (NR)
3	Elmer Gantry (NR)
3	Private Life of Henry VIII
1	Written on the Wind [Criterion Collection] (NR)
2	My Life to Live (NR)
1	Sleuth (PG)
6	Gilda (NR)
1	When Father Was Away On Business
4	Klute (R)
S	Montenegro
11	Body Heat (R)
S	Pauline at the Beach (R)
44	Much Ado About Nothing [Widescreen/Fullscreen] (PG-13)
S	Boudu Saved from Drowning [Criterion Collection]
23	The Piano (R)
These movies have the subject or theme of Hamlet...
32	Hamlet (PG)
79	The Shining (R)
50	It's a Wonderful Life (NR)
1	The Hearse (PG)
S	Dominique Is Dead (PG)
S	Dead of Night/Queen of Spades (R)
3	Kwaidan [Widescreen & Subtitled] (NR)
97	Ghost [Widescreen] (PG-13)
1	Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (NR)
1	Crossfire (NR)
8	Truly Madly Deeply (PG)
13	The Haunting (G)
38	Somewhere in Time (PG)
S	Ordet
These movies share cast/crew with Hamlet...
3	Richard III
4	Henry V
4	The Prince and the Showgirl (NR)
22	Spartacus (PG-13)
8	Wuthering Heights
2	49th Parallel
10	Rebecca (NR)
2	Pride and Prejudice (NR)
S	As You Like it (NR)
2	Lady Caroline Lamb
1	Three Sisters (PG)
3	Fire Over England
S	Ivanhoe (NR)
2	The Mummy (NR)
S	Dance of Death
These movies cover the same subjects as Hamlet...
S	As You Like it (NR)
S	The Bad Sleep Well
32	Hamlet (PG)
3	Richard III
1	King Lear
S	Grigori Kozintsev's Hamlet
1	Othello (NR)
S	Royal Deceit (R)
1	Hamlet
5	Hamlet (R)
These movies are similar to Hamlet...
1	Othello (NR)
14	Hamlet [Special Edition] (PG-13)