"Hamlet" by Laurence Olivier
Review of the Film of 1948
with occasional comparisons to the "Hamlet" of Kenneth Branagh
Roy Lisker, March 25, 2003
Hamlet, Laurence Olivier; Ophelia , Jean Simmons; Gertrude, Eileen Herlie ; Claudius, Basil Sidney; Polonius, Felix Aylmer; Horatio, Norman Wooland; Music, William Walton;Writer, Alan Dent; Art Director, Carmen Dillon. Filmed in Elsinore, Denmark. 153 minutes.
Olivier's "Hamlet" cuts out perhaps as much as 50% of Shakespeare's script. Major characters, including Fortinbras, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are excised altogether. Without Fortinbras he can dispense as well with Voltemand and Cornelius. The recitation of the sack of Troy is deleted, as is all of The Murder of Gonzago except the dumb show, that is to say, the hackneyed theatrical tradition denigrated by Hamlet himself but which the Players perform anyway.
Scenes are switched about, major speeches replaced by single lines, other speeches reconstructed as a collage put together from different parts of the play. The film was produced in Elsinore, Denmark , although even though Shakespeare never left England.
The result is a sterling masterpiece, a beautifully functioning art , all of whose components, acting, words, blocking, camerawork, scenery and music are brilliantly combined. I for one am convinced that Shakespeare would have approved.
Olive's 'Hamlet" is a paradigm for the comparison of the limitations and advantages of film and the stage. Shakespeare's Globe had no use for scenery apart from a few props. Time and location were deliberately ambiguous. The full focus of attention was concentrated on the actors themselves who, by means of their skill, energy and imagination were charged with the magical creation of an entire universe.
Movies are inherently multimedia, Wagner's Gesamptkunstwerk made reality . It stands to reason that it may sometimes be necessary to excise large portions of a classic text, allowing the remainder to shine that much more effectively in its relationship to a more elaborated background of sounds and sights. One may reduce some of the components, music, costuming, decor at the expense of the others: the fact remains that the script and the virtuosity of the performers must accommodate themselves to their surroundings if a proper integration of the whole is to be achieved. Judged from this perspective the Olivier 'Hamlet' is a remarkable achievement.
By contrast Kenneth Branagh's film of 1996, scrupulous in all respects in the reproduction of every line of the standard text, filled with rich and overpowering settings, cloying music and lots of superfluous stage business ( such as the 'invasion' of Elsinore by the Norwegian troops led by Fortinbras) , fails conclusively. Were it not for the high competence, even brilliance of the performances of individual actors ( including Branagh himself) , it has little to recommend it. Rather than combing in harmonious union, music, scenery, costuming, acting, recitation and camerawork in Branagh's production get in each other's way, leaving the most ardent Hamlet devotee, ( myself among them) who would otherwise relish every single word of Shakespeare's text, keenly disappointed.
The thrill of watching Laurence Olivier's production begins right from the opening scene, with the clash of mighty ocean waves breaking against the stone cliffs of Elsinore accompanied by the stirring discords of William Walton's score. Like Mendelssohn's incidental music to the Midsummer Night's Dream, Walton's music works as an orchestral composition on its own. The same cannot be said, ( for me), of Patrick Doyle's score used in the Branagh production.
Although I am always annoyed when someone tries to tell me what a work of art "means" , the phrases introducing Olivier's film that let us that this is to be a play about " a man who could not make up his mind" , do at least warn us that this is to be a 'thoughtful' Hamlet. 'Hamlet' can be played, variously, as 'thoughtful', 'heart-broken', 'mad', 'depressed', 'vengeful' , 'romantic', 'political', 'noble', 'corrupted', etc . For my taste a 'thoughtful' Hamlet is the best,( which does not lessen my appreciation of other ways of treating his character) . Personalities distinguished by the quality and depth of their thinking are relatively rare in the history of theater. No doubt this explains why a script filled with so much confusion and outright inconsistencies continues to command our attention after 400 years.
Scenery, staging, decor, setting and camerawork in the Olivier production are of the highest artistic quality, not so much in the technical sense as in their capacity to stir the imagination. This is in vivid contrast to so much of modern cinema where the intention appears to be to drug the imagination.
In a good film the camera itself is alive, another actor in its own right. The high level of interest maintained by the camera work has the result that all things, such as bells, fogs, steep ascents, dark shadows, suggestions of distances and vistas, convey the idea that, although the film was made in an actual 20th century Elsinore, it functions more effectively as a realm of dreams than anywhere else .
Focusing on the details:
The opening scene: Use of long pointed lances to create an aura of barbarity. Use of steep, treacherous stairwells, many opportunities for dramatic blocking. Camera moves in to a closeup of Marcellus' face, catching his growing horror. In one sequence a huge lance cuts across the image, forming a startling 3-dimensional contrast. Rough hewn pillars and rocks. William Walton's score segues between the battlements and the court. Camera moves about, slowly and intimately, capturing the atmosphere of gloomy foreboding. It lingers on the bedroom: unhappy intrusion of Dr. Freud!
Opening scene in the court. Basil Sidney is simply magnificent as Claudius, much better than Derek Jacobi in the Branagh production. ( Given the high competence of Jacobi as an actor, it's possible he just didn't find the role congenial.) Sly, a bit drunk, dissolute, very crafty, glorifying openly in his power, treacherous.
Olivier has transformed the public display one normally associates with this scene to a meeting of councilors. Most of the attendees are elderly. Felix Aylmer is a splendid Polonius. The superior camera work, and the distribution of the cast, combined with costumes and decor, produce a global effect of a print or etching from the 17th century. When Sidney recites the "insult" speech, ( in which Claudius upbraids Hamlet for persisting in grief at the death of the man he himself killed) , he does a far better job than Jacobi. Projecting the first soliloquy as a "voice over" works very well. Olivier's Hamlet falls short where Branagh's succeeds, the quality of "heartbreak".
Ophelia and Laertes: Walton's poignant and beautiful "Ophelia theme" in the oboes. Works effectively all through the film. Nice modal sound between medieval and modern. Some criticism of the costuming: Laertes, Claudius, Gertrude, do not wear their robes well. They seem worried that they may fall off. Costuming of Hamlet, Ophelia and Polonius is better.
Horatio, Hamlet: While Horatio says, "The king your father", the camera does a close up on Olivier's face to show powerful effects of shock and grief. Cross-cutting of staircases, walls, sinister shadows, alternately bands of dark and light. Terrific.
Second night on the battlements. "Particular fault" speech. Olivier pushing the "tragic flaw" interpretation, although it doesn't really apply to Hamlet. Pirandello might have renamed the play " Great playwright in search of a character." "Hamlet" begins as a revenge play, that is to say a B-movie, and becomes, with the death of Polonius a grand tragedy which owes much to Seneca yet far surpasses its model. Note in particular the character of Polonius undergoes transformation from that of an obnoxious clown to a deeply grieved father.
Camera works in counterpoint with Olivier's diction to capture the nobility of the rhetoric " ....Nemean Lion's nerve", etc. Camera effectively positioned as from a great height.
Hamlet and the Ghost: Thick mist and fog. Wonderful lighting effects. Very impressive, all sinister and mysterious, good music. Ghost clearly portrayed as a thing from Hell, not to be trusted. Close-ups of Olivier's face as his father reveals the truth to him. Expresses and changes emotion with great effectiveness.
Olivier falls into a faint. He never does this well.
Dark platform. Mist and clouds. Olivier leans over wall, stares into the wild ocean. Sounds of winds and waves raging. Watchmen catch up with him. Most of Ghost's cries from under ground are deleted. Olivier delights us with his "antic disposition".
Ophelia, Hamlet: Voice over while Ophelia is sitting and sewing. Very good.
Caligari-like setting, doorways, halls, rooms.
Polonius,King, Queen. Since he doesn't know anything about the secrets Hamlet is carrying about, he naturally misinterprets his "madness" as a symptom of unrequited love. Hamlet in fact carries two secrets with him at all times:
(1) Knowledge of the villainy of Claudius (2) Vision of hell. Everyone thinks he's mad except Claudius who knows he isn't. Thus the "antic disposition" , what there is of it, fails with the very person for whom it is intended.
Exciting camera vantages. Use of the camera is eloquent. Halls and doorways, Walton music, fadeouts.
Acts II and III conflated and mixed up. This succeeds for an audience which doesn't know the play. It's something of a disappointment for the aficionados.
Sharp contrast of Hamlet in black, Ophelia in white. Olivier is too subdued in his attack on Ophelia. This is a tirade. Choleric distemper should not be so polite.
To Be Or Not To Be. Taken out of action of play, appears as a cameo. Good idea. Very beautifully performed. Olivier nicely solves the contrast of To Be or Not to Be, with Rogue and pleasant slave reversing their order in the play, then reducing the latter to a single line and a gesture : " The play's the thing!"
Speech to the players. Any competent actor can make something good out of this. Both Branagh and Olivier excel here. The
"play within a play" : all cut but the dumb show. Build-up of tension is conveyed more by the Walton score than by the action. Sidney crying "Light!" is tremendous. Olivier interprets the "play within a play" as a successful psychodrama. One can also make a convincing argument that Shakespeare wants it to fail
Chapel scene. Hamlet stopped by a crucifix. Basil Sidney excellent as always.
Winding staircase. Marvelous 3-dimensional camera work. Light and shadow, coarse-grained rocks.
Bedroom scene Powerful violence between Hamlet and Gertrude. ( Branagh also does a good job of conveying this. Anger, heartbreak, morbid affection). Even Ernest Jones comes up with a good insight here: Hamlet
is filled with murderous violence towards Gertrude. Entrance of the Ghost is far more powerful in the Olivier production; Branagh's Ghost looks as if it was raining in Hell when it left carrying a box of legal documents which got thoroughly soaked. "Guts" line very well delivered.
Mad scenes of Ophelia Eloquent camera fadeouts. "Ophelia Theme" in the oboes Jean Simmons is absolutely splendid in the way she weaves in the folk ballads. A memorable madness. Observe interaction of Ophelia's madness with the setting and the camerawork.
When she runs out to the countryside our hearts stop with anguish!
Gertrude's one powerful speech "There is a willow..." is mutilated. It should not have been.
Graveyard scene: Quite good. Here however the Branagh production is better. Kenneth Branagh seems to have a deep understanding of this scene.
Hamlet, Horatio: Speech in praise of Horatio's equanimity, transposed completely away from the interlude before the Play. To be honest it always seems out of place wherever it's put. On the other hand, we miss "
What a piece of work is a man......"
Peter Cushing as Osric: Straight farce. Any decent production can make it work. "
There is a divinity... " Marvelous. Olivier far outshines Branagh.
The duel.
Everything first-rate. Claudius full of bluster and treachery. Laertes both angry and ashamed. Hamlet filled with sense of noble purpose, unsuspecting of treachery, his black cloud of depression thrown off in the excitement of competition. Gertrude grieving. Horatio faithful to the end. Music, blocking, camera, lighting, decor, all very good.
Summary: Laurence Olivier's "Hamlet" is an abbreviated, stark, imaginative, convincing, exciting, integrated work of art. Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" is entertainment filled with first-echelon actors.
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