It is a notable film firstly because it is the first unabridged theatrical version of the play, running at about 4 hours, and with the original dialogue I know, I can hear the groans. The tale of the downfall of the prince of Denmark and his family contains the same classic messages and timeless themes that initially made it famous, and today we take a look at Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet (1996).

There have been numerous film adaptations and adaptors: Laurence Olivier (1946), Grigori Kozintsev (1964), Tony Richardson (1969), Ethan Hawke (2000). It's an excellent production.Hamlet can be played as a melodrama, or as a tragedy the two are not entirely immiscible, but the grandiosity and the melancholy of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays leaves it often to interpretation. Although I personally do not find this offensive as a viewer, I have to be sensitive to the values of my community, and I strongly advise teachers who want to show this to preview this film and make sure that it's acceptable for your school, students, and district. More problematic is that during Ophelia's mad scene, when she is referring to 'Young men will do't if they come to it,' she thrusts her hips into Claudius and then lies on the floor raising and lowering her hips in a manner suggestive of intercourse. You do not see frontal nudity, rear ends, or genitalia. One heads-up: If you are a teacher intending to show this to a class, please be aware that there is some brief nudity in Act IV (the second half of the movie) in a very brief flashback scene in which Hamlet and Ophelia are shown naked on a bed kissing. Branagh takes very few interpretive risks with the text, unlike Gibson, Jacobi, and Tennant, but while this does not make for an exciting re-reading of the play, it does provide a fantastic 'baseline' to evaluate other productions. This is the most faithful adaptation of Shakespeare's play currently available.

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