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List Price: $9.99 | | Label: Miramax
Salesrank: 13214
Released: April 17, 2001 |
| Our Price: $3.79 |
| Used Price: $3.50 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Hot Hollywood star Ethan Hawke (TRAINING DAY) is joined by Julia Stiles (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) and Bill Murray (LOST IN TRANSLATION) in a hip, thoroughly contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare's epic story of passion, betrayal, and revenge! The president of the Denmark Corporation is dead ... and already his wife is remarried to the man suspected of his murder! Nobody is more troubled than her son, Hamlet (Hawke). Now, after this hostile takeover, trust is impossible, passion is on the rise, and revenge is in the air! Also featuring Kyle MacLachlan (ONE NIGHT STAND), Liev Schreiber (SCREAM 3), Diane Venora (THE INSIDER), and Sam Shepard (THE PELICAN BRIEF) in an outstanding ensemble -- the power of Shakespeare's timeless words is matched by the stunningly modern look and feel of this widely acclaimed, highly entertaining big-screen event!
Description of Hamlet:
Perhaps the least important thing about this latest film version of Shakespeare's masterpiece is its setting in modern-day New York. Yes, such locales as the Guggenheim Museum are used wittily; answering machines and faxes are logically worked into the plot; and it was both inspired and entirely appropriate to make the prince of Denmark a moody, introspective filmmaker whose avant-garde collages provide the context for some of his famous monologues. All of which would be so much pleasantly humorous eye-candy if it didn't come hand in hand with a sympathy for and understanding of this remarkable cast of characters. For that, ultimately, is what makes Michael Almereyda's Hamlet such a delight to watch. Forget that the immortal rumination on suicide is placed in a Blockbuster Video aisle and notice instead how Ethan Hawke's own youthful, callow arrogance makes Hamlet's vacillations believable. And how the comical but infantilizing way Bill Murray's Polonius dotes upon his daughter Ophelia (Julia Stiles)--and her mute acceptance of his attentions--lead her to thoughts of a watery grave even before her bout of madness. And also notice how much Claudius truly does love Gertrude (when gazing at her, Kyle MacLachlan's face relaxes from its usual plasticity) and how Sam Shepard's ghost is less vengeful or tortured than stiffened by remorse. These are the shining moments of invention in Almereyda's bold updating of the play, and they are why this will be a film to watch and enjoy long after its setting has made it as much a period piece as Olivier's adaptation, with its broodingly lit castle, or Branagh's, with its gleaming 19th-century court. --Bruce Reid
Hamlet Reviews:
ethan hawke's slacker hamlet.... 
2009-08-22 - granted the dude's not olivier...trust me, i saw laurence's version when i was in college and the dude owns it....basically, from the way olivier put himself into the role, to the way he spoke his lines...ethan's hamlet is a brooder...but he seems more peeved about his latte being late than about the death of his father...the nice thing about shakespeare is that no matter how you adapt the play, as long as you stick to the spirit of it, it works...some parts, it drags...but i liked the casting...julia stiles as ophelia...lieb schrieber as latertes....i was especially impressed with bill murray as polonius...sam sheppard as hamlet's father was also very good...i thought it was cool to see hamlet recite " to be or not to be " as he was checking out videos at blockbuster...some people didn't care for the coporate takeover methaphor...but i liked it...
I really wanted to like it 
2009-07-23 - Really I did. The setting intrigued me, and I wanted to think that Hamlet could be done in a contemporary corporate setting. Perhaps it can, but, until I saw this, I had no idea that Shakespeare could suck so much.
Techno-babel Hamlet
2009-02-13 - I unique addition to my collection. I am collecting as many of the different video Shakespeare productions and this a good addition to my collection.
Laertes is Awesome 
2008-12-08 - Normally I don't really get into Shakepeare that has been transplanted into modern times, but I think this 2000 version set in modern day New York City does a wonderful job of making that transition smoothly. The "kingdom" is now a large corporation which Hamlet's uncle has taken over. Fortinbras is an interloper looking to make a corporate takeover. You have modern young adults with their angst about life, which is quite believable. I really didn't have a problem with "Shakespearian English" being spoken - I fell into the rhythm of that quite easily.
I really tried to like Ethan Hawke as Hamlet. He definitely had the angst down. However, Hamlet was supposed to be incredibly witty and crafty. This Hamlet seemed mopey. A particular scene that bothered me is when Hamlet barges into his uncle's office ready to kill him. In the regular story Hamlet was about *in*action.
Ophelia was too snotty / eye-rolling. She is supposed to be very dutiful, following her father's orders without question. When she goes mad, she's supposed to be cheerful at her father's death. Instead she is (rightfully) grieving which doesn't make her mad, it makes her sane. I think the best scene with her was the break-up scene. This is one of the only versions I've seen where you really get a sense that this is a couple breaking up, that they loved each other and have a real emotional strain. The fact that Hamlet's emotions "turn" when he realizes Ophelia's father is listening in adds meaning.
Speaking of dad, I know Polonius is supposed to be half-comic but he's also supposed to be half-serious. Bill Murray played him straight as a bumbling idiot which was a shame. The "saying goodbye to his son" scene especially bothered me. It seemed very cold. In most versions this is a meaningful "final talk" between father and son.
Which comes to one of my favorite two cast members. Laertes. I really think this is the best Laertes in all the versions I've seen. Liev Schreiber is awesome. When he says goodbye to Ophelia you really get the sense that he loves his sister - and his talk with her about "be cautious with Hamlet" is delivered with honest caring, not with the snotty overbearingness that many other Laertes put into the talk. Later when he comes back after his father's death, you again really get the sense that Laertes loved his father, loved his sister dearly. In other versions Laertes is about rage. Here Laertes really loved his family and you can feel it.
The second cast member I think was awesome was, ironically, the Ghost :) In most versions the Ghost is an incredibly wooden, pasty character only there to recite some lines and vanish again. Given that the Ghost is the whole reason Hamlet does everything, that is a great shame. Here, the Ghost shows up multiple times and he has a real character. You get a sense that he was a firm, powerful executive who is furious at his conniving brother, disappointed in his wife and loves his son dearly. I am very impressed with this Ghost.
Kyle MacLachlan also deserves credit as one of the best Claudius characters. Usually it is really hard to figure out why Gertrude would have jumped for the Claudius in the show, or why the people love him so. Here you really can see Kyle's manipulating charisma, his sliminess and his oozing appeal all at once. He is definitely the scheming younger brother who has chafed in his brother's shadow for years and finally couldn't take it any more. You see this in the later scenes too, where he hits Hamlet. He is simmering, the heat cranks up, and finally he can't take it any more. I think this interpretation was very well done and far more believable than most other versions I've seen.
Gertrude, on the other hand, is very cold. She hardly flinches when she's told her son is mad. She is embarassed at Ophelia's madness!! That was just *wrong*. She is supposed to love Ophelia and be really emotionally upset by Ophelia's downfall, not worried about what the crowd might think.
I have many negative feelings about the ending fencing fight. I disagreed with how they did that for many reasons.
Someday I'll have to chop up all the Hamlet versions with video editing software and create a "master Hamlet" with my favorite Horatio, favorite Laertes and so on to see how they would all work together. I'd definitely take Laertes and the Ghost from this one. Maybe Claudius. The rest, however, will stay on the cutting room floor.
Still, fun to watch for those characters' scenes, and well worth having in your library.
Modern Shakespeare 
2007-11-11 - Great video. I used it in the classroom and showed several clips to coincide with the text. The casting director made some great choices and the director stays true to Shakespeare's story as he would want it told. The "To be or not to be" soliloquy is done beautifully--very introspective and spoken as Hamlet walks through a Blockbuster. There are a few things taken out of order, but only done for cinematic effect.
