RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Hamlet
Hamlet

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Hamlet (1996)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
94 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:52

Fresh:49

Rotten:3

Average Rating:8.1/10

Consensus: Kenneth Branagh's sprawling, finely textured adaptation of Shakespeare's masterpiece lives up to its source material, using strong performances and a sharp cinematic focus to create a powerfully resonant film that wastes none of its 246 minutes.

Runtime: 4 hrs 26 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Director Kenneth Branagh returns to Shakespeare following his ground-breaking HENRY V and whimsical production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. This classic tale tells the story of Hamlet (Kenneth... Director Kenneth Branagh returns to Shakespeare following his ground-breaking HENRY V and whimsical production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. This classic tale tells the story of Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh), the prince of Denmark, a man suffering from grief at the death of his father, the king. His mother (Julie Christie) has quickly married Claudius (Derek Jacobi), Hamlet's uncle, who now reigns as the new king. Late one night Hamlet is visited by his father's ghost, who comes to tell him that Claudius poisoned him in his garden to win the crown, and that Hamlet, as his son, must now avenge his death. The prince's course of action sets the wheels of this great tragedy in motion, as the corruption of the Danish court begins to engulf everyone around it, including, finally, Hamlet himself. Branagh has assembled a stellar cast (including Kate Winslet, Billy Crystal, and Robin Williams) for this titanic enterprise, which presents HAMLET in its four hour entirety. Shot in 70-millimeter film, Branagh's HAMLET takes on the epic sweep associated with the films of Cecil B. DeMille or David Lean. By restoring Shakespeare's tragedy to its full length, Branagh has created a film of striking size and scope. [More]

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, John Gielgud, Rosemary Harris

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Composer: Patrick Doyle
Story: William Shakespeare
Screenwriter: Kenneth Branagh
Producer: David Barron

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Hamlet

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Brave, yes, but undeniably excessive.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
07/02/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A true accomplishment.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Simply gorgeous to look at, and a number of the performances are outstanding...

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/02/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Die-hard Bard students may quibble, but this gargantuan and glorious Hamlet is a movie-lover's paradise.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/17/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

...four hours go by quickly when you're having fun. It's a class act all the way.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
08/25/07
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Branagh has one-upped Olivier again by making his Hamlet a bold spectacle: big and loud and colorful.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
08/16/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

No review available.

comment Comment
08/14/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Fine version of one of The Bard's best plays.

comment Comment
12/08/06
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers

If you're willing to sit through Branah's 4-hour Hamlet, you'll be rewarded with a lavishly mounted, full-bodied version that brings new dimensions to the time-honored play, done before by Olivier (among others) in a 1948 Oscar-winning film.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
07/15/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
09/23/04
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
08/27/04
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
08/25/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

The few missteps, mostly in casting, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to this adaptation.

comment Comment
07/14/04
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com

Viewers patient enough to sit through four hours of this film are going to be rewarded with a memorable experience.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
06/01/04
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
04/21/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
01/12/04
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

La cinta de Branagh evitó rescatar momentos cumbres y optó por dar fuerza al guión original.

Full Review Source: Cinenganos | comment Comment
01/12/04
Alex Ramirez
Alex Ramirez
Cinenganos

No review available.

comment Comment
06/20/03
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

A great film; a timeless epic.

comment Comment
04/10/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner

No review available.

comment Comment
01/07/03
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
14% 14% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tobey Maguire Talks Brothers, Spider-Man 4 Source: Boston Globe
6
  • Nimród Antal Talks Predators Source: ComingSoon.net
4
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
78
  • First Look (Sort Of) at New Nightmare's Freddy Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com
24
  • First Look at Shrek Forever After Source: USA Today
48
  • Woody Harrelson Will Battle Zombies in 3-D Source: Moviehole
26
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
34
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
128
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more!
95
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
93
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
88
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
77
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
47
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
26
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer
24
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
13
  • Duncan Jones Reteams With Kevin Spacey
4
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
21
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Hamlet at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.