Cinema Junkie by Beth Accomando

Thursday, July 24, 1997

KPBS Public Broadcasting

Hamlet
Alas poor Yorick... Keneth Branagh tackles Hamlet uncut.

Playing Shakespeare's melancholy Dane won Laurence Olivier an Oscar back in 1948. Now Kenneth Branagh tries his hand at bringing Hamlet to the big screen.

Hamlet : "To be or not to be..."

Although William Shakespeare wrote these lines nearly four centuries ago, the words have lost none of their potency. Actors still see the role of Shakespeare's Hamlet as the yardstick by which to measure their craft. The most recent actor to answer this challenge is Kenneth Branagh, who, at the age of 34, is no stranger to Shakespeare. In 1988, the actor-director brought contemporary urgency to the politics of Henry V and in 1993 he made Much Ado About Nothing a boisterous romantic romp. Last spring he warmed up to the task of adapting Hamlet by making A Midwinter's Tale ,  a comedy about misfit actors trying to perform the play. But now Branagh tackles Hamlet in all earnestness.

Forgot your password?

Become a member and save

© 2012 KPBS