Hamlet

I watched this 4 hour movie last night... ok, 3 hours last night and 1 hour at 6 am today. I am crazy... sue me. 
This is Shakespeare's longest play with more than 4000 lines. Wow!!! I have already written the story in the previous post but here it is again:



Hamlet was the King of Denmark and was killed. The throne passes to his brother who marries the queen. Jr Hamlet loved his father and is very sad with the death. He also feels betrayed that his mother married his uncle so soon after the death. Jr comes across Hamlet's ghost who asks him to avenge his death. The uncle had poisoned him and made it seem like it was a snake bite. He asked his son to spare the mother though and let her guilt be her punishment. Jr pretends to go mad after this... to divert people's attention. He was having an affair with Ophelia but she breaks it off after her father asks her to. First Jr confirms that his uncle is actually guilty by staging a play on his father's death and noticing the uncle's expression. Then he confirms that his mother was unaware about the murder. Finally, he thinks of ways to kill the uncle. In the meantime, troubled by Jr's behaviour the uncle is also planning to get rid of him. The opportunity presents itself when Jr kills Ophelia's father by mistake and her brother wants to take revenge. They have a duel during which... the queen is poisoned by mistake... Jr kills the uncle... Jr dies because he is also poisoned. Everyone dies by the end.

The movie stars- 
- Kenneth Branagh as Prince Hamlet
- Kate Winslet as Ophelia
- Derek Jacobi as the uncle
- Julie Christie as the queen

And there are parts played by Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Gerard Depardieu, Judi Dench etc

The movie was the first unabridged theatrical version of the play. So, the language is entirely Shakespeare. Basically, they are enacting the whole play. If you have not read a Shakespeare play (the story is different from the play) you will not understand a word of this. I have been reading Shakespeare stories since I was in 7th Std. And in 9th and 10th we would have 1 play. That play was a separate subject and took us a year to get through. The meaning of every line was explained... the reference to every political/sociological event was understood... what was left out were the vulgar jokes and there were plenty of those. Shakespeare wrote plays for people to enjoy... that is how he earned his living. So he had to make sure the political events of that time were captured... there were enough perverted jokes to entertain the audience. 

The movie is, of course, amazing. It has subtle humour but not humorous events. It is a dark, depressing story and does not have a romantic angle. The actors are so damn good. Saying those lines with that modulation takes a lot of practice and talent. I know because I have been part of Shakespeare plays and performed the monologues. 

Watch it if you have read Shakespeare plays else please avoid. It was completely worth the 4 hours.