I'm most disappointed that this movie did not get the recognition and praise it deserved. This is one of my all-time favorite movies. When I first saw it I was just a kid and didn't understand very much of it, but I was still impressed by it. Years later when I saw it again, I understood so much more. My newfound love of HAMLET made this a hilarious movie. Yes, the play is different. Stoppard had to take sets into consideration when he wrote the play. The movie allowed him to expand his play into a castle whose layout never really makes sense, adding to the general confusion felt by the characters. It's a brilliant piece of art. The cast couldn't have been more superb. Gary Oldman once again astounds me with his chameleon abilities, and Tim Roth interprets his role as Guildenstern in the best of ways. Richard Dreyfuss does marvels with his part - he is intriguing, mysterious, and somehow omniscient, a very different role than is written into the play. Iain Glenn was the perfect choice for Hamlet. I've never seen him played better. He's tortured, angry, bent on revenge with the heaviest tone of tragedy underlying his motives. He feigns insanity so well that by the end, he's truly a little insane. I love it! I've always imagined Hamlet that way, and I was delighted to find that Glenn shared my interpretation. The King and Queen, the players, Ophelia - all were played extremely well. The wordplay is brilliant and lines are delivered in such a way that you really can't pick up everything the first time you see it. It makes each time you see it new and exciting (and I've certainly seen it more times that I dare count!).
True, this movie isn't for everyone. It's an intellectual comedy that only a sophisticated audience will understand and an even smaller, even more sophisticated audience will appreciate. I admire Stoppard so much. The plays of his that I have read are incredible. I am glad he took a chance and made this movie, and I don't think it could have been any better. A definite 10!
"...For all the points of the compass, there is only one direction, and time is its only measure..."
True, this movie isn't for everyone. It's an intellectual comedy that only a sophisticated audience will understand and an even smaller, even more sophisticated audience will appreciate. I admire Stoppard so much. The plays of his that I have read are incredible. I am glad he took a chance and made this movie, and I don't think it could have been any better. A definite 10!
"...For all the points of the compass, there is only one direction, and time is its only measure..."