Just finished watching this film/taping of Hamlet (DVD available from Netflix) and found it to be quite interesting on many levels. Of course, Christopher Plummer is a great Hamlet, but I was not as hot on Michael Caine. Really enjoyed Robert Shaw's Claudius and Jo Maxwell Muller (apparently deceased in 2010) as Ophelia. This version focuses the plot by cutting and editing (such as Laertes' overt challenge to Claudius on his return from Paris), but enough of the play is left for an enjoyable visit. All around the performers handled the verse with great clarity and that is very welcome. I have appeared in four productions of Hamlet, and teach it as part of my curriculum at a community college in Los Angeles and so am very familiar with it.
Review of Hamlet at Elsinore
