I've just found this film and it won't be available for long. The restoration is fairly good, but there are scenes that were obviously too degraded to improve; the last moments of the film, for example. (Every element of a film which is to be restored has to be in as good condition as possible and much depends on the print available - from original camera negative through to release prints - "dupes". A lot of restorations use composites of all these film artifacts.)
William Walton wrote this splendid score and, of course, Olivier directed it. How handsome, almost beautiful, he looks as Hamlet and what a wonderful, non-histrionic performance. You can see from watching the film that Olivier and his cinematographer were heavily influenced by "Citizen Kane" (Gregg Toland) and Alfred HItchcock (particularly his roving cinematic eye which became a separate 'storyteller'). Black and white is the only format for this Shakespearean play, in my opinion.
The film isn't without its flaws but Olivier did remarkably well considering he was a creature of the stage. Perhaps his American film roles helped him understand perspectives behind the camera, for we can easily detect some of Wyler's influence ("Wuthering Heights") in the 'two-hander' scenes - not to mention the magnificent images of Gregg Toland. But the ensemble scenes are somewhat static and unimaginative; Olivier could have taken his cue from John Ford, whose framing was always 'mobile' with 'bits of business' going on around the central characters. Here is the master of the mobile frame: everybody is DOING something to attract the audience eye: this is something you just HAVE to do in the cinema.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvfIsbhIQLA
Standing around while the principle players are acting is definitely a limitation of the theatre and Olivier seemed trapped by that in the directing of "Hamlet".
Nevertheless, the film is a considerable achievement and when Olivier couldn't get his actors moving his camera certainly created mobility.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsPPI_7x1dk
William Walton wrote this splendid score and, of course, Olivier directed it. How handsome, almost beautiful, he looks as Hamlet and what a wonderful, non-histrionic performance. You can see from watching the film that Olivier and his cinematographer were heavily influenced by "Citizen Kane" (Gregg Toland) and Alfred HItchcock (particularly his roving cinematic eye which became a separate 'storyteller'). Black and white is the only format for this Shakespearean play, in my opinion.
The film isn't without its flaws but Olivier did remarkably well considering he was a creature of the stage. Perhaps his American film roles helped him understand perspectives behind the camera, for we can easily detect some of Wyler's influence ("Wuthering Heights") in the 'two-hander' scenes - not to mention the magnificent images of Gregg Toland. But the ensemble scenes are somewhat static and unimaginative; Olivier could have taken his cue from John Ford, whose framing was always 'mobile' with 'bits of business' going on around the central characters. Here is the master of the mobile frame: everybody is DOING something to attract the audience eye: this is something you just HAVE to do in the cinema.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvfIsbhIQLA
Standing around while the principle players are acting is definitely a limitation of the theatre and Olivier seemed trapped by that in the directing of "Hamlet".
Nevertheless, the film is a considerable achievement and when Olivier couldn't get his actors moving his camera certainly created mobility.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsPPI_7x1dk