Influence
In the past, the 1948 film was often considered the definitive cinematic rendition of Hamlet. Over the years, however, it has lost some of its status, especially in comparison to Olivier's versions of Henry V and Richard III. This is primarily because Olivier, according to some critics, overemphasized Hamlet's Oedipal fixation on his mother, and because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of the most important supporting characters in the play, were completely omitted from this film version, robbing the film of what could have been some of its best comedic moments. (The fact that Rosencrantz and Guildernstern had been included in the 1969 Nicol Williamson - Tony Richardson Hamlet and the 1990 Mel Gibson - Franco Zeffirelli version, both of which are shorter than Olivier's, did not help Olivier's rationale that the play needed such drastic cuts to work on screen). In contrast, Kenneth Branagh's 1996 film version of the complete Hamlet included everything that Olivier had omitted.
Pauline Kael has asserted that
- "even if you feel that certain scenes should be done differently, when has the rest of the play been done so well? Whatever the omissions, the mutilations, the mistakes, this is very likely the most exciting and most alive production of Hamlet you will ever see on the screen. It's never dull, and if characters such as Fortinbras and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been sacrificed, it's remarkable how little they are missed."
In fact Time magazine wrote in 1948:-
- "A man who can do what Laurence Olivier is doing for Shakespeare is certainly among the more valuable men of his time."
Read more about this topic: Hamlet (1948 film)
Famous quotes containing the word influence:
“A healthy soul stands united with the Just and the True, as the magnet arranges itself with the pole, so that he stands to all beholders like a transparent object betwixt them and the sun, and whoso journeys towards the sun, journeys towards that person. He is thus the medium of the highest influence to all who are not on the same level.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Standing armies can never consist of resolute robust men; they may be well-disciplined machines, but they will seldom contain men under the influence of strong passions, or with very vigorous faculties.”
—Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
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—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)