Hamlet (1964)
Original title: Гамлет
Hamlet is a 1964 Russian-language drama movie directed by Grigori Kozintsev, with a running time of 2h 20m. It stars Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Anastasiya Vertinskaya and Mikhail Nazvanov.
Shakespeare's 17th century masterpiece about the "Melancholy Dane" was given one of its best screen treatments by Soviet director Grigori Kozintsev. Kozintsev's Elsinore was a real castle in Estonia, utilized metaphorically as the "stone prison" of the mind wherein Hamlet must confine himself in order to avenge his father's death. Hamlet himself is portrayed (by Innokenti Smoktunovsky) as the sole sensitive intellectual in a world made up of debauchers and revellers. Several of Kozintsev directorial choices seem deliberately calculated to inflame the purists: Hamlet's delivers his "To be or not to be" soliloquy with his back to the camera, allowing the audience to fill in its own interpretations.
Quick answers
What is Hamlet about?
Shakespeare's 17th century masterpiece about the "Melancholy Dane" was given one of its best screen treatments by Soviet director Grigori Kozintsev. Kozintsev's Elsinore was a real castle in Estonia, utilized metaphorically as the "stone prison" of the mind wherein Hamlet must confine himself in order to avenge his father's death. Hamlet himself is portrayed (by Innokenti Smoktunovsky) as the sole sensitive intellectual in a world made up of debauchers and revellers. Several of Kozintsev directorial choices seem deliberately calculated to inflame the purists: Hamlet's delivers his "To be or not to be" soliloquy with his back to the camera, allowing the audience to fill in its own interpretations.
When was Hamlet released?
Hamlet was released on 24 June 1964.
How long is Hamlet?
Hamlet runs 2h 20m.
Who made Hamlet?
Hamlet was directed by Grigori Kozintsev.
Cast
- Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy as Hamlet
- Anastasiya Vertinskaya as Ophelia
- Mikhail Nazvanov as Claudius
- Elza Radziņa as Gertrude
- Yuriy Tolubeev as Polonius
- Igor Dmitriev as Rosencrantz
- Vadim Medvedev as Guildenstern
- Vladimir Erenberg as Horatio
- Stepan Oleksenko as Laertes
- Grigoriy Gay as Ghost of Hamlet's Father
- Ants Lauter as Priest
- Viktor Kolpakov as Gravedigger