Hamlet (Film 1964 - USSR)

Hamlet is a 1964 film adaptation in Russian of William Shakespeare's play of the same title, based on a translation by Boris Pasternak. Audio in Russian with English subtitles.

It was directed by Grigori Kozintsev and Iosif Shapiro, and stars Innokenty Smoktunovsky as Prince Hamlet. Kozintsev's film is faithful to the architecture of the play, but the text (based on Pasternak's translation) is heavily truncated, achieving a total running time of 2 hours 20 minutes (from a play which can last as long as four hours in full performance). The opening scene of the play is cut entirely, along with scenes 1 and 6 of Act IV, but other scenes are represented in sequence, even though some are drastically shortened.

Unlike Laurence Olivier's 1948 film, which removed most of the play's political dimension to focus on Hamlet's inner turmoil, Kozintsev's Hamlet is as political and public as it is personal. Kozintsev observed of his predecessor: "Olivier cut the theme of government, which I find extremely interesting. I will not yield a single point from this line." Where Olivier had narrow winding stairwells, Kozintsev has broad avenues, peopled with ambassadors and courtiers. The castle's role as a prison is emphasised. Ophelia in an iron farthingale symbolises the fate of the sensitive and intelligent in the film's tough political environment.

When the film appeared in 1964, it received a number of prizes both in the Soviet Union and abroad. Kozintsev cast some actors whose first language was not Russian (the Latvian Elza Radziņa as Gertrude, and Estonians Rein Aren, Ants Lauter and Aadu Krevald) so as to bring shades of other traditions into his film. But for the central role, he chose the Russian actor Innokenty Smoktunovsky who had extensive experience in the theatre. Traditional in appearance, he nevertheless had an individual manner of acting, characterised by reserve as well as nervous intensity, which distinguished the film from other versions.

Cast & Characters:
Prince Hamlet — Innokenty Smoktunovsky
Claudius — Mikhail Nazvanov
Gertrude — Elza Radziņa
Polonius — Yuri Tolubeyev
Laertes — Stepan Oleksenko
Ophelia — Anastasiya Vertinskaya
Horatio — Vladimir Erenberg
Rosencrantz — Igor Dmitriev
Guildenstern — Vadim Medvedev
Fortinbras — Aadu Krevald