Kline as Hamlet

A recent Internet search led me to a DVD version of Hamlet starring Kevin Kline.  I figured that it was worth adding to my collection, even though admittedly I knew nothing about the production.  As I discovered later, it is a c.1990 film adaptation of the original New York Shakespeare Festival production staged at the Public Theater.  The film was produced by WNET for broadcast on PBS.  In addition to his lead role, Kevin Kline served as director.

The film is set on a stage, which gives it the feel of a live production and not that of a motion picture.  As such, it is a refreshing take--like being at the theatre without having to leave one's home.  The set is minimal, but the dark and gloom fit the play very well.  The costuming is modern, with Claudius noteworthy in royal military garb.

The acting is excellent.  Kevin Kline, although older than one might expect for the role, does a great job.  His portrayal is believable; it's easy to suspend disbelief to get it to work.  I did notice that he has wet eyes quite often.  He's not overly emotive, but rather the emotion fits the action.  The other actors all play their roles well and do not go over the top into histrionics.

The play has a running time of just under three hours.  The editing done in order to accommodate this time is interesting.  For the bulk of the play, I could not notice anything glaringly missing, just a line here or a line there.  The dumb-show was excised, but that is nothing out of the ordinary.  All of Hamlet's soliloquies were extant, including "How all occasions...."  Fortinbras was included in the play, a nice change of pace.

The editing became apparent in Act V.  One gravedigger was removed.  Hamlet's post "Alas poor Yorick..." remarks about bungholes were gone.  The scene with Osric was shortened; we're not told what his weapons are.  The duel was rather lame.  There was not much action, as the scene was blocked as a fencing match with foils only.

An interesting change was the softening of Laertes' role in the duel.  On the second pass, Laertes has Hamlet at bay and could run him through, but he pulls back and allows Hamlet to give him the second touch.  Then Laertes tries to substitute his unbated foil for another, but he does not have the chance before the next pass.  Has Laertes had a change of heart?  As Hamlet attempts to drink from the poisoned cup, Laertes prevents him from doing so, and then cuts him with the foil.  The weapons are exchanged and Laertes is wounded while grasping the blade.  Claudius is run through with the foil and forced to drink from the cup.  Fortinbras enters upon the scene and Hamlet is carried from the stage.

The final scene draws a parallel to an earlier scene.  After the ghost's first appearance to Hamlet, Hamlet falls backwards from a castle parapet and is caught by Horatio, et al.  The final scene mimics this, as Hamlet is carried off on the shoulders of soldiers.  Well done, methinks.

All in all, this is a very worthy addition to the Hamlet canon.  Kevin Kline does an admirable job as both star and director.  Bravo!

P.S.  Beware buying the DVD with this cover!  It's not a Region 1 product and does not play on standard U.S. equipment.

Shakespeareances

While searching the Internet for upcoming live performances of Hamlet, I found the website shakespeareances.com.  After looking through it, much to my delight, I bookmarked it for future reference.  Especially terrific is The Bard on the Boards.  It lists performances of all of Shakespeare's play around the country/world.  I have spent some time keeping an eye on the H's.

You can sign up for a weekly e-mail alert through the website.  If you're interested in this Shakespeare stuff, it is a great weekly treat for your inbox!

Interpreting Hamlet

While passing through Frankfort, Kentucky, last summer, I found Poor Richard's Bookstore.  I couldn't resist it--a new-to-me spot and an independent bookstore at that.  The downstairs area of this one is quite comfortable, but it's the upstairs that makes all of the difference.  I wandered into an attic--full of old, used titles on shelves, tabletops, the floor, everywhere.  It's a book hunter's dream.  So I looked for and found the Shakespeare section.  One of the titles I grabbed was an critical anthology entitled Interpreting Hamlet.  With numerous short essays on the play (and a low price), I couldn't pass it up.

The book has finally made it from the "to do" list to the "in process" list.  (It's great for leaving on my desk at work and picking up between classes or during other school downtime.)

While there will be posts to come from the material in the book, this post gives me a chance to introduce the book, and the bookstore.  If you happen to be in Frankfort, visit the State Capitol and then visit Poor Richard's.  You will not be disappointed by either destination.

Oscar-Winning Hamlet

A lazy day at home provided an occasion to watch the only version of Hamlet to date to win an Academy Award for Best Picture (one of its four Oscars), Sir Laurence Olivier's 1948 film.  Although I had seen it once decades ago, I had a chance to watch it again, years wiser and also better versed in the play.

I was struck by the vivid cinematography, in glorious black and white.  It is certainly a well-filmed, well-directed work. It is also a very straightforward Hamlet.  It's not a filmed stage version a la Richardson, yet it does not have all of the adaptations of Zeffirelli or Gade or Almereyda.  To that extent, I found it enjoyable to watch.

One oddity, which I'm sure has been mentioned by many others, was the casting.  While most of the actors fit the roles, Hamlet and Gertrude were notably off.  It's a function of age.  Laurence Olivier was nearly nine years older than Eileen Herlie, and Olivier was 40 when Hamlet was filmed.  His age does not fit his role, nor does her age fit the role of Hamlet's mother.  One must suspend disbelief a fair amount to get it to work.

At just over two and one half hours, the script is edited as one might expect. The "rogue and peasant slave" and "How all occasions" soliloquies are excised completely.  With the removal of Fortinbras from the cast, the latter deletion makes sense.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also were removed from the play, and their omission coupled with that of Fortinbras allows the play to revolve around only the royal family at Elsinore.  The scenes involving the players and the play within a play are much shortened, with the dumb-show serving entirely as "The Mousetrap."

The soliloquies that remain are delivered for the most part as voice-overs, showing plainly that they are intended as interior monologues in the mind of the character.  I found this to be particularly effective.  It removes the confusion created in staged productions when the soliloquy is delivered directly to the audience as if they are members of the cast.  As shown here, these are words of the character for the character.

Other interesting alterations include some changes to Shakespeare's words.  "[Recks] not his own rede" becomes "minds not his own creed."  Hebanon becomes hemlock.  An "enseamed" bed is now a "lascivious" one.  The first change does not alter the meter of the lines, but the second and third examples change the syllabication of Shakespeare's work.

Certain changes to the order of action were also noteworthy.  Hamlet is shown overhearing Polonius' plot to "loose his daughter" on him; this adds a new dimension to the action that follows.  The "To be or not to be" soliloquy was moved until after the nunnery scene.  This was not the first time that I have seen this done, but it still does not seem to fit.  Hamlet's letters are delivered to Claudius and Gertrude while both are on stage speaking.  The plotting of Claudius and Laertes occurs after the "Alas, poor Yorick" scene.

Ophelia's insanity scenes were much toned down, a directorial move I found very welcome.  Although they opened with a random scream from Ophelia, she was very understated after that.  There was no excessive screaming or histrionics as in other productions I have seen.  For that I was thankful.

The closing of the play provided another twist on the duel scene.  The action was well choreographed; this was no quick throwaway scene.  As the action progressed, it seemed that Osric was in on the plot as the unbated sword did not seem to bother him.  Prior to the second hit, Gertrude spent an inordinate time staring at the poisoned chalice.  It appeared that she had figured out what was in store for Hamlet, and her act of drinking was one of preventing his death while hastening her own.

Olivier knew that his work would be controversial in his lifetime.  In a defense of his film, he stated:

"Every Shakespeare film must, by its very nature, be a re-creation of a Shakespeare play in a quite different art-medium than that for which it was primarily intended.  But does that make it impermissible?" (Hamlet:  Enter Critic, pg. 196).

He considered his work to be "a legitimate experiment."  I agree with him.  Considering all that has been done to and with Hamlet, this production is respectful to the original while leaving its own stamp.  As H.D.F. Kitto summarized it,

"Since [Olivier's] film was as far as possible from being a travesty made by barbarians for illiterates, but was a distinguished piece of work..." (Hamlet:  Enter Critic, p. 147).