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Hamlet
Miramax Films

Hamlet reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 70 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
5.3 out of 10
based on 32 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 8 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for some violence

Starring Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Sam Shepard, Diane Venora, Bill Murray, Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, and Steve Zahn

Michael Almereyda's update of the Shakespeare play, starring Ethan Hawke as the young prince of the Denmark Corporation film empire.


GENRE(S): Drama  
WRITTEN BY: William Shakespeare (play)
Michael Almereyda
 
DIRECTED BY: Michael Almereyda  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: April 17, 2001 
Video: April 17, 2001 
Theatrical: May 12, 2000 
RUNNING TIME: 111 minutes, BW / Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Almereyda excises big chunks of plot to shape his vision, but retains Shakespeare's language and pays such rigorous attention to meaning and subtext that what's missing isn't missed.
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100
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Almereyda imagines Hamlet taking place in present-day Manhattan with such vigor, insight and originality that the power and immediacy of his film makes Shakespeare accessible in an exciting and provocative manner beyond all expectations.
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100
The New York Times A.O. Scott
New York becomes a complex character in this vital and sharply intelligent film.
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100
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
If this Hamlet weren't so perfectly conceived visually, it would probably stand solidly on the basis of its acting alone.
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100
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The acting is smart and gritty, Almereyda's visual style has a raw immediacy found in few films with Shakespearean pedigrees, and an eclectic music score adds atmosphere and surprise every step of the way.
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90
Slate David Edelstein
A marvelous feat of re-imagination.
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88
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Almereyda's smart, streamlined adaptation is full of such neat little ironies.
83
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Fresh, vibrant and vital, this interpretation reminds us why Shakespeare is timeless.
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80
Chicago Reader Editor
Almereyda's respect for his audience and his queasiness about the present register with equal weight, reinventing the poetry in the most relevant ways possible.
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80
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Thou wilt be dazzled.
80
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
These are great, primal stories that pull you in, make you care and put you on the edge of madness and violence.
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80
Newsweek Dakota Smith
New York City has never looked so slick and shallow as it does in Hamlet, an innovative, contemporary adaptation.
80
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
Cast for fun, and the whimsy is enjoyable both for its parody of heavy-handed "relevant" updates of the play.
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75
Boston Globe Jay Carr
This is a sizzling, invigorating Hamlet.
75
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Both a distraction and a revelation.
75
San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris
Hamlet finds in Hawke's greatish performance a Great Dane for this, or any other, modern moment.
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70
Film.com Peter Brunette
It goes without saying that the film is worth seeing simply for Bill Murray's Polonius.
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70
Village Voice J. Hoberman
Stylish, funny, and smart...but only up to a point.
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68
Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
Almereyda never plays up the gimmickry at the expense of the performances, and as a result, his movie largely succeeds, despite an overabundance of pretentious pokes at our consumer culture and the risky casting of Ethan Hawke in the lead role.
67
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Bill Murray's Polonius is so delightfully coy and self-satisfied that this performance is reason alone to see the picture.
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63
Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday
Almereyda has done a splendid job of rendering Hamlet as expressive visually as it is verbally.
63
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
As Almereyda unrolled his modern Gotham version, the story became gripping, the characters fascinating, the events mesmerizing, the resolution shocking and piteous.
63
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Some of the contemporary winks are questionable, but others are undeniably sharp.
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60
Variety Dennis Harvey
This slacker prince (Hawke) comprises a sinkhole at the center of adaptor-helmer Michael Almereyda's otherwise compelling contempo update.
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60
TV Guide Steve Simels
Has an interesting look, several sensational performances (notably from Kyle MacLachlan and Liev Schreiber) and in general works far better than it has any right to.
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60
Dallas Observer Andy Klein
Despite the few good performances, this Hamlet is not a keeper.
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50
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
It commits the only crime that can be committed against Shakespeare: It makes him boring.
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50
Film.com Ernest Hardy
Hamlet, like its title character, is a mopey, dopey thing that you just want to scream at: Do something!
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50
USA Today Susan Wloszczyna
But all the devices and upgrades do little to bring the poetry's meaning into clearer and more relevant focus for today's audiences.
40
Washington Post Desson Thomson
A darkly interesting distraction but not much more.
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38
New York Post Jonathan Foreman
May well be the dullest and most pointless version ever filmed, thanks to a stunningly bad lead performance by Ethan Hawke.
38
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Hamlet has audacity, intelligence, a provocative visual and musical style, virtually no poetry, a garbled story line weakened by savage cutting of the play, and a great yawning hole where a Hamlet ought to be.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 5.3 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Pat C. gave it a 4:
Hamlet afficionados won't want to miss Bill Murray's swarmy rendering of Polonius. But Hamlet's father was a man of noble stature, moral impeccability and competent leadership. Sorry Sam, you were mis-cast. Branagh's film, or Mel Gibson's complete "Playright's Cut" are time better spent.

Mary M. gave it an 8:
It takes a bit of time to get into this film, but once you do, you won't ever want to leave it! Mr.Hawke's (and I call him Mr. for a reason),performance is absolutely outstanding! Of all of the cast members, he is the one who really, truly understands the words of the Bard. He makes Shakespeare's words roll off his tonge, with the emotions intact!!! Many, many kudos to Mr. Hawke for what is, in my mind an actor's performance!!! Thank you Ethan!!! Keep up the good, no... great! work! M.H.Muise Toronto, Ontario, Can.

Jesse S. gave it a 1:
This is just flat out awful.

Don L. gave it a 7:
Good modern day interpretation, but lacks what Branaugh's film has. Overall, not as good as other Hamlet films.

Susan S. gave it an 8:
Hamlet is one of my favorite plays in general, and any movie that does not do it justice angers me. This movie did not do so. The cutting choices were well made (although I do wish they had left in the graveyard scene, although I can see how that would not work in the flow that the movie was taking). Ethan Hawke made a wonderful brooding prince, and the setting enveloped the dark mood of the text. Everyone pulls off the language well--particularly Bill Murray, who manages to make it his own. I like the presentation of the ghost--seeing him in the security cameras, and also playing on the theme of camera and filming aides the who's-watching-whom theme in the play. One choice I especially like by the director was to have Gertrude drink the poison intentionally, a direction not usually taken, but it worked well here. Overall, this is a very solid movie, although the fencing at the end worked but seemed slightly out of place (didn't seem as creatively reworked as everything else); I wish Fortinbras had been brought in more, and it seemed the director tried a bit too hard to make as high tech as possible. I loved the way the director utilized the medium by focusing on characters who are not talking, allowing the audience to focus on other characters' reactions (particularly with Ophelia). This movie is not Kenneth Branaugh, and I wouldn't even compare the two. Branaugh did his version and Almereyda did his, and they both worked in thier own genres.

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