![]() He makes `To be or not to be' an unusually powerful scene showing Hamlet just a man who sees so much evil all around that he nearly commits suicide. And Olivier presents these changes very vividly and truthfully. Well, I would choose other words: `a man who changed his mind too often', but it wasn't his fault so were circumstances. At the beginning Hamlet is called `a man who couldn't make up his mind'. ![]() However events take an unexpected course and lead to the final tragedy. He is willing to act and yet waits to understand what's happening better. His Hamlet is dignified and noble, reserved and mistrustful, emotional and ruthless (when he knows it is justified), and deeply frustrated (for he is disappointed in everyone except the foreigner Horatio). And here Olivier is an unparalleled performer. And recently I've become interested in reading and watching Shakespeare in original. Indeed, soviet actors pronounce the text fantastically well, but in Russian: I mean in translation by talented Russian poet Pasternak. ![]() No one else can make the 16th century Bard's text sound modern, natural, alive, expressive, exciting, clear and full of hidden before meaning. And then LORD LAURENCE OLIVIER IS THE BEST SHAKESPEAREAN ACTOR EVER. The scenery is really wonderful: cold, gloomy, dark, gothic, haunting and even more impressive for being black-and-white. ![]() Well, I don't blame him: he used it successfully, but the lack of originality is somehow disappointing. No doubts, our producer knew and appreciated earlier English movie and deliberately copied the settings. To begin with, I was astonished to find out that scenery, costumes and make-up in Kozintsev's film clearly resemble those from Olivier's version. I still think it's a masterpiece, however now it fills the second place in my preferences and the first one belongs to Lord Laurence Olivier. ![]() For years I've considered the classical soviet screen-version of Hamlet directed by Kozintsev (1964) as the best adaptation of the play. ![]()
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