Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark

Plot synopsis:
=== Act I ===
The protagonist of Hamlet is Prince Hamlet of Denmark, son of the recently deceased King Hamlet, and nephew of King Claudius, his father's brother and successor. Claudius hastily married King Hamlet's widow, Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, and took the throne for himself. Denmark has a long-standing feud with neighboring Norway, which culminated when King Hamlet slew King Fortinbras of Norway in a battle years ago. Although Denmark defeated Norway, and the Norwegian throne fell to King Fortinbras's infirm brother, Denmark fears that an invasion led by the dead Norwegian king's son, Prince Fortinbras, is imminent.
On a cold night on the ramparts of Elsinore, the Danish royal castle, the sentries Bernardo and Marcellus and Hamlet's friend Horatio encounter a ghost that looks like the late King Hamlet. They vow to tell Prince Hamlet what they have witnessed.
As the court gathers the next day, while King Claudius and Queen Gertrude discuss affairs of state with their elderly adviser Polonius, Hamlet looks on glumly. After the court exits, Hamlet despairs of his father's death and his mother's hasty remarriage. Learning of the ghost from Horatio, Hamlet resolves to see it himself.
As Polonius's son Laertes prepares to depart for a visit to France, Polonius gives him contradictory advice that culminates in the ironic maxim "to thine own self be true". Polonius's daughter, Ophelia, admits her interest in Hamlet, but both Polonius and Laertes warn her against seeking the prince's attention. That night on the rampart, the ghost appears to Hamlet, telling the prince that he was murdered by Claudius and demanding that Hamlet avenge him. Hamlet agrees and the ghost vanishes. The prince confides to Horatio and the sentries that from now on he plans to "put an antic disposition on" and forces them to swear to keep his plans for revenge secret. Privately, however, he remains uncertain of the ghost's reliability.
=== Act II ===
Soon thereafter, Ophelia rushes to her father, telling him that Hamlet arrived at her door the prior night half-undressed and behaving crazily. Polonius blames love for Hamlet's madness and resolves to inform Claudius and Gertrude. As he enters to do so, the king and queen finish welcoming Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two student acquaintances of Hamlet, to Elsinore. The royal couple has requested that the students investigate the cause of Hamlet's mood and behavior. Additional news requires that Polonius wait to be heard: messengers from Norway inform Claudius that the King of Norway has rebuked Prince Fortinbras for attempting to re-fight his father's battles. The forces that Fortinbras conscripted to march against Denmark will instead be sent against Poland, though they will pass through a portion of Denmark to get there.
Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude his theory regarding Hamlet's behavior, and speaks to Hamlet in a hall of the castle to try to uncover more information. Hamlet feigns madness but subtly insults Polonius all the while. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive, Hamlet greets his friends warmly, but quickly discerns that they are spies. Hamlet becomes bitter, admitting that he is upset at his situation but refusing to give the true reason why, instead commenting on "what a piece of work" humanity is. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Hamlet that they have brought along a troupe of actors that they met while traveling to Elsinore. Hamlet, after welcoming the actors and dismissing his friends-turned-spies, plots to stage a play featuring a death in the style of his father's murder, thereby determining the truth of the ghost's story, as well as Claudius's guilt or innocence, by studying Claudius's reaction.
=== Act III ===
Polonius forces Ophelia to return Hamlet's love letters and tokens of affection to the prince while he and Claudius watch from afar to evaluate Hamlet's reaction. Hamlet is walking alone in the hall as the King and Polonius await Ophelia's entrance, musing whether "to be or not to be". When Ophelia enters and tries to return Hamlet's things, Hamlet accuses her of immodesty and cries "get thee to a nunnery," though it is unclear whether this, too, is a show of madness or genuine distress. His reaction convinces Claudius that Hamlet is not mad for love. Shortly thereafter, the court assembles to watch the play Hamlet has commissioned. After seeing the Player King murdered by his rival pouring poison in his ear, Claudius abruptly rises and runs from the room: proof positive for Hamlet of his uncle's guilt.
Gertrude summons Hamlet to her room to demand an explanation. Meanwhile, Claudius talks to himself about the impossibility of repenting, since he still has possession of his ill-gotten goods: his brother's crown and wife. He sinks to his knees. Hamlet, on his way to visit his mother, sneaks up behind him, but does not kill him, reasoning that killing Claudius while he is praying will send him straight to heaven while his father's ghost is stuck in purgatory. In the queen's bedchamber, Hamlet and Gertrude fight bitterly. Polonius, spying on the conversation from behind a tapestry, makes a noise.
Hamlet, believing it is Claudius, stabs wildly, killing Polonius, but pulls aside the curtain and sees his mistake. In a rage, Hamlet brutally insults his mother for her apparent ignorance of Claudius's villainy, but the ghost enters and reprimands Hamlet for his inaction and harsh words. Unable to see or hear the ghost herself, Gertrude takes Hamlet's conversation with it as further evidence of madness. After begging the queen to stop sleeping with Claudius, Hamlet leaves, dragging Polonius's corpse away.
=== Act IV ===
Hamlet jokes with Claudius about where he has hidden Polonius's body, and the king, fearing for his life, sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to accompany Hamlet to England with a sealed letter to the English king requesting that Hamlet be executed immediately.
Demented by grief at Polonius's death, Ophelia wanders Elsinore. Laertes arrives back from France, enraged by his father's death and his sister's madness. Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet is solely responsible, but a letter soon arrives indicating that Hamlet has returned to Denmark, foiling Claudius's plan. Claudius switches tactics, proposing a fencing match between Laertes and Hamlet to settle their differences. Laertes will be given a poison-tipped foil, and Claudius will offer Hamlet poisoned wine as a congratulation if that fails. Gertrude interrupts to report that Ophelia has drowned, though it is unclear whether it was suicide or an accident exacerbated by her madness.
=== Act V ===
Horatio has received a letter from Hamlet, explaining that the prince escaped by negotiating with pirates who attempted to attack his England-bound ship, and the friends reunite offstage. Two gravediggers discuss Ophelia's apparent suicide while digging her grave. Hamlet arrives with Horatio and banters with one of the gravediggers, who unearths the skull of a jester from Hamlet's childhood, Yorick. Hamlet picks up the skull, saying "alas, poor Yorick" as he contemplates mortality. Ophelia's funeral procession approaches, led by Laertes. Hamlet and Horatio initially hide, but when Hamlet realizes that Ophelia is the one being buried, he reveals himself, proclaiming his love for her. Laertes and Hamlet fight by Ophelia's graveside, but the brawl is broken up.
Back at Elsinore, Hamlet explains to Horatio that he had discovered Claudius's letter with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's belongings and replaced it with a forged copy indicating that his former friends should be killed instead. A foppish courtier, Osric, interrupts the conversation to deliver the fencing challenge to Hamlet. Hamlet, despite Horatio's pleas, accepts it. Hamlet does well at first, leading the match by two hits to none, and Gertrude raises a toast to him using the poisoned glass of wine Claudius had set aside for Hamlet. Claudius tries to stop her, but is too late: she drinks, and Laertes realizes the plot will be revealed. Laertes slashes Hamlet with his poisoned blade. In the ensuing scuffle, they switch weapons and Hamlet wounds Laertes with his own poisoned sword. Gertrude collapses and, claiming she has been poisoned, dies. In his dying moments, Laertes reconciles with Hamlet and reveals Claudius's plan. Hamlet rushes at Claudius and kills him. As the poison takes effect, Hamlet, hearing that Fortinbras is marching through the area, names the Norwegian prince as his successor. Horatio, distraught at the thought of being the last survivor and living whilst Hamlet does not, says he will commit suicide by drinking the dregs of Gertrude's poisoned wine, but Hamlet begs him to live on and tell his story. Hamlet dies in Horatio's arms, proclaiming "the rest is silence". Fortinbras, who was ostensibly marching towards Poland with his army, arrives at the palace, along with an English ambassador bringing news of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's deaths. Horatio promises to recount the full story of what happened, and Fortinbras, seeing the entire Danish royal family dead, takes the crown for himself.

Tags: tragedy, insanity, revenge, murder

Review:
"Hamlet" by  William ("We all make his praise") Shakspeare is arguably the greatest play ever written - in fact, it's possibly the greatest work of literature ever written in the English language.
Given these facts, imagine my surprise when Mystery Science Theater 3000 (the recently defunct TV show in which bad movies are goofed on by a janitor and his two robots) decided to give this their special treatment.Specifically, they did this 1960 production for German Television, featuring the highly respected Maximilian Schell in the title role.
Herr Schell is more than credible as the Melancholy Dane, and the dark dreary scenery only serve to underscore the mood of the play and its characters.
As for dialogue, well how could you possibly go wrong?As for complaints that much of the play was missing, it must be remembered that our friends at Best Brains had to edit the movie (which as I understand, ran for about 3 hours) to fit their little TV show, which ran for 2 hours, including commercials.I, for one, am inclined to cut this movie a good bit of slack..
The dark and sparse sets give you a real sense of Hamlet's brooding mind..
But now we come to Maximilian Schell's take on the Bard.For one, this is a dubbed version of a German TV production of William Shakespeare's venerable chestnut.
Having seen it on MST3K helps, with Mike and the robots taking jolly good jabs at the old boy, puncturing the profundity of black and white TV, Shakespeare and the wisdom (?) of Germans acting out an English play and making it look like an Ingmar Bergman reject.Of course, the best parts are the MST riffs.
"I'm gonna unleash the Great Dane", "I don't think so, 'breather'", "Meet the Beatles", "Hey, Dad, will you help me with my science project" and, my personal favorite, during a party - "Garrison Keillor's leaving Germany (YAAAY!!)".But then there's Schell, playing Shakespeare's greatest character much like a department store mannequin would, only not as expressive.
At least the book isn't dubbed by Ricardo Montalban.One star only for this "Hamlet"; ten stars, naturally, for the MST3K version.Good-night, not-so-sweet prince..
You'd think that the immortal words of William Shakespeaere would be able to rise above just about anything, but alas bad acting and really bad sets will drag down even the most wonderful playwright.
The fact that it's dubbed into English from German doesn't help this production.
It's still a horrible minimalist production, Hamlet's Dutch uncle is inexplicably dubbed by a Spaniard (whether it's Ricardo Montalban or not is subject to debate), and Maximilian Schell overacts like never before.
Most of the dialogue makes it through unscathed, and the fact that the MST3K version feels obliged to point out repeatedly that the speeches are long *duh* doesn't strike me as incredibly humorous.
Having seen the English dubbed version, I would have preferred seeing the original in German with subs; dubbing tends to affect the emotional performance(s).
Having Hamlet being shot in black in white gives the production a bleak, surreal sort of mood.
For a second, I had thought that Rod Serling would come out with cigarette in hand saying:'These guard sentries do not realize it yet, but that shadowy spectre looming off in the darkness..will set off a series of events..all beginning with one Danish prince.'Kudos to Maximilian for his portrayal of Hamlet.
The only thing that saves this movie is the fact that it is Hamlet, and Hamlet is a terrificly written piece of literature.
The voices stuck true to the dull, gloomy, dreary, life-sucking atmosphere the movie gave forth.
I have seen this version of Hamlet on the fabulous Mystery Science Theater 3000 three times, and each of the three times, I was on the brink of turning off the TV, despite it being MST 3K.
Yes folks that WAS Ricardo Montalban dubbing for Claudius, and his voice, his reading was quite good!
That didn't stop the comedian-hosts of MST3K" from making cracks about Cordoba car commercials & "Fantasy Island."  I'd say the worst thing about this thing is the cheapness of production (lost of black background, very few set pieces, very simple pieces) and the god-awful dubbing!
Maximillian Schell, an excellent actor, is not half-bad as Hammie, but my favorite thing was listening to Ricardo Montalban.
Produced in German for German television, this production of Hamlet becomes distinctly eerie when dubbed back into English.
The production design is also "German Minimalist", typical of that era, making the movie rather bleak, even for Hamlet.Despite the virtually non-existent sets and English-German-English translation, Maximilian Schell turns in an admirable performance as Hamlet.This film was screened on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Whether or not this movie was "bad" enough for such dissection is open to debate, but Mike and the Bots leveled some excellent quips ("Honey, what happened to all the ear poison?")..
One of the reasons why the play works is that there's an underlying sense of hope in it, and that's exactly what Franz Peter Wirth takes away from this production.
Shakespeare probably turned over in his grave when this first aired.There are thousands of productions of Hamlet.
This version is quite literally so bad, that not even the presence of a great thespian like Maximilian Schell in the title role can save it.
This movie's only redeeming quality is that it made great fodder for "MST3K"; Mike, Servo and Crow had a lot of fun with this one.But either way, I'm sure that Shakespeare, had he been alive when they made this, would not have wanted his name associated with it.
a copy of the stage design of a popular theatre production of the play mentioned in 1.4.
I hoped that the filmed version would be better, that Schell would at least have a body language to underline what he's saying - nothing.
It won't work in a film based on a play that actually has believable settings.
That the idea for the set was copied from the theatre production in which Schell played the Hamlet already...
I ask myself how Schell could get the part of Hamlet anywhere in first place and how anybody could allow him to play Hamlet a second time.
If you've got the choice to view any of the about sixty films based on "Hamlet", don't watch this one, unless you're a masochist, or really hardcore, or like to poke fun on untalented actors..
I have seen only about 70 episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (my personal idea of the greatest achievement in television), but this version of Hamlet, produced for German television, probably has to be the best film I've ever seen shotgunned on that program (whoops - I forgot they did "Day of the Triffids").
do not watch any movie; read 'Hamlet'.
note to George Litman, and others: the Mystery Science Theater 3000 riff is "I don't think so, *breeder*".my favorite riff is "Why were you looking at his 'like'?", simply for the complete absurdity.
that, and "Right well did not!" over all, I would say we must give credit to the MST3K crew for trying to ridicule this TV movie.
Sure, I saw this on MST3K, which isn't very reverential to the final product as dubbed into English.
I'm a fan of both Shakespeare and MST3K, so I waited anxiously to see this episode.
I'll comment on the movie first, then the MST3K episode.
The recipe for this movie: take talented actors, rich and beautiful Shakespeare material, and a $1.25 budget.
Movie, I give 3 out of 10, because the actors at least deserve a little bit of credit.
However, when I watched it a second time, I realized that there was a whole host of intelligent references and good lines I missed the first time around.
Worst adaptation of any Shakespeare play, hands down..
Hamlet is arguably the greatest play ever written.
But you wouldn't think so after watching this terrible, terrible, terrible filmed version.
This film makes the Mel Gibson/Glenn Close "infotainment" version look like the work of geniuses.
However, although the IMDb doesn't list the voice-over actors who dubbed the English version, I and my friends were certain that Claudius was voiced by Ricardo Montalban.
Maximilian Schell plays a mopey, droning Hamlet in this rather awkwardly dubbed German TV production.
When Good Plays Go Bad. Here we have undeniable proof that even the best material cannot save a shoddy, poorly-mounted production.
Yeah, I know Hamlet is supposed to be a pretty bleak story about death, vengance, madness, and all those other wonderful things that spice up life.
But this dreary, depressing piece of German Existentialism pretty much sucks any trace of life from Shakespeare's unparalleled poetry.Depression seems to be common stock in Denmark.
The wood-and-Styrofoam set would embarrass a high-school drama club, and the poor lighting and dark clothes make for a lot of disembodied heads and hands floating across the screen.Credit the MST3K boys for tackling this misguided piece and bringing some life back to one of the Bard's greatest works..
How bad is this version of Hamlet?
The original dialogue was translated into German, which was in turn dubbed in English...
I don't know about you, but my head is spinning.Anyway, this looks like a filmed play, on the set of an Obsession advert, and the only amusement to be had is trying to catch the words match the lips.Notable as being the only film to bring culture (?!) to MST3K.
The movie was ineptly dubbed into English, with the English voice actors occasionally mumbling their lines.
When the actors aren't mumbling, they're all whispering for some totally unexplained reason.I like the play Hamlet.
I loved Kenneth Branagh's version, and I liked Mel Gibson's.
I read the original play and found it entertaining, once I got used to the old English.These actors male it unbearable.
There is nothing worse than watching one of history's greatest dramas being DUBBED (badly) into English.If you're at all familiar with the show "Mystery Science Theater 3000", then you'll love this.If not, I'd run as fast as possible to the closest copy of "Ishtar".
I am only going to comment on the Mystery science theater 3000 version.How could this ever be saved?
The movie is so horrible, and bad that their jokes just fall flat.
Danish clowns." I feel that the only way this movie is watchable is on MST3K.
Try another MST3K episode Like Puma Man; Jack Frost; Overdrawn At the Memory Bank; Space Mutiny.
This Hamlet made for one of the boringest MST3000 episodes ever.
It is also one of the hardest movies to find because there are so many Hamlets listed.
This is the one MST 3000 I can't watch in one sitting cause the way the guy playing Hamlet says his lines can put anyone to sleep..
This should have been pretty good, seeing that it's based on a timeless play and that it had Maximillian Schell as Hamlet and Ricardo Montalban dubbing Claudius.
That it did feature on MST3K and that it was placed #1 on the "Mystery Science Theater 3000: 10 Worst Movies They Riffed" list did make things rather dubious though.
Then again the list did have Sampo(aka The Day the Earth Froze), I personally found that a good Soviet-Finnish film that suffered from bad unnecessary American dubbing, so I thought maybe Hamlet isn't as bad as all that.
However, other than for the fact that Monster A-Go Go, Manos, Pod People or Space Mutiny should have taken the #1 spot instead on the list this version of Hamlet is as bad as all that.
It is structurally pretty faithful to Shakespeare's play and has Ricardo Montalban's menacing and droll voice dubbing that saves it from being unwatchable, but of the Hamlets I've seen this is the worst by a considerable distance(I was mixed on the Mel Gibson version but thought Laurence Olivier's and Kenneth Branagh's were outstanding).
It is a poor-looking film, the starkness could have been effective with the mood and Hamlet's state of mind but actually the lighting and sets looked too amateurish and dreary to give off any real atmosphere.
The music at best is annoying and whatever movie it is meant to be part of, it sure ain't Hamlet.
I can see why the movie was dubbed, but the actual dialogue came across as stilted and voices didn't fit with the characters, the only real notable exception was Montalban.
The acting is not much better either, even Maximillian Schell- so good in Judgment at Nuremberg- gives a very uninspired performance, it is very one-note and mannequin-like with just one real facial expression.
In relation to the MST3K episode, it was fun enough- much more so than the movie- but perhaps because trying to riff Shakespeare is in a very different style to what is usually seen from them it really wasn't one of their best episodes in my opinion.
Overall, plodding and dreary, not among the worst movies featured on MST3K but it is really the worst Hamlet you'll ever see and one of the worst Shakespeare adaptations I've come across.
There's probably a reason why no one's heard of this German version of Hamlet, or that no one's heard of anything else the director Mr. Wirth did, or as well why the only recognizable name here (acting-wise) is Maximillian Schell, the noted character/stage actor.
Oh sure, Ricardo Montalban is there to carry some of the hammy weight of scenes, but overall it's such a drag that you end up wanting to insert words of your own.Which leads me as to why you should see it: the only way to watch it now is in a truncated version via the guys at Mystery Science Theater 3000.
It's one of their funniest with Mike Nelson, with many of the lines going not just for the horrid acting and weird staging in some instances (there's one particularly dancing type of scene that gives them plenty of good ammo to shoot at the screen) but the actual Hamlet dialog itself.
As usual they make the drekkiest drek to ever drek on crap street more than tolerable, but with an added appreciation that for all of the effort, whatever it was, it comes out swell such as that really, really bad death scene with Schell (I'm not spoiling Hamlet!
I literally fell asleep 3 times watching this movie.
But this movie exceeds any barrier of long soliloquies and what not, that may prevent many from just not caring about a Shakespeare based story.The largest roadblock to this production is the complete flatness of the characters.
Granted, I believe this movie is dubbed in English.
Certainly they could've obtained voice actors which could've added a bit more drama to these classic, literary lines.It would be difficult to rate this movie greater than 1, although perhaps that's based on prejudices of perhaps age and what would seem a very low budget.
If you insist on Hamlet, do yourself a favor and read the book again.
This movie is definitely not the best production of Hamlet, it's rather bleak and slow, but halfway watchable.As to the MST3K episode, this is the ONLY one in my collection that I've only watched once (I've even watched Catalina Caper and The Sidehackers multiple times).
After all, no matter how poor the production of Hamlet, the words would still be Shakespeare's, and it just doesn't work with MST-style humor.However, if you're looking to get this episode as part of the DVD collection vol.
I mean it's Shakespeare's Hamlet for goodness sake  probably one of the best known plays ever written.
I'm not embarrassed to admit that I came to this version of Hamlet the way most people on IMDb have  through Mystery Science Theater 3000.
In a word, this German, made-for-TV version of Hamlet is dreary.
A 3/10 sounds about right to me.As much as I enjoy MST3K, their comments don't help to make Hamlet any more palatable.
There are a few good riffs here and there, but overall, Hamlet is just the wrong movie for MST3K.
As much as it pains me, I've got to give Hamlet a 1/5 on my MST3K rating scale..
** Possible spoilers ahead **I saw this movie only through the aid of Mike and the bots from Mystery Science Theater 3000 a.k.a MST3K.
I've read "Hamlet" a few times.
This is the fourth film version of Hamlet I've seen, and it is the worst.
This 1960 version just absolutely reeks of badness.Not only is Shakespeare rolling in his grave but Laurence Olivier is probably rolling in his, too, and I don't blame them.
I loved the riffs from MST3K such as "Hamlet-Man," and "the famous rap artist, the notorious K.I.N.G."  Oh, and this movie is very poorly dubbed into English.
The filmmakers and directors of this sad, sad, film version of Hamlet are all Laurence Olivier wanna-bees.
It was blatanly obvious that they were copying Olivier's film techniques from his version of Shakespeare's tragedy.
It will never work.My hats off to MST3K for making this film tolerable..
Bad but tolerable movie, HORRIBLE episode of MST3K **spoilers to the MST3K version**.
In FACT, I find "Hamlet" a good but vastly overrated play.
I won't really comment too much on the movie, rather I will dissect the utterly horrible MST3K episode.
The riffs fall flat, the host segments (par usual) are at best mediocre, and when the movie itself (which isn't that bad) is actually BETTER (I mean, as a quality movie, not as camp, like "Prince of Space") than the MST3K version of it, you know the show must be bad.
The movie isn't horrible; it's just a German version of Hamlet.
The actors are good enough, and though the dubbing isn't the greatest, that's not in itself a reason to hate this film.
Four stars for "Hamlet"; THREE, yes THREE for the MST3K version.