To start, I'll do my all-time favorite story and character of all...
Hamlet--
Aaaaaand I'll narrow my field immediately, just a tad, as otherwise this would be ranking hundreds if not thousands of Hamlets...
So, the Seven "Major" Hamlets of the small and silver screens, along with a link to their version of the "To be or not to be" speech so you can make your own choice if you like (and anyway, it's fun to see how a set of actors that are--mostly--all talented approach such a notoriously difficult speech in different ways):
--Sir Laurence Olivier, 1948 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ks-NbCHUns
--Sir Derek Jacobi, 1980 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-elDeJaPWGg
--Mel Gibson, 1990 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdp6dpiK8Ko
--Kenneth Branagh, 1996 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7740lGif65Y&feature=related
--Ethan Hawke, 2000 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YHMYkUrV7A
--David Tennant, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZHb2xo0OI
And I'd rank them:
6. Hawke (One of the absolute worst performance not just by someone trying to play Hamlet, and not just by someone trying to play Shakespeare, but one of the worst performances I've ever seen an actor give, PERIOD...I've called him Keanu Hamlet before in this role, and it sticks...NO EMOTION whatsoever, and no feeling of insight, either...the fact he's wearing that ridiculous hat doesn't help...his entire speech is flat there, and his entire performance, too, feels very flat and very much a product of when this was made, 2000, when it was cool to be like Keanu Reeves in "The Matrix" and have that constant "Whaaaa?" expression of dullness on your face...what's more, there's something about the speech that just lends itself to speaking it "live" in front of the camera, as that really facilitates the actor's efforts in terms of expressing tone or emphasis or emotion or anything of that sort, and so to do it via voice-over here just adds to the feeling of Hawke being very detached as Hamlet, which I'm sure was part of the intent, but it fails here and really isn't appropriate for what is arguably the most intellectually and emotionally-stirring speech in all of Shakespeare...Olivier, too, did his speech via voice-over, but he "earned it" and justified it by being, well, Olivier, and wouldn't you know it, he STILL managed to show emotion and convey meaning, whereas Hawke ultimately fails in every respect...the rest of the production is pretty poorly done as well, I don't like the post-modernist elements--granted I don't like post-modernism period, but I can see a post-modern Hamlet working, but not like this--and about the best I can say for it is the Ophelia they picked is pretty decent and setting the "To be or not to be" speech in a video store's "Action" aisle is a pretty clever way of visually and thematically connecting the play to a 20th century setting...other than that--atrocious performance in a horrendous adaptation.)
5. Gibson (At least with the great Franco Zeffirelli behind the camera this version comes across as much improved from #6, and for everyone in this film who WASN'T ever pulled over by the cops for drunken driving and spewing a load of Anti-Semitic crap, Zeffirelli's Shakespearean directing experience shows...this play really does look and feel quite a bit like the world Hamlet might have lived in, and Glenn Close is probably the best Gertrude out of all the 6 in these versions...that being said, "Hamlet" lives and dies with he who plays the title role, and Gibson just kills it, and you can see why from the "To be or not to be" speech alone--he completely skates over some of the weightiest words in English drama as if they were nothing, adding no emphasis or even a hint of some sort of expression pr thought...you can actually tell from the movie poster why Gibson doesn't work as Hamlet...for a hero so famous for being intellectual, emotional, complex, and everything BUT a man quick to action, for Gibson's Hamlet to be holding a huge Beowulf-esque sword...well, really, that says it all...jerk or not, Gibson SHOULD have done "Beowulf," he'd probably have been a lot better in the role of a ferocious hero rather than a man of subtlety, as Gibson completely lacks any, and that combined with his aforementioned lack of attention to the words he's speaking and failure to treat them with meaning means his character has the anger of Hamlet manifested, which is more than can be said for Hawke's Hamet, but other than that, not much else.)
4. Jacobi (#6 and #5 are WAY down the list compared to #1-4, so this isn't really a slight against Jacobi, he just has some tough competition...and really, his performance is a pretty good one, and until a couple others on their list, he was man-for-man against Olivier when the discussion turned to the best Hamlet...it's a battle Olivier still won, and still wins, I think, but even so, there's an quaint, almost conversational quality to Jacobi's Hamlet that would certainly influence others on this list...what's more, there's a great cast here, and Sir Patrick Stewart plays a good Claudius...though he'll play it again...and better...)
3. Olivier (It's certainly odd putting the most decorated film version of the play--winning the 1948 Oscar for Best Picture as well as for Best Actor--at only #3, but for as great as it is, I think the other two are better productions; Olivier himself said he had to make "a great whacking cut" to get the play on the screen, and that meant taking out Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Fortinbras as what's characters altogether, and condensing mass amounts of the play...what's more, compared to the other Claudius in #1-4, Olivier's is the most static and straight-forward and just "evil," whereas the others had a lot more depth; combined with the loss of R&G and Fortinbras, the supporting cast here is one of the weakest of the 6, with only Gertrude really standing out, and that being due to the infamous "Freudian" tone Olivier took the play in...as a result, Olivier's Hamlet really has to carry the whole play himself--and to his credit, not only does he do so, but does so well enough to justify those Oscars...his style of directing and acting are dated now, but they ARE the best examples of pure, classical Shakespearean acting, and the unique Freudian nature Olivier gives his Hamlet stands the test of time, he comes across as one of the most nuanced Hamlets, and so, even with Olivier visibly aged out of the role, his performance more than justifies his Hamlet looking like the oldest of all of them by far.)
2. Tennant (HERE is where Sir Patrick Stewart's Claudius really comes of age, and almost steals the show at times...as a younger actor, Stewart was a good Claudius, but the combination of age and more experience make him the best of all the Claudiuses, tied for that honor with someone else, ironically enough...the setting is Hawke's Hamlet done RIGHT, a modern day setting without letting that butcher the words or tone of the play as Hakwe's beanie-wearing Hamlet did, and the Polonius in this, too, gives a pretty memorable performance, especially in his death scene...but it's of course Tennant's Hamlet that elevates this production to this height...again, almost everything Hawke gets wrong, Tennant gets right--the lines that are supposed to carry emotion not only carry emotion, but, with Tennant easily being, of the 6, the one who "looks" most like a Hamlet, and fits the age as well, the sheer emotion and angst are tempered with a sense of youthful uncertainty, a feeling of being lost, and true self-doubt, ALL central to the character's makeup...I'd really tie the Top 3 Hamlets for the #1 slot for the role, but if I had to choose one out of all the 6 here for a Dream Cast out of all 6 productions, Tennant's would be neck and neck with...)
1. Branagh (Probably could see this one coming a mile away, but I think this is THE DEFINITIVE production of "Hamlet" for TV and film...Olivier married the intellectual and emotional sides of Hamlet to a certain extent, and Tennant emphasized the emotional part of the character to a zenith...Branagh takes the opposite half and makes his Hamlet part intellectual, part actor, part raving-mad lunatic, and part tragic epic hero, all coalescing in what is easily the best-shot and most visually stunning version of the film, not to mention the most star-studded--almost without fail, every role and every actress has gone to a heavyweight...Richard Briers as Polonius...Kate Winslet as Ophelia...Charlton Heston and Judi Dench as two of the Players...Robin Williams--surprisingly not out of character here--as Osric...Billy Williams as a Gravedigger that brings the character and that scene to life like no one else...Julie Christie as Gertrude...and one of the best Claudiuses ever, Sir Derek Jacobi...and how amazing it is to see Jacobi take the opposite role here, to go from Hamlet to Claudius, and it shows...where Stewart playing Claudius twice created an emotionally-complex villain that matured over those years into an even more complex villain, Jacobi, with an understanding of Hamlet's mind as well as Claudius', creates a Claudius that not only borders on the sympathetic but has a duality about him, as a result of Jacobi playing both roles, that no other Claudius has...Branagh himself is a brilliant Hamlet, who's a his best when his whispers sound louder than cannons...he can ham it up a bit and go over the top sometimes, which can be a bit distracting, but even then it's at least in character, as he's in those scenes playing up the whole "feigning madness" bit...Branagh's is a Hamlet that asks those big questions and says those big lines and SOUNDS like he's really going through some sort of exploration of their ideas...this is the only uncut, full version of the play--with lines from all the versions of the play, Q2, F1, and even some Q1 influence--and at 4 hours it's a LONG sit, but it's worth it, and everything from the staging to the cinematography to Elsinore Castle itself--they shot in Buckingham Palace--to the swelling orchestral themes to Hamlet's final duel with Laertes to his death is BIG...this is Hamlet the Epic, almost Hamlet meeting it's Ur-Hamlet shadow and still retaining all the emotion and intellect of Shakespeare's piece...it's THE BEST version of the play, and Branagh ties with Oliver and Tennant for me as the Best Hamlet, as it really comes down to what you want most in the character--Tennant gives you the most emotion, Branagh gives the most focus to the existential and intellectual crises the character faces, and Olivier meets the two in the middle. This version, though, the 1996 version, is in my opinion the BEST version of the play...if I had to pick one of the "cut" versions by themselves, it'd go to Tennant--if you wanted a more contemporary Hamlet--or Olivier--if you wanted the Hamlet that's the most decorated of them all.)
No one will likely EVER read that...but it was fun to type...if you DID read that...
Well, thanks, but what's wrong with you? :) (And agree or disagree?)
THE REST IS SILENCE...OOOOOOOOOOOOO....
The problem of NMRs
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