Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)

Kids today might only associate Christopher Plummer with The Sound of Music or Up, but he's actually quite an accomplished actor! In my book, anyone who can take on Shakespeare must know their stuff; Chris has played in Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, The Tempest, Henry V, Twelfth Night, The Winter's Tale, Henry IV Part 1, Much Ado About Nothing, King John, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, Richard III, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet. Knowing all that, it seems rather silly he won his Oscar for Beginners, doesn't it? In any case, he starred in Hamlet at Elsinore as the confused, perpetually upset Danish prince. Robert Shaw costarred as Hamlet's uncle, June Tobin as the queen, Jo Maxwell Muller as Ophelia, and Michael Caine as Horatio. If you particularly like this Shakespearian tragedy, or are a Christopher Plummer fan, this is a good one to watch. I think everyone has their favorite version, and my heart lies with Richard Burton, but if you liked Laurence Olivier's interpretation you'll probably like Chris's as well. He's very clearly lost in his head, and his emotions are raw, accessible with only the slightest provocation. He's off in a dream world in one moment, then the next, he sees his friends and is so genuinely delighted to see them, he's forgotten anything at all was wrong a moment ago. When he's rude and insulting, the audience can see it's because he's so wounded inside, he can't take any more and lashing out at others is his release. However, there's one exception: during the famous "Get thee to a nunnery" monologue, he's particularly cruel to Ophelia, the most deliberately mean delivery of any I've seen. When you watch Jo collapse in tears after Chris exits, you just might shed a tear alongside her.Since I'm not a Shakespeare aficionado, I require an abundance of energy from actors to help me understand what it is they're saying, hence my partiality to Richard Burton. But, if you are a little more well-versed than I am, you should definitely give Christopher Plummer's version a try. It's a different interpretation, but still very good.

I prepared for this review by re-watching Olivier's and Branagh's Hamlet films, and was fascinated to find I prefer this TV production from 1964, filmed under what must have been somewhat difficult conditions (the electrical work had to be done by the BBC, as one reviewer notes). I found Christopher Plummer's performance to be more convincing, more felt than those of Olivier and Branagh. Olivier seems to be fascinated with his own athleticism--that trim body that can do anything he demands of it--just see how he leaps off the platform in Act V to stab Claudius. Plummer on the other hand hasn't got the athleticism but he is better able to unite intelligence with feeling. I was more moved by his 'Now might I do it pat' after Claudius starts praying than by the other versions because of Plummer's occasional clumsiness.The other actors are fine: Alec Clunes really plays Polonius as a prating old fool (just as Hamlet describes him) and Robert Shaw is tremendous as Claudius, virile and crafty and sexy. You see why Gertrude has to fall for him. Michael Caine is ardent in a part that calls for just that quality and little else. He handles the accent fairly well.Only two actors don't do well: June Tobin is stiff and shallow as Gertrude; her range doesn't allow her to really play the bedroom scene effectively. Donald Sutherland seems to play Fortinbras as a foreigner whose English is shaky.

It is out of a long memory I write this review and the score of ten is biased as my late Father was the recording engineer. How dearly I would love to have a copy of this. If somebody has this on tape from a TV screening, check the credits for Palle K Rasmussen. He was in charge of "Dubbing" - the audio side - of DR, the Danish equivalent of the BBC. As the BBC did the video side my Dad was boss of the audio side. The old Elsinore Castle, known as Kronborg by the locals, was not electrified and the BBC paid several thousand pounds to have it done. There is a beach in front of the castle looking across the Sound to Sweden, and as a kid went fishing there (I live in Australia). Now my sister lives in the outskirts of Elsinore and works in the bank near the shadow of the castle. Also Joern Utzon, the designer of the Opera House here in Sydney, lived nearby but passed away just recently. If you ever go there, do go to the castle and see the famous 200 feet long great Knights Hall where the final scene of the duel and Hamlet's death was filmed, the very place Shakespeare had in mind. Walk through the grottoes as well and see the sleeping Holger the Dane. It is well worth it. As for Plummer's performance, it is a very sensitive and reflective one. Quite authentic in its own way. Now can anybody help with a copy... ?

I saw this "Hamlet", my first, on television about 35 years ago. It helped hook me on Shakespeare, so I cannot really be objective, but scenes from it have seemed to linger, seemed to stand up to other Hamlets.