Although Charlton Heston's appearance as the Player King in Kenneth Branagh's four hour cinematic version of the classic William Shakespeare tale is brief, it is, none the less, compelling.

For those of you who skipped high school literature, Hamlet is the story of a melancholy Danish prince who, a month since his father's untimely death, suspects that his newly-crowned Uncle may have committed fratricide, after a ghost of the former King tells him so. Aggrativating these suspicions is the fact that Hamlet's mother, the queen, was quick to wed his father's brother. Heston's character is drawn into the story when the half-mad prince decides to write a play secretly based on the events surrounding his father's murder (as described to him by the ghost), in order to gauge the reaction of the new King when the dirty deed is done on stage. It works.

Chuck delivers his lines with passion and intensity, bringing a regality to the bit part that few living actors could achieve. As Heston recites a soliloquy with his resonant voice in top form, images of Sir John Geilgud dying on a battlefield fill the screen. The result is one of the film's finest moments.

Overall, Branagh's star-filled, long-winded Shakespeare adaptation is a hit-and-miss proposition. The actor/director himself does quite well in the title role, and Kate Winslet proves once again that she's the best actress to come along since Meryl Streep in a pre-Titantic turn as Ophelia. Derek Jacobi and Rufus Sewell also light up the screen as treacherous King Claudius and Fortinbras, respectively. Billy Crystal gives a notable performance as the quirky grave digger, while Jack Lemon is unspeakably terrible as a palace guardsman in the film's opening sequence and Gérard Depardieu is distracting in a cameo as a French ambassador.

Heston's Performance: 5/5 Stars.
Overall Film: 3/5 Stars.

--Chris Kivlehan

Cast

Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet
Kate Winslet as Ophelia
Derek Jacobi as King Cladius
Julie Christie as Queen Gertrude
Brian Blessed as The Ghost
Richard Briers as Polonius
Michael Maloney as Laertes
Timothy Spall as Rosencrantz
Reese Dinsdale as Guildenstern
Rufus Sewell as Fortinbras
Charlton Heston as The Player King

Crew

Kenneth Branagh / Director
Kenneth Branagh / Screenwriter
David Barron / Producer
Alex Thomson / Cinematographer
Patrick Doyle / Original Music
Columbia / Distributor

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The Novel