“To be, or not to be, that is the question…” Ah, how I love Shakespeare! Hope I didn’t just lose some readers with that admission! But it’s true. I don’t think I’ve ever read another writer whose language is so ingenious, so captivating, so memorable. This week’s Best Picture winner, Hamlet (1948, J. Arthur Rank-Two Cities Films), is the only Shakespearean play-turned-movie to ever win the Academy’s highest honor. And, no, Shakespeare in Love, 1998’s Best Picture, does not count as a legitimate Shakespearean work, though the bawdiness and quirky love story might have been appreciated by The Bard.

Throughout the decades of film, over 500 movies have granted Shakespeare a nod for writing in some capacity. Almost 300 of those writing credits are full adaptations of Shakespeare plays, including the one we’re discussing this week. Then there are those films with completely different titles, settings, and what not, but whose stories are based on works by Shakespeare, such as 1961’s Best Picture, West Side Story, which is based on Romeo and Juliet, and 1999’s 10 Things I Hate about You, which takes its inspiration from The Taming of the Shrew. In addition to the full adaptations and the “based on” movies, some films bear an uncanny resemblance to plays by Shakespeare without crediting him at all—which, I think, really speaks to the timelessness of his themes and storylines. One critic even noted the striking similarities between Disney’s The Lion King and Hamlet.

Laurence Olivier as the tortured Hamlet.

By far, Hamlet is the most popular of Shakespeare’s plays to be fit for the silver screen (followed by Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Othello), so it isn’t super surprising that it would be the first and only Shakespeare play/movie to win Best Picture. In addition to its BP nomination, Hamlet was tapped for Music, Directing, Actress in a Supporting Role for Jean Simmons as Ophelia, Costume Design (Black-and-White), Art Direction (Black-and-White), and Actor for Laurence Olivier as Hamlet—seven total nominations, resulting in four wins (Best Motion Picture, Best Actor, Costume Design [the first year for this award], and Art Direction).

One thing I find super interesting about this rendition of Hamlet in particular is that Laurence Olivier both directed and starred in the film—a feat which I imagine to be infinitely difficult. In fact, Olivier is one of only two people to ever direct himself to a Best Actor Oscar win. The other man to accomplish this feat is Roberto Benigni, who stole the show at the 1999 Academy Awards when his Italian World War II film, Life is Beautiful (1998, limited release in 1997), garnered seven nominations and three wins (Foreign Language Film, Music [Original Dramatic Score], and Best Actor for Benigni). Benigni’s memorable “I want to kiss everybody” acceptance speech might ring a few bells with more recent fans of the Academy Awards, but back in the 20^th century, Laurence Olivier was the “it man” of film for a while, one of its brightest stars—renowned for his ability to perform Shakespearean roles, speaking The Bard’s words so naturally it was “as if he was thinking them.” During his career, Olivier was cast as some of the most epic of Shakespeare’s characters: Henry V, Richard III, Othello, Shylock, King Lear—and, of course, Hamlet. (Side note: Olivier’s repertoire of brilliant acting earned him a final resting place in Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey, an honor not often granted to actors.)

Without doubt, Hamlet is one of the most difficult characters for an actor to play—he is at various times depressed to the point of suicide, giddy enough to seem mad, murderously conniving without regard to other characters’ innocence, and uncontrollably sorrowful and vengeful. Hamlet’s notorious indecision is the focus of Olivier’s Freudian interpretation of the Danish prince as evidenced in the lines of the play seen on the screen as the film opens. In the original text, these lines read:

So, oft it chances in particular men,

That for some vicious mole of nature in them,

As in their birth—wherein they are not guilty,

Since nature cannot choose his origin—

By the o’ergrowth of some complexion,

Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason,

Or by some habit that too much o’er-leavens

The form of plausive manners, that these men—

Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,

Being Nature’s livery, or Fortune’s star—

Their virtues else—be they as pure as grace,

As infinite as man may undergo—

Shall in the general censure take corruption

From that particular fault. (I.iv.26-39)

This introductory excerpt is next followed by a summary sentence: “This is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind.” In Olivier’s opinion, then, Hamlet has one flaw: his vacillation that prevents action. Like Shakespeare himself, Olivier’s take on Hamlet follows the definition of tragedy laid out by Aristotle in his Poetics. Hamlet is a tragic hero, evoking pity and fear in those who view the presentation of his story. But more about that this weekend…

For additional thoughts on Hamlet and its significance, please check out the full (and most tragic) post this weekend!