Name: Screening: HAMLET
Start: 2026-03-20T19:15:00+00:00
End: 2026-03-20T21:45:00+00:00
Location: Ruskin House

Critics regard Kozintsev's film of Hamlet, released to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, as among the very best.
About this Event

‘This Hamlet is the best I've ever seen’ Laurence Olivier, 1966. ‘A masterwork’ Peter Brook, 1966. ‘Superb cinematography’ Movie Review, 2007 ‘Magnificent Shostakovich score’ Independent, 2003. Winner, Special Jury Prize, Venice 1964. Nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA awards.

For sheer excitement, the 1964 film of Hamlet, by director Grigori Kozintsev, is hard to beat. Laurence Olivier (himself a renowned Hamlet director and actor) praised the dramatic power of Smoktunovsky’s and Kozintsev’s different political interpretation. With script translation by Boris Pasternak, and music by Dmitri Shostakovich, much of the action takes place outside Elsinore castle, with crashing waves, wind and rocks. The malevolence afoot in the state of Denmark is magnificently captured by the foreboding widescreen black and white cinematography.

Unlike a four-hour filmed stage play, this 2 hour 20 minute Hamlet has greater clarity and dynamism. The ghost of Hamlet’s father is stunning, enhanced by the amazing Shostakovich score. Acting performances are excellent and Smoktunovsky’s role highly praised for its sincerity and lack of melodrama.

Don't miss a rare opportunity to see this epic film adaptation of Shakespeare’s best play.

PLEASE NOTE: The screening will commence at 7.15pm and there will be a short ten minute interval between parts 1 and 2.

USSR|1964|B&W|Widescreen|HD|140 mins
Russian, with English subtitles at top of screen