I really like this film, but wish they gad done a better job with the subtitles. Little typos, here and there, keep me from buying this disc (I rented it from Netflix). Examples, in no particular order: "not a white. We defy augury," "your fat king and you lean begga," "a serpent strung me" and during the play-within-a-play scene, Hamlet says of Ophelia, "Here's meta more attractive." There are others; but you get the picture.
shareThe Ruscico version (available on mail order directly from Russia) has correct Shakespear text. It's a superb service from Russia - a huge archive of Russian films in restored versions available to buy on-line. Quick postage. They come in brownpaper and string. I eagrely await restored versions of Eisenstein from them
Viewing Hamlet again I see it really is one of the best films of all time - and like the best Shakespeare films cuts the text a lot to make it a proper film. You don't need all the words if you have the images - Branagh's version is absurd. The words are so dense they take the place of images on the stage - you don't need both.
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I just watched the Russian version of it and the subtitles were correct. I followed along with Shakespeare's play and they were correct. Also used the audio English. Worked for me. I started to really like that Russian guy who played Hamlet. Sort of unemotional and non-passionate but likeable. Lots of extras on the 2 disc set also.
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Not only that, but there was a lot of Russian not translated, sometimes two full lines or more at a a time. My most generous guess is that they were afraid of seeming absurd in attempting to re-translate Shakespeare back into English, so they tried to grab sparse lines from the original text to approximate what is being said on screen. This is a mistake, to my mind, as the best thing about this version is the poetry of Pasternak's re-imagining of Hamlet.
It helps if you've read Shakespeare's play or seen English-language performances of it first.
shareFor what it's worth, I feel that I know Shakespeare's original play backwards and forwards, and I also know Pasternak's beautiful translation (transformation into his own poetry), and I just felt all the more that both were being butchered by the subtitles.
And it wasn't even a lack of ability; as the OP points out with those typos, it was a matter of pure sloppiness and amateurishness.
As for the second post, I don't agree that the visual imagery is everything. Yes, the staging, acting and action are paramount, but so is the unsurpassed wit and beauty of the dialog.
I need to endorse the comments here regarding the atrocious subtitles. There are numerous misspellings but most importantly the rhythm and sense of Shakespeare are butchered. Do we blame Pasternak for that? I do not know his translation but it appears that here we have a case of double
"Lost in Translation". The sense of Shakespeare is lost (probably to a minor degree) in the translation from the original to Russian and then to a much greater degree in the translation back into English from Russian. Perhaps instead of trying to make a literal translation from Russian for the English subtitles it would work better for the translator to have a copy of Shakespeare's text in hand.
And also I must comment on the incomprehensibly high rating on IMDb of this version. Is this the best film version ever made of Hamlet? I think not. The acting is wooden - the sets are amateurish. Perhaps the raters have been influenced by the names of Pasternak and Shastakovich associated with the film.
I must also echo the thoughts expressed on Facet's crappy subtitling. They ruin the experience of an otherwise terrific movie. I am familiar enough with the text that it didn't butcher the film for me, but I'd have liked to see a proper translation of Pasternak's dialogue. I'd like to see Janus Films or some other, more trustworthy company grab this, if they can.
"A passionate celibacy is all that any of us can look forward to."
The Facets subtitles are indeed poor and sparse at times.
Makes it a challenge to enjoy the film.
Would definitely rec getting a different edition.
I like the set design.
And look of the film.
Well done.
Wish I had the Ruscico or Mr Bongo though.
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