Гамлет
Shakespeare's 17th century masterpiece about the "Melancholy Dane" was given one of its best screen treatments by Soviet director Grigori Kozintsev. Kozintsev's Elsinore was a real castle in Estonia, utilized metaphorically as the "stone prison" of the mind wherein Hamlet must confine himself in order to avenge his father's death. Hamlet himself is portrayed (by Innokenti Smoktunovsky) as the sole sensitive intellectual in a world made up of debauchers and revellers. Several of Kozintsev directorial choices seem deliberately calculated to inflame the purists: Hamlet's delivers his "To be or not to be" soliloquy with his back to the camera, allowing the audience to fill in its own interpretations.
Hamlet (1964) is a drama film directed by Grigori Kozintsev, released on June 24, 1964 with a runtime of 2h 20m. It stars Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Anastasiya Vertinskaya, Mikhail Nazvanov and Elza Radziņa. Viewers rate it 7.3 out of 10 across 57 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for Hamlet before you stream it.
Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy
as Hamlet
Anastasiya Vertinskaya
as Ophelia
Mikhail Nazvanov
as Claudius
Elza Radziņa
as Gertrude
Yuriy Tolubeev
as Polonius
Igor Dmitriev
as Rosencrantz
Vadim Medvedev
as Guildenstern
Vladimir Erenberg
as Horatio
Stepan Oleksenko
as Laertes
Grigoriy Gay
as Ghost of Hamlet's Father
Ants Lauter
as Priest
Viktor Kolpakov
as Gravedigger
Directed by Grigori Kozintsev, written by Grigori Kozintsev, William Shakespeare and Isaac Glikman.
Average viewer score of 7.3/10 from 57 ratings.
Now not being a Russian speaker I was a bit trepidatious about tackling this with just the subtitles. Well I needn’t have feared as a basic knowledge of the original Shakespearean tragedy is all that is required to underpin this experience as I sat back and savoured this exquisitely dark, brooding and melancholy story of betrayal, duplicity and madness - written as only the bard could and quite possibly delivered…
Reviewed on June 8, 2025
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The main cast of Hamlet (1964) includes Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Anastasiya Vertinskaya, Mikhail Nazvanov, Elza Radziņa and Yuriy Tolubeev. The film was directed by Grigori Kozintsev. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Hamlet was released on June 24, 1964 and runs for 2h 20m.
Hamlet (1964) holds an average rating of 7.3 out of 10 from 57 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy drama films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official Hamlet trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
