In this quintessential Shakespeare tragedy, a young prince's halting pursuit of revenge for the murder of his father unfolds in a series of highly charged confrontations that have held audiences spellbound for nearly four centuries. Those fateful exchanges, and the anguished soliloquies that precede and follow them, probe depths of human feeling rarely sounded in any art. The title role of Hamlet, perhaps the most demanding in all of Western drama, has provided generations of leading actors their greatest challenge. Yet all the roles in this towering drama are superbly delineated, and each of the key scenes offers actors a rare opportunity to create theatrical magic. Hamlet is a unique pleasure to read as well as to see and hear performed.
Adaptations (25)
Hamlet has been adapted 25 times, across film and television film, from 1913 to 2025.
Hamlet1913 · film · 64 min · dir. Hay Plumb · IMDb ↗IMDb5.0Hamlet is a 1913 British silent drama film directed by Hay Plumb and starring Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Gertrude Elliot and Walter Ringham.
Hamlet1917 · film · dir. Eleuterio Rodolfi · IMDb ↗IMDb6.4The short film tells the story of Hamlet, who was forced to flee from the treachery of the usurper of the throne who had killed all the relatives of the young. But he will now return to the castle to avenge his father ...
Hamlet1921 · film · 131 min · dir. Svend Gade, Heinz Schall · IMDb ↗IMDb7.075%A free adaptation of Shakespeare′s drama. The Danish queen masquerades her daughter as a boy, and thus, the girl lives her life as 'Prince' Hamlet. Her father poisoned by a venomous snake placed by the treacherous Claudius, Hamlet fakes madness to investigate without suspicion.
Khoon Ka Khoon1935 · film · 122 min · dir. Sohrab Modi · IMDb ↗IMDb4.7Khoon Ka Khoon follows Prince Hamlet as he seeks revenge for his father’s murder by his uncle, leading to betrayal, madness, and tragedy. The film blends Shakespearean drama with Indian theatrical style.
Hamlet1948 · film · 154 min · dir. Laurence Olivier · IMDb ↗Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Sir Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet continues to be the most compelling version of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy. Olivier is at his most inspired—both as director and as the melancholy Dane himself—as he breathes new life into the words of one of the world’s greatest dramatists.
Hamlet1961 · television film · 152 min · dir. Franz Peter Wirth · IMDb ↗IMDb2.7Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle.
Hamlet1964 · film · 140 min · dir. Grigoriy Kozintsev · IMDb ↗IMDb8.2100%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 at Elsinore1964 · television film · 170 min · dir. Philip Saville · IMDb ↗IMDb7.8The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet. An historic BBC production taped on location in and around Kronborg castle in Elsinore (Denmark), in which the play is set.
Hamlet1969 · film · 117 min · dir. Tony Richardson · IMDb ↗IMDb7.0Tony Richardson's Hamlet is based on his own stage production. Filmed entirely within the Roundhouse in London (a disused train shed), it is shot almost entirely in close up, focusing the attention on faces and language rather than action.
A Herança1971 · film · 90 min · dir. Ozualdo Ribeiro Candeias · IMDb ↗IMDb7.5An experimental adaptation of Hamlet to Brazil's rural areas. Farmer's son returns home after his father's death and can't stand the thought of his mother marrying his uncle.
The Angel of Vengeance – The Female Hamlet1977 · film · 86 min · dir. Metin Erksan · IMDb ↗IMDb6.4Hamlet returns home from drama school in United States, after the cold-blooded assassination of her father by her uncle, who has married Hamlet’s mother. After seeing her father’s ghost, Hamlet decides to feign insanity, in order to get to the truth.
Strange Brew1983 · film · 90 min · dir. Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas · IMDb ↗Something is rotten at the Elsinore Brewery. Bob and Doug McKenzie (as seen on SCTV) help the orphan Pam regain the brewery founded by her recently-deceased father. But to do so, they must confront the suspicious Brewmeister Smith and two teams of vicious hockey players.
Hamlet1990 · film · 135 min · dir. Franco Zeffirelli · IMDb ↗Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.
Hamlet2000 · film · 112 min · dir. Michael Almereyda · IMDb ↗Modern day adaptation of Shakespeare's immortal story about Hamlet's plight to avenge his father's murder in New York City.
Prince of the Himalayas2006 · film · 108 min · dir. Sherwood Hu · IMDb ↗IMDb6.8Set in ancient Tibet under the shadow of the Himalayas, the young prince Lhamoklodan learns of his father's mysterious death and returns to the Kingdom Jiaobo. Troubled by his mother's sudden remarriage to his uncle Kulo-ngam, he swears to find the truth of his father's death. His obsession of revenge overwhelms his spirit and shadows his love to Odsaluyang. When he points his sword at the new king, Queen Nanm finally tells her beloved son, Lhamoklodan, the true identity of his uncle. In the struggle to face his destiny and fight his demons, a new king is born
Doubt2009 · film · 131 min · dir. Varuzh Karim-Masihi · IMDb ↗IMDb5.9Siavash, a young man burdened by the mysterious suicide of his father, finds himself entangled in a web of family intrigue. His uncle, managing his father’s estate, seeks to marry Siavash’s mother, a union Siavash vehemently opposes. Amidst this turmoil, Siavash’s love for his cousin Mahtab, whose father is his uncle’s councillor, complicates matters further. As the day of the union approaches, Siavash is struck by a profound realisation: his life bears a striking resemblance to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This revelation ignites a series of questions, challenging his understanding of the true nature of his father’s death.
Hamlet2009 · television film · 180 min · dir. Gregory Doran · IMDb ↗IMDb8.1100%David Tennant stars in a film of the Royal Shakespeare Company's award-winning production of Shakespeare's great play. Director Gregory Doran's modern-dress production was hailed by the critics as thrilling, fast-moving and, in parts, very funny.
- Karmayogi2012 · film · dir. V.K. Prakash · IMDb ↗IMDb3.9
The film tells the story of Rudran Gurukkal, the lone male descendant of the Chathothu family. The family represents the Yogi community, in which Lord Shiva is believed to have been born. Rudran is haunted by a strange kind of destiny. This forms the crux of the story
Ophelia2018 · film · 106 min · dir. Claire McCarthy · IMDb ↗Ophelia comes of age as lady-in-waiting for Queen Gertrude, and her singular spirit captures Hamlet's affections. As lust and betrayal threaten the kingdom, Ophelia finds herself trapped between true love and controlling her own destiny.
Hamlet2025 · film · 113 min · dir. Aneil Karia · IMDb ↗IMDb6.061MetacriticWhen Hamlet returns for his father’s funeral, he is stunned to discover his uncle Claudius is marrying his newly widowed mother. Visited by his father’s ghost, Hamlet learns his brutal murder was at the hands of Claudius - and spirals into a quest for vengeance that exposes the rot at the heart of the family’s empire and threatens his own sanity.
