Kenneth Branagh goes for baroque with his four-hour, 70mm explanation of what's rotten in the State of Denmark.
Sir Laurence Olivier's dark and brooding interpretation of Hamlet, for which he won an Oscar in 1948, is still widely regarded as the definitive big-screen version.
In 1990, Mel Gibson and Franco Zeffirelli successfully turned the Danish prince into a swashbuckling romantic hero.
Veteran British director Tony Richardson also had a go at the Shakespearean tragedy in 1969, Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki turned it into a contemporary off-beat comedy in 1987, and there's even an acclaimed Russian version (1964).
But according to Branagh, nobody had yet tackled the full text. Here, he obliges - to almost punitive effect.
For his version of the classic revenge drama, the British actor/director has transported the action several centuries into the future, from the gloomy environs of the traditional medieval castle to a bright white baroque palace with a hall of mirrors at its heart.
Behind the gaudy facade is a labyrinth of dead-end corridors, secret back rooms and false walls; there's even a handy padded cell for young Ophelia (Kate Winslet).
Branagh shot to international attention in 1988 with his directorial debut, Henry V, which he adapted, directed and starred in. His sumptuous, star-studded film version of Much Ado About Nothing, with Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves, was also well-received, and he has certainly pulled together an impressive international cast for his latest Shakespearean project.
Branagh's considerable reputation is founded upon his ability to adapt Shakespeare for contemporary cinematic audiences, but this time, he hasn't managed to pull it off.
Despite the luminary cast and eye-catching set design, the whole project falls remarkably flat.
Branagh says he must have played the Nordic prince 200 or 300 times; perhaps that's partly the problem, exacerbated by his decision to play star-director.
Hamlet is a comprehensive interpretation of the Shakespearean classic with a film full of accomplished performances. But it simply doesn't stand up to four hours in the cinema, and at times, the 70mm treatment is remarkably overblown (the literally larger-than-life appearance of the ghost of Hamlet's father being an obvious example that bigger isn't always better).
If this doesn't sate the international film communitie's appetite for Shakespeare, nothing will.
My advice: wait for the abridged, two-hour version of the film which is following hot on the heels of this extended 'director's cut'.
Back to Hamlet reviews.