Editing Hamlet (1948 film) (section)

==Influence==
In the past, the 1948 film was considered the definitive cinematic rendition of ''Hamlet''. Over the years, however, it has lost some of its status, especially in competition with the unabridged [[Hamlet (1996 film)|1996 adaptation]], which many critics now consider superior, as well as the 1994 animated film ''[[The Lion King]]'' which was also based on ''Hamlet''. The film has also been compared to Olivier's other Shakespearean adaptations, ''[[Henry V (1944 film)|Henry V]]'' and ''[[Richard III (1955 film)|Richard III]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=721 |title=dOc DVD Review: Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948) |publisher=Digitallyobsessed.com |date=6 May 2008 |access-date=7 October 2012 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235212/http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=721 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some critics argue that Olivier overemphasised Hamlet's [[Oedipal]] fixation on his mother, and that due to the omission of [[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern]], two of the more important supporting characters in the play, the film lacks some of the play's best comedic moments. The duo's inclusion in later adaptations, such as the 1969 [[Nicol Williamson]] – [[Tony Richardson]] ''Hamlet'' and the 1990 [[Mel Gibson]]/[[Franco Zeffirelli]] version, both of which are shorter than Olivier's, counters Olivier's rationale that the play needed such drastic cuts to work on screen. [[Kenneth Branagh]]'s 1996 film version of the complete ''Hamlet'' included everything that Olivier had omitted. It is worth noting, however, that the parts of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (and Osric) are reduced in the Richardson and Zeffirelli versions, and that Branagh's version is almost 90 minutes longer than Olivier's.

Noted film critic [[Pauline Kael]] asserted that <blockquote>even if you feel that certain scenes should be done differently, when has the rest of the play been done so well? Whatever the omissions, the mutilations, the mistakes, this is very likely the most exciting and most alive production of ''Hamlet'' you will ever see on the screen. It's never dull, and if characters such as [[Fortinbras]] and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been sacrificed, it's remarkable how little they are missed.<ref>[[Pauline Kael|Kael, Pauline]] (1991) ''5001 Nights at the Movies'' Henry Holt. {{ISBN|0805013679}}.</ref></blockquote>

[[James Agee]] in ''Time'' wrote in 1948: "A man who can do what Laurence Olivier is doing for Shakespeare is certainly among the more valuable men of his time."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,779905-8,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402044709/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,779905-8,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2 April 2010 | newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | title=Cinema: Olivier's Hamlet | date=28 June 1948 | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref>