Hamlet: 13 Movies Based on Shakespeare's Greatest Tragedy

Filmmakers person been adapting the plays of William Shakespeare since the advent of cinema. The communicative wide considered the Bard’s top enactment – The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark – was archetypal adapted successful 1900 arsenic a one-minute movie starring Sarah Bernhardt, followed by a 1907 abbreviated directed by Georges Méliès.

A slew of Hamlet adaptations person since followed, with the 1990s unsocial seeing 4 precise antithetic films inspired by the play, including 1 precise fashionable movie featuring a singing lion.

The 21st period has truthful acold beget 7 antithetic films based straight connected oregon inspired by Hamlet, including past year’s Oscar-nominated Hamnet and this week’s merchandise of Hamlet, starring Riz Ahmed successful a South Asian riff connected the tragedy.

Here past are 13 of the astir notable Hamlet (or Hamlet-inspired) movies, starting with:

Hamlet (1948)

This moody classical is actor-director Laurence Olivier's tour-de-force some successful beforehand of and down the camera. Although a truncated adaptation of Shakespeare's play, Olivier's Hamlet remains the definitive surface rendition. He portrays the titular melancholy Danish prince torn by indecision implicit however to avenge his father's execution by his uncle (and the uncle's consequent matrimony to Hamlet's mom).

The Bad Sleep Well

This achromatic & achromatic 1960 classical reteams manager Akira Kurosawa with histrion Toshiro Mifune, who gives a acold much restrained, nuanced show than he’s known for from his samurai classics. Ostensibly a revenge communicative acceptable against the backdrop of firm corruption successful post-war Japan, The Bad Sleep Well draws connected Hamlet by having Mifune’s protagonist Nishi retired to avenge the execution of his begetter by the Public Development Corporation's Vice President Iwabuchi. Nishi has been playing the agelong game, getting person to his people by marrying Iwabuchi’s daughter, but helium yet hurts guiltless radical successful his quest for revenge and to exposure corruption.

Hamlet (1990)

Filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli – who burst onto the country successful the precocious 1960s with surface adaptations of The Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet – directed this medieval mentation starring Mel Gibson arsenic Hamlet and Glenn Close arsenic his parent Gertrude (Close is conscionable 9 years older than Gibson!). Zeffirelli said astatine the clip of accumulation that helium formed Gibson and Close due to the fact that they were bankable stars (coming disconnected the successes of Lethal Weapon and Fatal Attraction, respectively) who could bring successful younger viewers. The formed included Alan Bates, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, and Helena Bonham Carter.

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

In his lone outing arsenic a movie director, Tom Stoppard adapted his ain play for this 1990 acheronian drama starring Gary Oldman and Tim Roth arsenic the respective rubric characters. Here, these 2 supporting players successful the archetypal Hamlet are trying to find retired wherefore the Prince (played by a pre-Games of Thrones’ Iain Glen) has gone mad. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern interact with the main players and substance of Hamlet but are besides disconnected successful their ain existentialist communicative that uses little flowery language. Richard Dreyfuss co-stars arsenic the person of a troupe of actors who Rosencrantz and Guildenstern brushwood connected their mode to Elsinore Castle.

The Lion King

Disney's 1994 blockbuster was inspired successful portion by Shakespeare's Hamlet with Simba avenging the decease of his father, Mufasa, astatine the hands of his uncle, Scar. (Jon Favreau directed a 2019 remake that brought backmost James Earl Jones arsenic the dependable of Mufasa.) Obviously, The Lion King is not a nonstop adaptation of Hamlet, arsenic it’s a Disney animated philharmonic household movie with a blessed ending portion Shakespeare’s play is simply a calamity with a famously downbeat ending.

Hamlet (1996)

Just six years aft Franco Zeffirelli’s Hamlet came this mentation written, directed and starring Kenneth Branagh successful the rubric role. Branagh updated the mounting to 19th period Denmark and, dissimilar galore different surface adaptations, kept much of the archetypal substance intact, which led to his movie moving 4 hours agelong (!). Branagh’s epic formed includes Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, Robin Williams, Gérard Depardieu, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Rufus Sewell, Charlton Heston, Richard Attenborough, Judi Dench, and John Gielgud. Sadly, contempt being mostly good received by critics, Branagh’s Hamlet proved a large container bureau bomb.

Hamlet (2000)

Like 2026’s Hamlet oregon The Bad Sleep Well, this adaptation is simply a modern mentation wherever the royal kingdom has been replaced by large business. Ethan Hawke plays the brooding lad of Sam Shepard’s CEO of the Denmark Corporation, who is slain by his member (Kyle MacLachlan) truthful helium could instrumentality implicit the company. The stellar supporting formed includes Bill Murray arsenic Polonius, Liev Schreiber arsenic Laertes, Julia Stiles arsenic Ophelia, Diane Venora arsenic Gertrude, Steve Zahn arsenic Rosencrantz, and Casey Affleck arsenic Fortinbras. Fun fact: This is Julia Stiles’ 3rd modern Shakespeare movie adaptation, the others being 10 Things I Hate About You (The Taming of the Shrew) and O (Othello).

Hamlet 2

This 2008 drama stars Steve Coogan arsenic failed actor-turned-equally unsuccessful precocious schoolhouse play teacher Dana Marschz, whose top acting accomplishments were a herpes medicine commercial, an quality connected Xena, and a fewer infomercials. With his job, matrimony and possibly adjacent his sanity astatine stake, Dana needs to bash thing large and exceptionally originative to prevention himself. He needs a masterpiece, and his masterpiece is Hamlet 2: a signifier philharmonic sequel to the Shakespeare play. Coogan’s Hamlet gets a clip instrumentality that allows him to not lone prevention characters killed disconnected by the Bard successful his downbeat original, but to besides bring successful humanities figures specified arsenic Jesus and Hillary Clinton.

Ophelia

Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley plays the rubric relation successful this 2018 play directed by Claire McCarthy, which tells the communicative of Hamlet from Ophelia’s position instead. It’s based connected some the Shakespeare play and Lisa Klein’s caller Ophelia, which gives the rubric quality much bureau than she has successful the play arsenic good arsenic a antithetic ending. The formed includes George MacKay arsenic Hamlet, Naomi Watts arsenic Gertrude, Clive Owen arsenic Claudius, and Tom Felton arsenic Laertes.

The Northman

Director Robert Eggers’ “Viking Hamlet” is based connected Saxo Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum, the past Norse saga of a vengeful prince that inspired Shakespeare’s play. The fable of Amleth contains galore of the aforesaid basal characters and communicative elements that aboriginal appeared successful Hamlet. It stars Alexander Skarsgård arsenic Amleth (Hamlet), Nicole Kidman arsenic Queen Gudrun (Queen Gertrude successful Hamlet), Ethan Hawke arsenic King Aurvandil (Hamlet’s doomed dad), and Anya Taylor-Joy arsenic Olga, who Eggers said is his film’s equivalent to Ophelia but “only successful the information that she's the emotion interest. … She's a overmuch stronger quality than Ophelia.”

In his The Northman review, which helium gave a people of 8/10, IGN professional Siddhant Adlakha said “The Northman works champion erstwhile it dives head-first into dreams and disorienting visions, but it slows down erstwhile it becomes a much accepted Hollywood narrative. With viciousness relegated to its margins, it often feels neutered and bloodless, but inactive ends up connected the close broadside of entertaining acknowledgment to its pulsating euphony and measured performances.”

Grand Theft Hamlet

This charming 2024 documentary is astir out-of-work British actors Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen who, during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, staged a accumulation of Hamlet wholly wrong the video crippled Grand Theft Auto. In his Grand Theft Hamlet review, IGN professional Matt Donato calls it “an outrageous communicative of unsighted ambition” and “an irreplicable acquisition that speaks volumes astir pursuing your dreams contempt the challenges that await. The reward volition ever beryllium worthwhile, adjacent if it’s conscionable astir the friends you marque and NPC cops you massacre on the way.”

Hamnet

Chloé Zhao directed this emotionally devastating, award-winning 2025 adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, which explores the narration betwixt William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his woman Agnes Hathaway (Jessie Buckley successful an Oscar-winning, powerhouse performance). While the movie chronicles however Will and Agnes met and fell successful love, it’s yet a survey successful grief aft their lad Hamnet (a heartbreaking Jacobi Jupe) dies. How each genitor responds to the nonaccomplishment of their lone lad and the toll it takes connected their narration culminates successful Shakespeare channeling his symptom into the play that would go his masterpiece, Hamlet.

Hamlet (2026)

Riz Ahmed plays the rubric relation successful manager Aneil Karia’s modern adaptation, which is acceptable wrong London’s elite South Asian community. Cultural specificities are woven successful passim the film, from ceremonial and wedding rituals to a creation show to the shade of Hamlet’s begetter (Avijit Dutt) speaking to his lad not successful English but Hindi. The movie besides alters Shakespeare’s substance successful immoderate cardinal ways, specified arsenic giving 1 of Horatio’s large scenes successful the archetypal play to Ophelia (Morfydd Clark) instead.

What's your favourite Hamlet movie? Let america cognize successful the comments.