Although I prefer the darker tale of Macbeth, this is a decent production of Shakespeare's classic. Having seen the English dubbed version, I would have preferred seeing the original in German with subs; dubbing tends to affect the emotional performance(s). This results in actors saying lines which at times come off as mismatched and leaving the viewer scratching their noggin in befuddlement. Having Hamlet being shot in black in white gives the production a bleak, surreal sort of mood. For a second, I had thought that Rod Serling would come out with cigarette in hand saying:'These guard sentries do not realize it yet, but that shadowy spectre looming off in the darkness..will set off a series of events..all beginning with one Danish prince.'Kudos to Maximilian for his portrayal of Hamlet. I also strangely enjoyed the leery presence of Hans Caninenberg..he makes you realize that Claudius is just up to no good whatsoever. A few extra points for Denmark being in another dimension..a dimension not only of sight and sound but of...ah, you know the rest!

Alas, poor Hamlet. I knew him, dear reader, and let me tell thee, THIS VERSION SUCKS! I don't know who of all people put up the money for this flotsam, but I hope that they're proud of themselves. They took THE classic play and turned it into the most boring melodrama imaginable. This version is quite literally so bad, that not even the presence of a great thespian like Maximilian Schell in the title role can save it. This movie's only redeeming quality is that it made great fodder for "MST3K"; Mike, Servo and Crow had a lot of fun with this one.But either way, I'm sure that Shakespeare, had he been alive when they made this, would not have wanted his name associated with it. This "Hamlet" is not even so bad that's it good; it's just plain bad. Absolutely dreadful.

I've seen all kinds of "Hamlet"s. Kenneth Branagh's was most ambitious, Mel Gibson's was quick and to the point, Laurence Olivier's was the best - hands down. But now we come to Maximilian Schell's take on the Bard.For one, this is a dubbed version of a German TV production of William Shakespeare's venerable chestnut. But if there's a slower, more plodding, more lethargic and worse-staged version out there somewhere, it must have been acted at grade school-level. Having seen it on MST3K helps, with Mike and the robots taking jolly good jabs at the old boy, puncturing the profundity of black and white TV, Shakespeare and the wisdom (?) of Germans acting out an English play and making it look like an Ingmar Bergman reject.Of course, the best parts are the MST riffs. Best lines? "I'm gonna unleash the Great Dane", "I don't think so, 'breather'", "Meet the Beatles", "Hey, Dad, will you help me with my science project" and, my personal favorite, during a party - "Garrison Keillor's leaving Germany (YAAAY!!)".But then there's Schell, playing Shakespeare's greatest character much like a department store mannequin would, only not as expressive. No doubt he's a great actor, but here he comes off about as well as Paul Newman in "The Silver Chalice". Ever see that one? You GOTTA watch these two on a double-bill!In the end, this is one instance where it's true that you're much better off to just read the book. At least the book isn't dubbed by Ricardo Montalban.One star only for this "Hamlet"; ten stars, naturally, for the MST3K version.Good-night, not-so-sweet prince.

How bad is this version of Hamlet? The original dialogue was translated into German, which was in turn dubbed in English... I don't know about you, but my head is spinning.Anyway, this looks like a filmed play, on the set of an Obsession advert, and the only amusement to be had is trying to catch the words match the lips.Notable as being the only film to bring culture (?!) to MST3K. Actually, their version is pretty funny, but only under those circumstances.