> Which version? The most recent version of "Hamlet" I saw was the 4-hour long Kenneth
> Branaugh (sp?) version. Loved it. I thought it was better than Mel Gibson's version.

Branagh, I think.

Two years ago, we did _Hamlet_ for EngLit. Since no local theatre companies were doing the play that year, the teacher showed us a version on video. It was the Zeffirelli version starring Mel Gibson. *yech*

Independently, I also watched the Olivier version, the Branagh version, and the BBC Television Shakespeare version (in which Hamlet is played by the same actor who later played Claudius opposite Branagh).

I think Branagh's version is the best cinematic version of _Hamlet_, if only because it's the most complete. If asked which of the four I'd recommend showing to an EngLit class, however, I'd say the BBC version - it's nearly as complete, and some important bits come off a lot better.

> Have you tried "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead"? Tim Roth, Gary Oldman, and Robert Dreyfuss
> take on Tom Stoppard's award-winning play.

Just wondering - were you aware, when you wrote this, that Tom Stoppard also (co-)wrote the award-winning screenplay for _Shakespeare in Love_?

Paul