Hamlet

Benedict Cumberbatch—better known to many Chinese fans by his affectionate nickname 'Juan Fu' (卷福)—brings his acclaimed National Theatre Live production of Hamlet to cinemas nationwide.
While the production has previously been screened at selected theaters and art-house venues across the Chinese mainland, this marks its first full nationwide theatrical release.
There's an old saying that there are a thousand different Hamlets for a thousand different audiences.
Yet for many fans, there is only one.

Cumberbatch has often described Hamlet as one of the roles he always dreamed of playing, and his interpretation became one of the defining stage performances of the past decade. 
Opposite him is Ciarán Hinds—familiar to many viewers as Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones—whose portrayal of King Claudius adds another layer of dramatic weight.
When the production premiered at London's Barbican Centre in 2015, demand was extraordinary. More than 100,000 tickets reportedly sold out within minutes.

Director Lyndsey Turner's production creates a fascinating collision between classical Shakespeare and contemporary theatrical design.
The first half unfolds inside an opulent royal palace filled with emerald-green walls, glittering chandeliers, and sweeping staircases—lavish surroundings that beautifully emphasize the corruption Hamlet despises. After the interval, that grandeur disappears.
The palace transforms into a landscape of blackened ruins, as though every illusion of power has finally collapsed into darkness.

The production is equally remarkable in its cinematic language.
At several key moments, the entire stage freezes while a single spotlight isolates Hamlet during his soliloquies. 
The duel between Hamlet and Laertes suddenly slips into slow motion, while a Hitchcock-like blast of black wind erupts through three towering doorways before the interval, accompanied by thunderous sound design that rivals many Hollywood productions.

Whether it's Shakespeare's royal court, modern stagecraft, or breathtaking visual design, this is a production that never asks audiences to lower their cinematic expectations simply because they're watching theater.

Perhaps its greatest triumph, however, is Cumberbatch himself.
Rather than portraying Hamlet as a traditionally melancholy prince, he constantly shifts between icy indifference, nervous agitation, explosive energy, and emotional vulnerability, creating a performance that feels impossible to confine to any single interpretation or era.
Source : ThatsGuangzhou