While the acting is excellent, the interpretation Olivier gives Hamlet is nauseating. As a Shakespeare scholar, I have always cringed when I hear students of the bard describe Hamlet as a "man who could not make up his mind." Oliver tells us at the beginning of this film the very essence he sees in Hamlet. I have *no* problem with him interpreting in a way I do not agree with, but to say this is the "definitive work, period" is unfair to some other wonderful adaptations. For my money, Branagh's Hamlet is a more honest portrayal and the excellent dress rehearsal Dvd with Richard Burton is mind-blowing.I do not dislike Olivier, but Hamlet is hardly his best Shakespearean work. Richard III is much better and Henry V is perhaps better than Branagh's version.