Oedipal Hamlet on Film It has been commonly suggested by disciples of Sigmund Freud such as Ernest Jones that Shakespeare's character Hamlet is the victim of an Oedipus complex. While any reading of the play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark that focuses on the text and not the psychoanalytic fads of the current era belies any notion of Hamlet's Oedipal nature, many film artists have followed popular psychology and adopted this theory for the most part. screen. Whether due to precedent, pressure, or the need to uncover some complex in Hamlet, this has become a very popular trend among directors. Since it is impossible to do a production of Hamlet without addressing Hamlet's relationships with Gertrude, Hamlet Sr., and Claudius, the following will be a discussion of several cinematic Hamlets and the presence or absence of these Freudian notions. certainly not the first production of Hamlet for the big screen, Laurence Olivier's 1948 adaptation is the first full-length commercial version and is still highly regarded today. In this film Gertrude looks at Hamlet more like a lover than a mother, gazing longingly at him whenever he is present. Gertrude's affection, however, is not limited to these glances, for after Hamlet's agreement to stay in Elsinore, she kisses him deeply and long on the lips, like a lover. Olivier's Hamlet is initially aggressive towards Gertrude during the wardrobe scene, but after the ghost's visit he becomes as affectionate as Gertrude is at first. Hamlet speaks tenderly to Gertrude and she responds accordingly. Then he gives her a long, deep kiss to seal their pact against Claudio. Taken out of context, the scene would appear to be a conversation and love pact between two... paper complexes... and would have given us Hamlets free from supposed incestuous desires and confused notions. This reverence for the script and lack of guesswork gives the viewer a more accurate view of Hamlet that is more in line with the complex mind that Shakespeare offered his audience. Works Cited and Consulted Branagh, Kenneth. "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare: screenplay, introduction and film diary. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996. Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reeseman, and John R. Willingham. A handbook of critical approaches to literature.New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.Leong, Virginia. “Hamlet article from The Australian.” 06 December 1997. (07 December 1997)Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The bank of the Shakespeare River. AND. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Haughton Mifflin Company, 1974.