Tony Richardson's Hamlet is based on his own stage production. As a filmed record of a production originally designed for the stage it is not an ideal introduction for those new to the text. Filmed entirely within the Roundhouse in London, it is shot almost entirely in close up, focussing the attention on faces and language rather than action. Nicol Williamson is a brilliant and idiosyncratic prince, a puritanical intellectual at odds with the sensuality of the new Danish court, with fine support from Anthony Hopkins.