Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948)

The first oversea's film to a win a best picture Oscar. Undoubtably Academy voters were attracted by the prospect of honoring something different, something "legit". It was the prestigious nature of the film that attracted the votes, and the originality of the presentation. Evocative of German expressionist cinema, the movie is overtly theatrical, you feel like your watching a stage play on an impossible set. Still there are more accessible versions of Hamlet, though here I’m rather impressed with the way the play-within-the-play was handeld, as well as the finally. Three out of Five.