Between Chloé Zhao’s "Hamnet" — which recently netted Jessie Buckley a Best Actress Oscar — and Riz Ahmed’s gritty take on the Bard, the eponymous prince is officially all the rage. With Ahmed’s "Hamlet" is playing in theaters, the cultural obsession with Shakespeare’s most brooding hero shows no signs of waning.
Ahmed’s film transports the tragedy to contemporary London, featuring a standout moment where the Oscar-nominated actor bellows the famous "To be or not to be" monologue while speeding through a tunnel. Ahmed suggests this unconventional staging taps into the "radical, confronting DNA of the speech," proving it is about far more than a simple choice between life and death.
These are hardly the first films to reimagine the Danish prince through a dramatic — or even comedic — lens, as filmmakers have long used the story to mirror our own world. Whether they shift the setting to a video store or a corporate boardroom, or even sideline the prince to focus on supporting players, these adaptations prove the core themes of murder, power, and revenge are universal. From beer-centric comedies to Spaghetti Westerns and Disney classics, here are some of the most unusual "Hamlet" movies ever put to film:
'The Lion King' (1994)
How old were you when you realized this was pure Shakespeare? Even set on a fictionalized African savanna with a singing meerkat and warthog, the bones of the Bard are there. There are key differences, of course: young Simba believes he is responsible for Mufasa’s death, a burden of guilt most Hamlets don't carry. In true Disney fashion, Simba defeats his villainous uncle Scar but leaves the final blow to Scar’s own minions, the hungry hyenas.
Watch on Disney+
'Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead' (1990)
Gary Oldman and Tim Roth play the titular courtiers in Tom Stoppard’s clever adaptation of his own play. By elevating these minor characters to leads, the film turns every conversation into a "Game of Questions" scored like a tennis match. When the self-absorbed Hamlet (Iain Glen) finally appears, he mops the floor with them both without even trying.
Watch on MGM+
'The Bad Sleep Well' (1960)
One of Akira Kurosawa’s finest Shakespearean reinterpretations, this noir takes place in post-war Japan. Toshiro Mifune stars as Koichi Nishi, a man seeking vengeance against the corrupt corporate officials who forced his father to commit suicide. It is dark, bracing, and brilliant.
Watch on the Criterion Channel
'Hamlet Goes Business' (1987)
Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki, master of the deadpan comedy, transfers the setting from Elsinore to a rubber duck factory. In this satire of the 1980s corporate greed, things are very rotten indeed.
Not streaming: Buy Blu-ray on Amazon
'Johnny Hamlet' (1968)
"Hamlet" as a Spaghetti Western? Why not! Johnny Hamilton returns from the Civil War to find his uncle has married his mother and likely murdered his father. Starring Andrea Giordana — an Italian actor who could be Jensen Ackles’ twin — the film swaps swordplay for shootouts. At the heart of this revenge story isn't a throne, but a lust for buried Confederate gold.
Watch free on Plex
'Ophelia' (2018)
Based on the novel by Lisa Klein, this version centers on Ophelia (Daisy Ridley), whose clandestine romance with Hamlet (George MacKay) borrows heavily from "Romeo and Juliet." With Naomi Watts playing Queen Gertrude (and a "witchy" twin in a cave), the film builds to a deadly duel between Hamlet and Laertes (Tom Felton), while a disguised Ophelia flees the court, knowing she’ll never see her prince alive again.
Watch free on the Roku Channel
'Strange Brew' (1983)
This classic Canadian comedy stars Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas as Bob and Doug McKenzie, two beer-loving brothers who stumble into jobs at the Elsinore Brewery. They become unlikely heroes tasked with rescuing heiress Pam Elsinore from the scheming Brewmeister Smith (a delightfully campy Max von Sydow). It borrows as much from Star Wars as it does Shakespeare, but it’s all in good fun, eh?
Watch free on the Roku Channel
'Haider' (2014)
Vishal Bhardwaj’s award-winning epic moves the action to Kashmir during the mid-1990s. Shahid Kapoor delivers an electric performance as Haider, whose feigned madness serves as resistance against systemic oppression. His version of "To be or not to be" is a politically charged monologue delivered to a public square, asking a crowded room: "Do we exist or do we not?"
Not available in the U.S. Watch on Z5 in Australia
Outside Australia? Use NordVPN to access Z5 when abroad
'The Banquet' (2006)
Director Feng Xiaogang adds stunning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"-style choreography to this loose adaptation. Ziyi Zhang stars as Empress Wan, caught between her love for her stepson and her marriage to his murderous uncle. The tension culminates in a grand banquet where both the wine and the knives are lethally poisoned.
Watch on Prime Video
'Scarlet' (2025)
In this Japanese action-fantasy, the lead is a teenage girl named Scarlet who wields a mean sword. After being poisoned by her uncle Claudius, she finds herself trapped in the "Otherworld," where she meets a mysterious figure named Hijiri. Director Mamoru Hosoda uses a breathtaking mix of hand-drawn animation and CGI to tell this reimagined quest for justice.
Buy on Prime Video
