Hamlet
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Hamlet is Shakespeare's most famous play, a 400-year old tragedy about incest, revenge and madness.
The title character is the son of King Hamlet, who appears in a ghostly meeting to the young prince. The dead king accuses his brother (young Hamlet's uncle) of murdering him. As Prince Hamlet investigates, he faces a conspiracy involving schoolmates Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; Ophelia's father Polonius; and even his own mother. Homicide, suicide and duels to the death follow.
Hamlet's only friend in the lengthy play, his schoolchum Horatio, is the only major character who doesn't die.
Major film versions of the play have starred Laurence Olivier, Mel Gibson, Kenneth Branagh and Ethan Hawke.