Hamlet (1990) (DVD)

I'm not a fan of Mel Gibson as a person, who is a professed homophobic racist. HOWEVER, I do not watch movies to see movie stars, but to be put in the middle of a story and have an emotional experience. And this one knocks my socks off. If you have a hard time understanding the literature of Shakespeare, you will be surprised at how well you'll be able to follow along, thanks to the gifted performances of this cast who suck you right into the storyline and keep you on the edge of your seat.Shakespeare's Hamlet was originally written as a 4-hour stage production but has been amazingly condensed here to half that time without losing anything important. The set locations are marvelous, and the cinematography is top notchGibson plays a handsome and clever Hamlet, articulating Shakespeare's 16th century English script superbly and passionately and with great force. I felt that he was very believable in the role.Super Star Glenn Close masterfully plays "the beauteous Queen of Denmark", not like a commanding Queen Elizabeth I, but with the meekness and humility of a wife and mother who has gotten caught up in a heinous crime, but with such wide-eyed innocence that one cannot help but completely forgive her in her remorse when Hamlet confronts her about it. One might say that Justice required that she pay with her life for her crime, but even Justice weeps for her as she makes that payment. And priceless is the annoyed look that she fiercely flashes at Ian Holm's Polonius when he tartly says to her, "Stay a while, Madam; I will be faithful!" (Just watch it and you'll understand what he means).Ian Holm (Scribe Zerah in "Jesus of Nazareth", Priest Vito Cornelius in "The 5th Element", Bilbo Baggins in "The Lord of the Rings") proves himself once again to be a master talent in his performance of the intelligent busybody Polonius. Holm fully embodies the character. I think Shakespeare wrote the part for him 400 years in advance.Helena Bonham Carter (Marla in "Fight Club", the Red Queen in "Alice in Wonderland", Queen Elizabeth in the "King's Speech") is completely believable as the pitiable Ophelia; her performance was haunting and makes one grieve for all women whose innocence has been crushed by cruel men.

Not everyone's cup of tea.Zeferelli takes great liberties with the play, omitting vast swaths of dialogue, several scenes, and the character of Fortinbras altogether. He also rearranges the order of several critical scenes, and makes mighty interpretive leaps such as having Hamlet overhear Polonius's instructions to Ophelia that she must not have any further contact with the prince--an understanding that of course colors our view of Hamlet's actions toward Ophelia for the rest of the play. Knowing that Hamlet KNOWS the poor girl is in a hopeless position, acting under her father's direct orders, makes his treatment of her seem wantonly cruel as the play moves forward, rather than justifiable as a manifestation of his paranoia. One failure of this interpretation is that Zeferelli doesn't do much with that knowledge--Hamlet's having overheard Polonius--once having established it. He seems to go on courting our sympathy for the character as if he'd done nothing to lessen it.On the other hand, the director does deliver a film just over two hours long--compared to Kenneth Branagh's four-hour-plus rendition--that is well-acted, properly atmospheric, successful at differentiating critical passages and performances from those which are meant merely to flesh out the plot, and relaxed enough en route that the necessarily intense scenes stand out as they should. (Branagh's version, while great in its own way, is acted by every character in every scene as if he or she were the MAIN character, and the scene itself the very climax of the play--a greater gathering of famous hams, each determined to make the most of his moment in the sun, has rarely graced the silver screen, if ever. Every one of the performances is marvelous--but taken as a whole, the play is exhausting.)My students tend to prefer Zeferelli's film over Branagh's--but add the reservation that if they hadn't already known the play, they probably wouldn't have understood this one as a stand-alone drama. Some of the aforementioned liberties with the play leave holes in the plot--the viewer familiar with the play is kind enough to fill them in, but Branagh's version doesn't require such helpfulness.

When I first saw this film I was transfixed. It was my first amazing experience with Shakespeare on film. With the revelations that Mel Gibson is a manic jerk in real life, I am not a fan of him in general, but I once was. Even with my revised negative opinion, this is an incredible film. I still appreciate the talent that Mel Gibson brings to his movies. This is by far his best performance. Watching the extras (which I rarely do) it is obvious that he worked with manic dedication to make Hamlet a person deeper than the words. I am going to be a heretic now: I find his performance far superior to that of Sir Laurence Olivet and Kenneth Branagh. Franco Zeffirelli is a master director. All of the performances are masterful. The costumes and sets are amazing. This adaptation of Hamlet is tight and short. It focuses on the psychology and personality of Hamlet and his family and personal relationships at the expense of the politics and over a third of the play. I am frustrated with much of Kenneth Branagh's complete version of Hamlet, but if you want to see the full the play it is essential. If you want to see the most realistic, personal and compelling version this is the one to watch. Ian Holm and Glenn Close, Helena Bonham Carter are amazing. I am not aware of one performance that is not excellent. I have watched this film about six times. It gets better each time.

One of Mel Gibson’s best performances! I don’t normally think of Mel Gibson as a Shakespeare actor, but he is absolutely brilliant in this exceptional telling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In classic fashion, Mel brings his whimsical nature to this play as well as his vast array of emotions. A great companion to Kenneth Branagh’s telling of Shakespeare’s Henry V.