Hitchcoc Once again, I read reviews saying this is the worst portrayal of Hamlet in the history of cinema. Hey, I'm not a big fan of Mel Gibson, but this film makes the story and some of the language accessible. Personally, I would much prefer a more sophisticated adaptation, but I have had extensive Shakespeare studies in my education. This is Shakespeare for a more pedestrian audience (young people included) and what's wrong with that? I love classical music and theatre, but the snobbishness that some approach it with is a real turnoff. I believe that for certain individuals, they feel these things need to be protected so they can be the only ones to enjoy these things. I agree that Gibson is much too old to be playing the young prince and it is pretty sparse in language. But isn't it better to have a populace that knows the story and doesn't have to wade through a 60 line soliloquy, than to have them just ignore the whole thing. I showed this to some of my nigh grade students and heard very few complaints.

Kirpianuscus What you could expect from an adaptation ? accuracy ? new versions of known performances ? inspired manner of director to translate in images his vision about text ? Hamlet by Zeffireli gives a drop from each of that. in a personal style. and that is far to be surprising. Hamlet by Mel Gibson is a surprise. powerful, impetuous, far by the wall of clichés about the Danish prince who becomes almost Meridional. and, more important, alive. not the best, sure. but useful for discover a new form to give to him strong traces. Glen Close and Alan Bates are the inspired options for the balance. Helena Bonham Carter - the expected Ophelia. condensed story, precise, mix of costumes and rooms, beautiful - and what film by Zeffireli could be ugly ? -, it is a form of introduction to Hamlet for young public. and this represents a real significant virtue.

Michael Neumann Purists be warned: this star-driven pulp rendition of the classic tragedy, "adapted from" the play by William Shakespeare, might just as well be subtitled (without apology to fans of Mel Gibson's previous bubblegum blockbuster) 'Bard On A Wire'. The source material survives more or less intact, but the rhythms and tempo of Shakespeare's language, so beautiful on stage, are not entirely suited to celluloid, at least not with director Franco Zeffirelli's artless insistence on video-format close-ups and choppy continuity. Gibson, on center stage for most of the film, hasn't enough depth to carry the entire drama. He gives the Prince of Denmark as much fire as he can muster, but falls flat on his much-photographed bottom during every soliloquy, and his credibility is further damaged by the casting of 43-year old Glenn Close as his mother. The rest of the cast is well balanced by such stalwart pros as Scofield, Holm and Bates, and (wonder of wonders) Ennio Morricone has actually composed some effective, understated music, a welcome change of pace from his usual bombastic background scores.

ShootingShark Prince Hamlet of Denmark is overcome with grief at the sudden death of his father, and is appalled when his mother quickly marries her brother-in-law Claudius. But worse is to come when the dead king's ghost appears and reveals a ghastly murder ...William Shakespeare's Hamlet, written around 1600, is pretty untouchable as a property. I could say I think it's a bit long (especially Act IV), Ophelia has bugger all to do with the plot, and the ending is the old scribbler's trick of killing everybody off because you can't think of anything better, but there's not too much point because you probably either don't like Old Billy much or worse, are a Culture Snob who thinks he's a paragon. This movie version is very good all round really; the main difficulty in adapting Shakespeare to film is the stage direction, which is heavy on speeches and short on action. Gibson imbues it with energy and Zeffirelli wisely abridges it down to two hours, focussing on the passion and the agonising doubt at the core of the story. Fundamentally, the play is really about the essence of death; the horror of the King's murder, the damnation of Claudius, the tragedy of Ophelia, the bones of Yorick. His father's killing forces Hamlet to stare the horror of death straight in the face and he doesn't know how to live - to sleep, perchance to dream. Gibson is great in the lead, ably supported by Bates, Holm and Scofield (all of whom played Hamlet on stage to great acclaim) and he makes the tough-going dialogue surprisingly palatable and mellow. There's also a fine incidental score by Ennio Morricone and excellent production design by Dante Ferretti (most exteriors were shot at Dunnottar Castle on the east coast of Scotland), and it was the first film made by Gibson's respected Icon production company. I like this movie a lot, as I do any movie which tries to take the illustrious High Arts and turn them into something anyone can appreciate. I think it's the best movie adaptation of the classic tale - the 1948 Laurence Olivier and 1996 Kenneth Branagh versions are both a bit stodgy, but the cheapie 1969 one with Nicol Williamson is not bad. Weirdly, the best movie versions of Hamlet (as with most of Shakespeare's plays) are the ones that are cagily disguised as something else, such as Akira Kurosawa's corporate killer drama Warui Yatsu Hodo Yoku Nemuru / The Bad Sleep Well, Tom Stoppard's whimsical Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis' hilarious The Adventures Of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew (which mostly involves beer and ice-hockey, two crucial elements Shakespeare left out), and Aki Kaurismäki's lovably nutty Hamlet Liikemaailmassa / Hamlet Goes Business, in which Hamlet is the heir to a rubber-duck manufacturing company. Also, this movie is perhaps the perfect example of an international movie with no homeland; it was funded by French money, distributed by Americans, stars an Australian, was made by an Italian, filmed in the UK and is set in Denmark ! Don't be put off by the intellectual pedigree; this is the world's oldest revenger's tragedy and a great thought-provoking film.