Cheap Hamlet (Video) (Mel Gibson, Glenn Close) (Franco Zeffirelli) Price

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Customer Reviews of Hamlet

The most enjoyable scenes are when Hamlet expresses his thoughts in soliloquies and gives insight into what his character is feeling. Mel Gibson becomes Hamlet and I thought this was perhaps some of his best acting ever! Glenn Close is exceptional as Gertrude, the incestuous mother. The uneasiness and distrust in Denmark since King Hamlet's death and Queen Gertrude's remarriage sets the mood for the rest of the movie.

The story begins on the outer ramparts of Elsinore castle. A ghost appears and Hamlet, speaks to his deceased father. The ghost asks Hamlet to revenge his "most foul, strange, and unnatural murder." Hamlet then deviously plots a psychological revenge by putting on a play in which a scene portrays the actual murder of his father.

"I'll have grounds
More relative than this-the play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." -Hamlet, Act 2, 603-605

Once guilt takes hold of the King, the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together and you realize that one immoral action only makes another wrong even more probable.

Throughout the play, Hamlet shows his intellectual superiority and states his case by saying: "Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?" While he desires to have the upper hand until the end, he cannot of course know all the intentions of those around him nor can he escape his own fate.

An Unforgettable story that made an impression on me in school and still holds a
certain fascination for me. Did Hamlet ever really love Ophelia? That is the question.

"It is in my memory locked." -Ophelia

A Very Respectable Version
Mel Gibson's 1990 version of argueably the greatest of William Shakespeare's works unquestionably has its flaws, but certainly holds it own among myriad other versions of the play. Please, don't pay too much attention to those who would attempt to compare Gibson's Hamlet to any of his action roles; Hamlet is perhaps the most complex intellectual character in all of the English language. It is unfair to compare him to a futuristic road warrior or a Three Stooges-loving, suicidal cop.

The reason why Gibson was cast as Hamlet in this version is simple: he helped cast himself. Why? For the opportunity to establish himself as an actor with serious talent, not just serious sex appeal. His Hamlet possessed more than enough of the emotional depth and range necessary for the role, and Gibson also brought an intangible element: his own charisma. As we do with Jack and Rose in the movie _Titanic_, we truly rooted for this Hamlet, despite knowledge of the inevitable conclusion.

Gibson looks uncomfortable at first (nervous?) and starts out slowly; tentatively. He finds his acting feet soon thereafter, and by the end of the film, his presence seems to upstage that of the other actors. So while it is a somewhat unbalanced performance in that regard, Gibson's physical communication of his torment was both dynamic and convincing. The explication of information during his monologues was far superior to Derek Jacobi's BBC version in the late '70's, and in my opinion, over the decades and the evolution of acting methods and styles, supercedes Olivier's 1948 version. If you can overlook the fact that Mel Gibson is a very grown-up version of Hamlet, then his rendition, while flawed, is still an effort worthy of The Bard.

His supporting cast was very well chosen, with the exception perhaps of Glenn Close as Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, who must have been eight years old when Hamlet was born! Helena Bonham Carter was simply outstanding as Ophelia... the madness of Shakespeare's characters is a difficult state to emulate, and the heartrending sadness she bears is palpable.

Franco Zeffirelli is a longtime Shakespeare veteran, most memorably for directing the 1968 version of _Romeo and Juliet_, considered by many to be the best film adaptation of any of Shakespeare's works. He paints an atmosphere in Elsinore as cold as the tension between Hamlet and his father, but perhaps tries a little too hard to make things fresh by infusing awkward new camera angles and an unbalanced (and sometimes nonexistant) complimentary music score.

If you're thinking about buying Gibson's Hamlet simply because you are a big Mel fan, then by all means, you should do so. You'll see a side of Mel that you hadn't seen prior to 1990, and in many ways, haven't seen since (_Braveheart_ was a triumph, but it's simply a different genre than Shakespeare). But if you're looking for the best version of Hamlet, and you have to choose between this version and Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version, I would strongly suggest Branagh's. It is a full-text version (excellent for students) while Gibson's has cut scenes, re-organized scenes, and missing characters. Branagh's moves much more swiftly, vividly, and energetically, and although it is set in the 19th century rather than the 15th/16th century, the language still fits snugly in that timeline and in no way affects the plot. But if you don't have to choose, don't count out Gibson's version one way or the other. It is definitely worth viewing, and perhaps you'll consider renting both versions before buying.

best film version i've seen (and i've seen them all!)
through my endeavors i've had to read Hamlet 7 times (twice my senior year of high-school). much as i don't like Shakespeare this play is part of my life.

The Olivier version is more accurate to the stage version but the camera techiniques are over-blown and hokey (circling the swords before the duel to see which one is tipped, it made me dizzy). the Branagh version, while creative in it's set up (modernizing it to imerial Russia), and using the entire text, complete with Prince Fortinbras of Norway, is SO long and SO over-acted (especially on the part of Branagh) that i needed a nap after i saw it. and i choose not even to dignify the Ethan Hawke version it was so terrible.

This one is my favorite, all the scenes which are cut aren't necessary for the forwarding of the plot in my humble opinion (the opening scene with the palace guards meeting the dead kingis cut yet horatio's explaination of this happening later in the movie is sufficient). Gibson chooses to play Hamlet as insane (that decision is left to the director) and as i am in the camp that Hamlet IS insane, you could also see why i favor this version. Glenn Close is EXCELLENT as Gertrude as is Helena Bonham-Carter as Ophelia.

solid performances with a great cast, what more does a 400 year old play need?