Hamlet is one of the many amazing plays by William Shakespeare. The 1990 version was directed by Franco Zeffirelli and stars Mel Gibson as Hamlet. It was released in the U.S. in January 2001 with a runtime of 130 minutes. It was nominated for five awards, including two Oscars, neither of which was won. The screenplay was done by Christopher De Vore.
After being visited by the ghost of his father, Hamlet, prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle who was now his step-father was responsible for the death of his real father. He is asked by the ghost to revenge his death but is unable to do so right away because of his loving nature. Hamlet grows mad because of his father’s murder and his mother’s disloyalty. His uncle tried to get rid of him but was unsuccessful.
Mel Gibson’s “Hamlet” was edited to be more accessible to a wide audience but instead seemed to disrespect the original play. Zeffirelli did not only cut out many important lines but he also switched lines and scenes throughout the play. Mel Gibson was too old to be Hamlet and did at best a tolerable job. The play turned out to be funny in areas where it should not have been. The acting was generally poor although a few characters, such as Nathaniel Parker as Laertes, did a wonderful job with what they were given.
Thankfully, the general plot of the play remained the same. Hamlet ended up getting revenge of his father’s death by killing his uncle before he himself died and his mother died after drinking the poison intended for him. Zeffirelli’s attempt to create a version of the famous play that would be easy to watch was not appreciated at all by those who know the play and have watched previous versions of it. I believe that the director should receive all the blame for this play and the actors should be excused for their part in this horrible depiction.
Mel Gibson’s “Hamlet” was a poor representation of the original play by the wonderful William Shakespeare. It is an insult to the majority of movie goers, saying that they are not educated enough to understand Shakespeare in its original version and not attentive enough to take it the true length of the play. Not many directors can interpret Shakespeare’s work and before they attempt to do so, they should always ask themselves the question; to do or not to do.
