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Actors: Mel Gibson, Glenn Close
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Hamlet (1990) |
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Directed and starring Kenneth Branagh, this movie is a lush, lavish, magnificent production of Hamlet. All of the characters do justice to the language of Shakespeare's play as well as its emotional and intellectual force. Branagh is superb as the cerebral, conflicted prince who is impelled to avenge his father, who has been killed by Hamlet's Uncle Claudius.
--Esther, Resident Scholar
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The young prince of Denmark returns from college to find his father dead and his father's brother Claudius married to his mother, queen Gertrude. The ghost of Hamlet's father tells the prince that the current king murdered his predecessor, and the prince sets out to test the theory and plan his revenge. Director Franco Zeffirelli's version strips the play of more than half of Shakespeare's script, including the character of Fortinbras and most of Ophelia's lines. Glenn Close is far too young to be Mel Gibson's mother (only 9 years difference in age), and some may object to a heavy emphasis on their Oedipal relationship. Strangely, Alan Bates plays Claudius as an unredeemable villain. Still, the principals act gamely and are well supported by great veterans of the stage and beautiful camera work. This is probably the best "traditional" Hamlet for the masses.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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After his father's funeral, the Danish Prince Hamlet sees that his mother has married his uncle. Soon the ghost of his father says that his uncle murdered him and he wants Hamlet to avenge him.
--Jenna Smith, Resident Scholar
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Puleeze! It's Mad Max playing the Mad Dane, and the Mad Dane sorely loses! Mel Gibson's vanity fair here may have enthralled countless movie goers (who perhaps didn't
know any better), but Hamlet, mad or otherwise, Mel Gibson is not. Still, Director Frano Zeffirelli doesn't do badly (Zeffirelli being an acknowledged Shakespearean scholar!).
While his best is still “Romeo and Juliet,” he assembles an interesting cast: Glenn Close as Gertrude, Alan Bates as Claudius, and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia. While bringing this Shakespearean play of plays to the screen, Zeffirelli's interpretations can be called to task--it's his options, surely, but the viewer doesn't necessarily have to agree with him. His adding some of his own lines, of course, is a bother (why tamper with the masterpiece?)
and his re-arranging some of the scenes, at an attempt, one supposes to put some originality into the movie, doesn't go well either with the purists. Granted, it is “Hamlet” and merely by retaining SOME of the lines, one can't go wrong!
--Bill Hobbs, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Hamlet (1990) |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- middle ages
Family, struggling with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Step Parent(s)
Job/Profession/Poverty Story?
Yes
Job:
- prince/king/queen/knight
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- Prince/Nobleman/King
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- emotionally unstable
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Unclothed?
- Chest and Buttocks
Events of movie makes character more...
- aggressive
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Scandinavian
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn wavey
Unclothed?
- buttocks and chest
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Scandinavian
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- Prince/Nobleman/King
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 40%
Hair color
- white
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Scandinavian
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Scandinavia
Misc setting
- castle
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- actual description of sex
- seeing nude female butt
- seeing nude male butt
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- English
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Orchestra/classical
Is this movie based on a
- play
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Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Esther
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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