Hamlet (1990)

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.

Director:

Franco Zeffirelli

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play), Christopher De Vore (screenplay)

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Hamlet
Glenn Close	...	Gertrude
Alan Bates	...	Claudius
Paul Scofield	...	The Ghost
Ian Holm	...	Polonius
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Ophelia
Stephen Dillane	...	Horatio
Nathaniel Parker	...	Laertes
Sean Murray	...	Guildenstern
Michael Maloney	...	Rosencrantz
Trevor Peacock	...	The Gravedigger
John McEnery	...	Osric
Richard Warwick	...	Bernardo
Christien Anholt	...	Marcellus
Dave Duffy	...	Francisco

Storyline

Hamlet returns to Denmark when his father, the King, dies. His mother Gertrude has already married Hamlet's uncle Claudius, the new King. They urge Hamlet to marry his beloved Ophelia. But soon the ghost of Hamlet's father appears and tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius and Gertrude. Hamlet must choose between passive acquiescence and the need for a vengeance which might lead to tragedy.

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Plot Keywords:

gertrude character | ophelia character | horatio character | polonius character | claudius character | 

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Taglines:

The extraordinary adaptation of Shakespeare's classic tale of vengeance and tragedy.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amlet

Filming Locations:

Dover Castle, Dover, Kent, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$20,710,451

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Carolco Pictures, Icon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Italian version, Mel Gibson's voice was dubbed by Giancarlo Giannini. Franco Zeffirelli personally chose Giannini.

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Goofs

Polonius gets stabbed through the stomach/chest area, but when he is lying on the floor, he is bleeding from the back of the head and the wound where he is stabbed is non-existent.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Claudius: Hamlet! Think of us as of a father. For let the world take note: you are the most immediate to our throne. And with no less nobility of love than that which dearest father bears his son do I impart toward you.

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Connections

Version of Shakespeare: The Animated Tales: Hamlet (1992)

User Reviews

A Hamlet without the prince

It is one of the joys of Shakespeare that there can be no definitive performances - no single performance can be ‘right', but some can be wrong, and this one is. There are at least two things about Hamlet which cannot be dispensed with: 1. His indecisiveness and inability to take any kind of action. For God's sake that is what makes the play last as long as it does. If you had Othello there instead of Hamlet, Claudius would be dead by the end of Act One. Any production has to try to explain why Hamlet delays, why he is incapable of action. 2. His sexual disgust. His total revulsion at the thought of what his mother and uncle get up to in bed fill him with an utter disgust for all things sexual and this means that any kind of relationship with Ophelia is impossible. At the slightest hint of sex, Hamlet throws up. So, what does Mel Gibson give us? Lusty action-man. You could not get further from the character of Hamlet if you tried. There are lots of ways Hamlet can be played, but this isn't one of them! What I don't understand is since they managed to get such good actors for the other parts - Claudius, Polonius and so on, why couldn't they find one to play Hamlet as well. Mark Rylance in the part would have made this a great film. This ‘Mel Gibson', whoever he is, completely let down the rest of the cast. And lets face it, Hamlet without the prince really doesn't work.