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Movies / On DVD / Hamlet
Hamlet

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Hamlet (1990)

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Reviews Counted:31

Fresh:22

Rotten:9

Average Rating:6.2/10

Consensus: It may lack some of the depth and complexity of the play, but Mel Gibson and Franco Zeffirelli make a surprisingly successful team.

Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Director Franco Zeffirelli and star Mel Gibson combine their talents for this full-blooded adaptation of the classic tragedy. The movie is a concise, trimmed version of the play, as Hamlet returns... Director Franco Zeffirelli and star Mel Gibson combine their talents for this full-blooded adaptation of the classic tragedy. The movie is a concise, trimmed version of the play, as Hamlet returns to Elsinore to finds his mother married to his uncle and his dead father's ghost demanding vengeance. Shot in Northern Scotland amid actual castles and foggy landscapes, the film has a very realistic, rugged feel courtesy of cinematographer David Watkin. Mel Gibson is superb in the title role, burying his movie star persona within a sulking, sometimes completely unsympathetic performance as the prince. Glenn Close as his mother is also disturbingly real--the two share some scenes that are nearly incestuous in their intensity--and Helena Bonham Carter lends Ophelia the perfect note of otherworldly pain. This is a perfect companion to Zeffirelli's earlier Shakespeare films, TAMING OF THE SHREW and ROMEO & JULIET, and proves that he is a true master of poetry and period realism. Shakespeare fans should be very pleased, and beginners will find no better place to start than this accessible and vibrant adaptation. [More]

Starring: Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Ian Holm

Starring: Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Ian Holm, Paul Scofield, Helena Bonham-Carter, Stephen Dillane, Nathaniel Parker, Michael Maloney, Trevor Peacock, John McEnery, Richard Warwick, Christien Anholt, Vernon Dobtcheff, Pete Postlethwaite, Christopher Fairbank

Director: Franco Zeffirelli

Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Story: William Shakespeare
Composer: Ennio Morricone

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Hamlet

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato

Derek Adams

It's a surprisingly successful venture, decked out in Anglo-Saxon styles and with a brooding, robust castle setting which oozes horse muck.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 24 2006 03:34 AM

Time Out

tomato

Not only is Mel Gibson much better than you might expect, but Zeffirelli's Hamlet is often entertaining and rarely hard to endure.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 04 2003 08:10 AM

Channel 4 Film

tomato
3/5

Ian Nathan

A fine introduction to the greatest play in history, but fairly lightweight for purists.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 01 2000 12:00 AM

Empire Magazine

splat

Variety Staff

Performances all fall in a middle range between the competent and the lackluster.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 04 2008 05:10 PM

Variety

tomato
3.5/4

Offers what amounts to a comic book intro to Shakespeare's classic, retaining few of the play's psychological complexities.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 04 2008 05:07 PM

TV Guide's Movie Guide

tomato
4/5

Cole Smithey

No review available.

comment Comment | Feb., 22 2008 07:51 PM

ColeSmithey.com

tomato
3/5

Lori Hoffman

No review available.

comment Comment | Mar., 16 2007 07:45 AM

Atlantic City Weekly

splat
2/5

Emanuel Levy

No review available.

comment Comment | Jul., 03 2005 05:00 AM

EmanuelLevy.Com

splat
2/5

Mike McGranaghan

No review available.

comment Comment | Oct., 26 2004 09:07 AM

Aisle Seat

splat
1/5

Jake Euker

In retrospect, it's a small jump from Shakespeare to God. What if Gibson had been stopped then?

comment Comment | Jun., 23 2004 12:14 PM

F5 (Wichita, KS)

tomato
3/5

Frank Swietek

No review available.

comment Comment | Nov., 04 2003 04:15 PM

One Guy's Opinion

tomato
3/5

Carol Cling

No review available.

comment Comment | Oct., 17 2003 02:35 PM

Las Vegas Review-Journal

tomato
3.5/5

Caryn James

[Mel Gibson] is by far the best part of Mr. Zeffirelli's sometimes slick but always lucid and beautifully cinematic version of the play.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 04 2003 08:10 AM

New York Times

tomato
4/5

Alex Sandell

Zeffirelli does an excellent job at juggling with updating Hamlet, while staying close to the classic play.

comment Comment | Jul., 16 2003 05:39 PM

Juicy Cerebellum

splat
2/5

Greg Muskewitz

Gibson and his ego fancy himself as an ideal Hamlet, which is tragic to the film in a different sense.

comment Comment | Jul., 10 2003 09:13 PM

eFilmCritic.com

tomato
4/5

Nicolas Lacroix

No review available.

comment Comment | Mar., 24 2003 11:55 AM

Showbizz.net

tomato
3/5

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Gibson makes a fine, frenzied Hamlet, but Zeffirelli's direction leaves something to be desired.

comment Comment | Mar., 02 2003 02:04 PM

San Francisco Examiner

tomato
4/5

Widgett Walls

Gibson's Hamlet is more than respectable, but Helena Bonham Carter's the best Ophelia I've ever seen.

comment Comment | Jan., 06 2003 11:57 AM

Needcoffee.com

tomato
4/5

John J. Puccio

No review available.

comment Comment | Aug., 03 2002 02:03 PM

DVDTown.com

tomato
4/5

Bob Grimm

No review available.

comment Comment | Aug., 01 2002 03:53 PM

Las Vegas Mercury

 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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