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{{Short description|1990 film by Franco Zeffirelli}}
{{Infobox Film
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Hamlet | name = Hamlet
| image = Hamlet poster.jpg | image = Hamletposter.jpg
| caption = Film poster for ''Hamlet'' | caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = ] | director = ]
| producer = ] | producer = ]<br/>]
| screenplay = Christopher De Vore<br/>Franco Zeffirelli
| writer = ]<br>]
| based_on = {{based_on|'']''|]}}
| starring = ]<br>]<br>]
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
}}
| music = ] | music = ]
| cinematography = ] | cinematography = ]
| editing = ] | editing = Richard Marden
| studio = ]<br/>]
| distributor = ]
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
| released = ], ]
* ] <br/> (North America)
| runtime = 130 minutes
* ]<br/> (United Kingdom)<ref name=bbfc />
* ] <br/> (United Kingdom, France and Italy)
* Sovereign Pictures <br/> (International)
}}
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1990|12|19|limited|1991|01|18|wide}}
| runtime = 134 minutes<!-- Theatrical runtime: 134:15 --><ref name=bbfc>{{cite web |title=''HAMLET'' (PG) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/hamlet-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yotawmdi |work=] |date=1 July 1991 |access-date=27 July 2013 }}</ref>
| country = United States<br/>United Kingdom<br/>Italy
| language = English | language = English
| budget = £12.6 million<ref name="org">{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-back-to-the-future-the-fall-and-rise-of-the-british-film-industry-in-the-1980s.pdf|page=23|title=Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing|website=British Film Institute|date=2005}}</ref>
| budget =
| gross = $22.3&nbsp;million (US/UK)
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| imdb_id = 0099726
}} }}


'''''Hamlet''''' is a ] ] based on the ] ]. ] has the title role, ] is his mother, ], and ] appears as ]. It was ] by ]. '''''Hamlet''''' is a 1990 ] based on the ] ], directed by ] and starring ] as the ]. The film also features ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. An international co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy, the film was the first produced by ], a company co-founded by Gibson.


==Plot==
], ] was used as a location in the film.
The film largely follows the plot of the ], albeit omitting certain dialogue and minor characters to fit the average length of a feature film. This version also makes no modern adaptations.


==See also== ==Cast==
{{castlist|
*'']''
* ] as ]
*]
* ] as ]
* ] as ]
* ] as the ghost of ]
* ] as ]
* ] as ]
* ] as ]
* ] as ]
* ] and Sean Murray as ]
* ] as the Gravedigger
* ] as the Player King
* ] as the Player Queen
* ] as ]
* ] as ]
* ] as ]
}}


==External link== ==Production==
Zeffirelli announced production of the film in April 1989 at a press conference in Los Angeles. Mel Gibson was at that same press conference, where it was announced that he would play Hamlet. Zeffirelli had set out to make a Shakespearian adaptation that would be accessible and appealing to younger viewers, and casting Gibson was considered an intent to lure said audience into seeing it.<ref name="ear" /> Glenn Close was another obvious choice, having had recent box-office success with such Hollywood thrillers as '']'' and '']''.
*{{Imdb title|0099726|Hamlet}}


Financing was provided on loan from a Dutch bank by ], ]' Nelson Entertainment, and Sovereign Pictures for approximately $16&nbsp;million. Filming was set to begin on 23 April 1990, with an 11-week shooting schedule.<ref name="ear">{{Cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58533-HAMLET |title=Detail view of Movies Page – HAMLET (1990) |publisher=afi.com |access-date=20 September 2020 }}</ref>
{{Drama-film-stub}}


Gibson, who had grown up idolizing one of his costars, legendary Shakespearean actor ], compared the experience of performing Shakespeare alongside him to being, "thrown into ] with ]".<ref>{{cite news |title=Paul Scofield's career highlights |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1582308/Paul-Scofields-career-highlights.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=20 March 2008 |access-date= 16 July 2010}}</ref>
]
]


], ] and ] were used as locations in the film. ] provided the main location for Elsinore Castle, the home of Hamlet and his family.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kent Film Office|url=https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/1990/11/hamlet-1990/|title=Kent Film Office Hamlet Film Focus|date=2 November 1990 }}</ref> Interiors were filmed at ] in London.<ref name="ear" />
]

]
] was the project's initial costume designer, but quit for unknown reasons, to be replaced by ]. Tailors from Shepperton assembled the costumes.<ref name="ear" />
]

The film attracted little attention from major Hollywood studios, until post-production, when companies such as ], ], and ] expressed interest in purchasing the film. Nelson Entertainment, which held the North American distribution rights, licensed theatrical exhibition to Warner Bros. as part of an incentive to lure Gibson into making '']''. Despite Nelson owning a home video arm, they sold the video rights to Warner Bros. as well. Warner Bros. attempted to attract high schools with study guides and vouchers for students. An hour-long educational video titled ''Mel Gibson Goes Back to School'' was released in conjunction with the film, showing the actor lecturing on ''Hamlet'' to a group of high-school students in Los Angeles.<ref name="ear" />

==Adaptation and interpretation==
Film scholar Deborah Cartmell has suggested that Zeffirelli's Shakespeare films are appealing because they are "sensual rather than cerebral", an approach by which he aims to make Shakespeare "even more popular".<ref>{{cite book|first=Deborah|last=Cartmell|chapter=Zeffirelli and Shakespeare|editor-first=Russell|editor-last=Jackson|title=The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jack|url-access=limited|publisher=]|location=Cambridge, England|date=2007|edition=Second|isbn=978-0521866002|page=}}</ref> To this end, he cast Gibson – then famous for the '']'' and '']'' films – in the title role. Cartmell also notes that the text is drastically cut, but with the effect of enhancing the roles of the women.

J. Lawrence Guntner has suggested that Zeffirelli's cinematography borrows heavily from the ] genre that made Gibson famous, noting that its average shot length is less than six seconds.<ref>{{cite book|first=J. Lawrence|last=Guntner|chapter=Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear on film|editor-first=Russell|editor-last=Jackson|title=The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jack|url-access=limited|publisher=]|location=Cambridge, England|edition=Second|date=2007|page=|isbn=978-0521866002}}</ref> In casting Gibson, the director has been said to have made the star's reputation part of the performance, encouraging the audience "to see the Gibson that they have come to expect from his other films".<ref>{{cite journal|first=Daniel|last=Quigley|title=Double Exposure|journal=Shakespeare Bulletin|publisher=]|location=Baltimore, Maryland|date=Winter 1993|pages=38–9}}</ref> Indeed, Zeffirelli cast Gibson after watching the scene in '']'' in which Gibson's character, ], contemplates suicide.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |first=Caryn |last=James |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/19/movies/review-film-from-mad-max-to-a-prince-possessed.html |title=Review/Film; From Mad Max to a Prince Possessed |newspaper=] |location=New York City |date=19 December 1990 |access-date=22 October 2019 }}</ref> The fight between Hamlet and ] is an example of using Gibson's experience in action movies; Gibson depicts Hamlet as an experienced ].

==Reception==

===Critical response===
Initial reviews for Zeffirelli's ''Hamlet'' were mixed.<ref name="ear" /> ] of the '']'' gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, calling ]'s portrayal of the Danish Prince "a strong, intelligent performance."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web |date = 18 January 1991 | last =Ebert | first =Roger | author-link=Roger Ebert |title=Hamlet (1990) | work =] | publisher=] |location=Chicago, Illinois | url =https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-1991 | access-date=1 May 2020 }}</ref> Caryn James of '']'' praised Zeffirelli's "naturalistic, emotionally-charged" direction and also commended Gibson's "visceral" performance, describing it as "strong, intelligent and safely beyond ridicule."<ref name="nytimes"/> ] of '']'' gave the film a negative review, calling Gibson's performance "an earnest but pedestrian reading."<ref>{{cite magazine | last =Travers | first =Peter | author-link=Peter Travers |title =Hamlet | magazine =] | publisher=Wenner Media LLC|location=New York City|date = 18 January 1991 | url =https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/hamlet-19910118 | access-date =31 May 2012}}</ref> Michael Wilmington of the '']'' called Gibson's Hamlet an "Oedipal wreck" and stated that either ] or ] would have been preferable to play Hamlet than Gibson.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wilmington |first=Michael |title=MOVIE REVIEW : Gibson as Hamlet Has Little to Add |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-18-ca-189-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=18 January 1991 |access-date=10 March 2020 }}</ref> A later editorial in the same paper would refer to Gibson's performance as "the most unaffected and lucid Hamlet in memory."<ref name="ear" />

On ], the film has an approval rating of 76% based on reviews from 37 critics. The site's consensus was, "It may lack some of the depth and complexity of the play, but Mel Gibson and Franco Zeffirelli make a surprisingly successful team."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1109679-hamlet/ |title=Hamlet (1990) |work=] |publisher=]|location=San Francisco, California |access-date=31 May 2020 }}</ref> On ], the film has a score of 53% based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title=Hamlet |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hamlet-1991 |website=] |access-date=2020-10-10}}</ref> Audiences surveyed by ] gave the film a grade A on scale of A to F.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= HAMLET (1991) A |work= ] |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= 2018-12-20 }}</ref>

===Box office===
The film grossed $20.7 million in the United States and Canada and $1.6 million in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hamlet (1990)|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl911640065/weekend/|publisher=]|access-date=29 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=]|date=September 3, 1993|page=16|title=Bard influence}}</ref>
===Accolades===
The film was nominated for two ], for ] (], ]) and ] (]).<ref name="Oscars1991">{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1991|title=The 63rd Academy Awards (1991) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 2, 2011|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref> Sir Alan Bates received a ] nomination as Best Supporting Actor for playing Claudius.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1992/film/actor-in-a-supporting-role|title=1992 Film Actor in a Supporting Role|work=BAFTA Awards|access-date=September 20, 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0099726|Hamlet}}
* available via the University of Birmingham's Virtual Manuscript Room.

{{Hamlet}}
{{Franco Zeffirelli}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamlet (1990 Film)}}
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Latest revision as of 20:57, 23 August 2024

1990 film by Franco Zeffirelli

Hamlet
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFranco Zeffirelli
Screenplay byChristopher De Vore
Franco Zeffirelli
Based onHamlet
by William Shakespeare
Produced byBruce Davey
Dyson Lovell
Starring
CinematographyDavid Watkin
Edited byRichard Marden
Music byEnnio Morricone
Production
companies		Nelson Entertainment
Icon Productions
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 19 December 1990 (1990-12-19) (limited)
  • 18 January 1991 (1991-01-18) (wide)
Running time134 minutes
CountriesUnited States
United Kingdom
Italy
LanguageEnglish
Budget£12.6 million
Box office$22.3 million (US/UK)

Hamlet is a 1990 drama film based on the Shakespearean tragedy of the same name, directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Mel Gibson as the eponymous character. The film also features Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Dillane, and Nathaniel Parker. An international co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy, the film was the first produced by Icon Productions, a company co-founded by Gibson.

Plot

The film largely follows the plot of the original play, albeit omitting certain dialogue and minor characters to fit the average length of a feature film. This version also makes no modern adaptations.

Cast

Production

Zeffirelli announced production of the film in April 1989 at a press conference in Los Angeles. Mel Gibson was at that same press conference, where it was announced that he would play Hamlet. Zeffirelli had set out to make a Shakespearian adaptation that would be accessible and appealing to younger viewers, and casting Gibson was considered an intent to lure said audience into seeing it. Glenn Close was another obvious choice, having had recent box-office success with such Hollywood thrillers as Jagged Edge and Fatal Attraction.

Financing was provided on loan from a Dutch bank by Carolco Pictures, Barry Spikings' Nelson Entertainment, and Sovereign Pictures for approximately $16 million. Filming was set to begin on 23 April 1990, with an 11-week shooting schedule.

Gibson, who had grown up idolizing one of his costars, legendary Shakespearean actor Paul Scofield, compared the experience of performing Shakespeare alongside him to being, "thrown into the ring with Mike Tyson".

Dunnottar Castle, Stonehaven and Blackness Castle were used as locations in the film. Dover Castle provided the main location for Elsinore Castle, the home of Hamlet and his family. Interiors were filmed at Shepperton Studios in London.

Norma Moriceau was the project's initial costume designer, but quit for unknown reasons, to be replaced by Maurizio Millenotti. Tailors from Shepperton assembled the costumes.

The film attracted little attention from major Hollywood studios, until post-production, when companies such as Warner Bros., Paramount, and Orion expressed interest in purchasing the film. Nelson Entertainment, which held the North American distribution rights, licensed theatrical exhibition to Warner Bros. as part of an incentive to lure Gibson into making Lethal Weapon 3. Despite Nelson owning a home video arm, they sold the video rights to Warner Bros. as well. Warner Bros. attempted to attract high schools with study guides and vouchers for students. An hour-long educational video titled Mel Gibson Goes Back to School was released in conjunction with the film, showing the actor lecturing on Hamlet to a group of high-school students in Los Angeles.

Adaptation and interpretation

Film scholar Deborah Cartmell has suggested that Zeffirelli's Shakespeare films are appealing because they are "sensual rather than cerebral", an approach by which he aims to make Shakespeare "even more popular". To this end, he cast Gibson – then famous for the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon films – in the title role. Cartmell also notes that the text is drastically cut, but with the effect of enhancing the roles of the women.

J. Lawrence Guntner has suggested that Zeffirelli's cinematography borrows heavily from the action film genre that made Gibson famous, noting that its average shot length is less than six seconds. In casting Gibson, the director has been said to have made the star's reputation part of the performance, encouraging the audience "to see the Gibson that they have come to expect from his other films". Indeed, Zeffirelli cast Gibson after watching the scene in Lethal Weapon in which Gibson's character, Martin Riggs, contemplates suicide. The fight between Hamlet and Laertes is an example of using Gibson's experience in action movies; Gibson depicts Hamlet as an experienced swordsman.

Reception

Critical response

Initial reviews for Zeffirelli's Hamlet were mixed. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, calling Mel Gibson's portrayal of the Danish Prince "a strong, intelligent performance." Caryn James of The New York Times praised Zeffirelli's "naturalistic, emotionally-charged" direction and also commended Gibson's "visceral" performance, describing it as "strong, intelligent and safely beyond ridicule." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film a negative review, calling Gibson's performance "an earnest but pedestrian reading." Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times called Gibson's Hamlet an "Oedipal wreck" and stated that either Kenneth Branagh or Daniel Day-Lewis would have been preferable to play Hamlet than Gibson. A later editorial in the same paper would refer to Gibson's performance as "the most unaffected and lucid Hamlet in memory."

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 76% based on reviews from 37 critics. The site's consensus was, "It may lack some of the depth and complexity of the play, but Mel Gibson and Franco Zeffirelli make a surprisingly successful team." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 53% based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A on scale of A to F.

Box office

The film grossed $20.7 million in the United States and Canada and $1.6 million in the United Kingdom.

Accolades

The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Art Direction (Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo) and Best Costume Design (Maurizio Millenotti). Sir Alan Bates received a BAFTA nomination as Best Supporting Actor for playing Claudius.

References

  1. ^ "HAMLET (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 1 July 1991. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  2. "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 23.
  3. ^ "Detail view of Movies Page – HAMLET (1990)". afi.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  4. "Paul Scofield's career highlights". The Daily Telegraph. London. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  5. Kent Film Office (2 November 1990). "Kent Film Office Hamlet Film Focus".
  6. Cartmell, Deborah (2007). "Zeffirelli and Shakespeare". In Jackson, Russell (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film (Second ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0521866002.
  7. Guntner, J. Lawrence (2007). "Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear on film". In Jackson, Russell (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film (Second ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0521866002.
  8. Quigley, Daniel (Winter 1993). "Double Exposure". Shakespeare Bulletin. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press: 38–9.
  9. ^ James, Caryn (19 December 1990). "Review/Film; From Mad Max to a Prince Possessed". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  10. Ebert, Roger (18 January 1991). "Hamlet (1990)". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  11. Travers, Peter (18 January 1991). "Hamlet". Rolling Stone. New York City: Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  12. Wilmington, Michael (18 January 1991). "MOVIE REVIEW : Gibson as Hamlet Has Little to Add". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  13. "Hamlet (1990)". Rotten Tomatoes. San Francisco, California: Fandango Media. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  14. "Hamlet". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  15. "HAMLET (1991) A". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018.
  16. "Hamlet (1990)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  17. "Bard influence". Screen International. 3 September 1993. p. 16.
  18. "The 63rd Academy Awards (1991) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  19. "1992 Film Actor in a Supporting Role". BAFTA Awards. Retrieved 20 September 2016.

External links

William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Characters
Soliloquies
Words and phrases
Terminology
Influence
Performances
On screen
Adaptations
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In popular culture
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