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Hamlet Customer Reviews (16 - 18 of 46 Reviews)

"These Are the Best Actors in the World."
I put off seeing this film for many years as I did not believe that Gibson would issue appropriate treatment to Shakespeare's masterpiece. In retrospect, Braveheart and Gibson's own masterpiece, The Passion, should have alerted me that Mel was a serious artist with extensive vision far before his later achievements came along. Here, more venturesome viewers than I, discovered that Gibson was not a bubblegum actor but a figure worthy of association with the bard. With this film we see a rather early glimpse of what Mel Gibson would become. There is a boyous impetuousity and energy to his performance that makes him infinitely believable. Helena Bonham-Carter is her princessularly beautiful self. As a feminine figure of wonder she has few peers. Ian Holm, as always, is first class. The same can be said of Glenn Close. One of the things I find rewarding about watching Shakespeare on DVD is turning on the subtitles and having the text enhance the visual experience...and enhance your mind as well.

Cuts to the Chase
The 1990s were glory years for Shakespeare, highlighted by TWO superb Hamlets. The Branagh version was the complete play done in a sumptuous manner and is a must for Shakespeare lovers. The Zeffirelli version, starring Mel Gibson and performed against an undefined medieval backdrop, is a must for anyone who wants to know what Hamlet is about but is intimidated by Shakespeare.

The text is butchered to the bare bones. Part of this is because you don't have to say what you can show. But Zeffirelli and his writers knew exactly what to cut out to make the play flow and not lose the name of action. This Hamlet moves along with the swiftness of an action movie. And the script retains the most famous lines.

The casting may seem peculiar, but Gibson plays a potent Hamlet, a welcome change from the typically moody introverted scholar. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent, most of them old hands at Shakespeare -- Ian Holm, Alan Bates, Paul Schofield, Helena Bonham Carter. The only weak link is Glenn Close; to be fair, Gertrude doesn't have a lot of lines with which to establish her character, and Close compensates with a lot of wide-eyed expressions.

Extras prove a mixed blessing. A trailer and two features, one short and one long. Both the latter are puff pieces on Gibson. The short one is an older Mel reflecting back on the experience. The longer one is done home-movie style, mostly with Mel reflecting on the role as he's in the midst of it, with comments by Holm, Bates, Close, and Bonham Carter -- and Mel's real-life parents -- thrown in. Both documentaries are painless and provide insight to an actor's approach to the most famous role he's ever had to play; and the longer one has intriguing behind-the-scenes clips. But a documentary about Zeffirelli, especially focussing on his desire to make Hamlet and why he made it in this manner would have been welcome. Or a documentary about the play and/or the role of Hamlet itself. So would a running commentary, perhaps by a Shakespeare scholar who could inform those unfamiliar with the play about what they're seeing, and fill in the gaps about what was excised. Nevertheless, if you want to see this Hamlet to watch Mel Gibson in action, the extras will make you happy.

Both the Branagh version and the Zeffirelli version are recommended, but while the former is a marathon, this Gibson version is a lively sprint.

Great interpretation, but sloppy dvd production.
I recently bought this dvd, and thought it was quite good. The supporting actors are to die for, Ian Holm makes an especially good portrayal, although Gibson is a little off. The only problem I had with this dvd was the scene titled "To Be Or Not To Be." Every time I tried to play it, on 4 different players, the dvd stopped completely or jumped to the next scene. It would have been better if it did this at not such an important moment in the production. I thought it was just the disk I had, so I exchanged it for another copy. Sure enough, same glitch on all four of the players again. Overall this is a great movie, but the dvd could be much better!

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