Hamlet (1990/I)

Director:

Franco Zeffirelli

Writers (WGA):

William Shakespeare (play)
Christopher De Vore (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 January 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Hamlet | King | Denmark | Ghost | Shakespeare

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

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
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Reynaldo
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Player King
Christopher Fairbank	...	Player Queen
Sarah Phillips	...	The Players
Ned Mendez	...	The Players
Roy York	...	The Players
Marjorie Bell	...	The Players
Justin Case	...	The Players
Roger Low	...	Lucianus (in "The Murder of Gonzago")
Pamela Sinclair	...	The Players
Baby Simon Sinclair	...	The Players
Roy Evans	...	The Players
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barrie Holland	...	Palace Nobeman (uncredited)
Graham Riddell	...	Bodyguard (uncredited)

Directed by
Franco Zeffirelli

Writing credits (WGA)
William Shakespeare		(play)
Christopher De Vore		(screenplay) &
Franco Zeffirelli		(screenplay)

Produced by
Bruce Davey	....	executive producer
Dyson Lovell	....	producer

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
David Watkin

Film Editing by
Richard Marden

Casting by
Joyce Nettles

Production Design by
Dante Ferretti

Art Direction by
Franco Ceraolo
Michael Lamont
Jim Morahan		(as James Morahan)
Antonio Tarolla
Alan Tomkins

Set Decoration by
Francesca Lo Schiavo

Costume Design by
Maurizio Millenotti

Makeup Department
Eric Allwright	....	makeup artist
Lois Burwell	....	makeup artist: Mel Gibson
Franco Corridoni	....	supervising makeup artist
Maria Teresa Corridoni	....	supervising hairdresser
Alberta Giuliani	....	hair stylist
Paolo Mantini	....	hair stylist
Jean-Luc Russier	....	makeup artist: Ms. Close
Maurizio Silvi	....	makeup assistant

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cliff Lanning	....	third assistant director
Michael Murray	....	first assistant director
Gerry Toomey	....	second assistant director
Kevin Westley	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Andrew Ackland-Snow	....	draughtsman
Brian Aldridge	....	dressing props
Brian Bishop	....	scenic artist
Celia Bobak	....	production buyer
Alan Cheevers	....	plasterer
George Coussins	....	supervising carpenter
Eddie Francis	....	dressing props (as Edward Francis)
Gavin Gordon	....	carpenter
James Hambidge	....	art department runner
Michael Hayward	....	supervising carpenter
Bert Hearn	....	property master
Richard Lyon	....	construction storeman
Mickey Pugh	....	stand-by props
Michael Redding	....	construction coordinator
John Wells	....	stand-by props
Bill Pearson	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gerry Bates	....	boom swinger
Terry Busby	....	assistant sound editor
Mike Dowson	....	adr mixer
Dean Humphreys	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tim Lewiston	....	assistant sound editor
Archie Ludski	....	dialogue editor
Tony Message	....	footsteps editor
John Pitt	....	sound maintenance
Lawrence Sibley	....	sound assistant
David Stephenson	....	sound mixer
Nicholas Stevenson	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Ian Wingrove	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Angus Bickerton	....	model unit camera operator

Stunts
Graeme Crowther	....	stunt double (as Graham Crowther)
Paul Jennings	....	stunt double
Tina Maskell	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Derek V. Browne	....	camera operator (as Derek Browne)
Peter Butler	....	grip
Chuck Finch	....	gaffer
Tommy Finch	....	best boy (as Tom Finch)
Alan Grosch	....	electrician
Graham Hall	....	camera loader
Keith Hamshere	....	still photographer
Simon Hume	....	focus puller
Billy Merrell	....	best boy (as Bill Merrell)
Simon Mills	....	focus puller: second camera
Spencer Murray	....	camera trainee
Keegan O'Neill	....	camera trainee
Stuart Reid	....	electrician
Jonathan Taylor	....	camera operator
Toby Tyler	....	electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
John Birkinshaw	....	wardrobe assistant (as John Birkenshaw)
Anne Brault	....	assistant costume designer
Alan Flyng	....	wardrobe master
Frank Gardiner	....	assistant costume designer
Annie Hadley	....	chief costume cutter
Linda Lashley	....	costumer
Geoff Lawrence	....	wardrobe assistant
Alfonsina Lettieri	....	wardrobe assistant
Richard Pointing	....	wardrobe supervisor
Gerardo Sacco	....	principal jewelry designed and supplied by
Enrico Serafini	....	assistant costume designer
Pat Williamson	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Roy Birchley	....	first assistant editor
Jeremy Child	....	second assistant editor
Andrew MacRitchie	....	assistant editor
Matthew Tucker	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Robin Clarke	....	music editor (as Robin Clark)
Enrico DeMelis	....	general music coordinator
Sergio Marcotulli	....	music engineer
Fabio Venturi	....	assistant music engineer

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	script supervisor
Luciano Bacchielli	....	assistant: Mr. Zeffirelli
Jill Bennett	....	production accountant
Maurice Binder	....	title designer
Lucia Boni	....	hand woven fabrics by
Nick Daubeny	....	location manager (as Nicholas Daubeny)
Terri Depaolo	....	assistant to unit publicist
Terri Depaolo	....	assistant: Mel Gibson
Susan Gee	....	production financing
Giancarlo Giannini	....	voice dubbing: Mel Gibson
William Hobbs	....	duel arranger
Julie Hoffman	....	assistant: Mr. Zeffirelli
Pauline Hume	....	graphic artist: titles
Lyndy Noakes	....	assistant accountant
Alison Odell	....	assistant to producer
Kay Rouse	....	assistant: Ms. Close
Adam Somner	....	assistant location manager
Clare St. John	....	production coordinator
Roy Street	....	horse master
Alan Sutton	....	fire safety
Paul Tucker	....	production controller
Sara-Jane Valentine	....	production assistant
Beverly Winston	....	assistant script supervisor

Thanks
Dalisa Cohen	....	grateful acknowledgments
Alexander Gelderman	....	grateful acknowledgments
Bryan Isaacs	....	grateful acknowledgments
Ruth Jackson	....	grateful acknowledgments
Mario Kassar	....	grateful acknowledgments
Paul Kijzer	....	grateful acknowledgments
Eveleen McCormack	....	grateful acknowledgments
Charles R. Meeker	....	grateful acknowledgments (as Charles Meeker)
Kari Ann Messina	....	grateful acknowledgments
Richard Northcott	....	grateful acknowledgment
John Ort	....	grateful acknowledgment
Nigel Sinclair	....	special thanks
Barry Spikings	....	grateful acknowledgments

Production Companies

• Canal+
• Carolco Pictures (in association with)
• Icon Entertainment International
• Marquis
• Nelson Entertainment (in association with)
• Sovereign Pictures (in association with)
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1990) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (Argentina)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (video)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (video)

Other Companies

• Shepperton Studios  movie studio
• Bermans  costumes
• Completion Bond Company  completion guaranty
• Crew Catering  location catering
• D&D  location vehicles
• Delta Sound Services  sound transfers
• Ditta Rancati  props and armour
• English Heritage  thanks
• Farani  costumes
• Forum Studio  music recorded at
• General Screen Enterprises  titles and opticals
• Guinness Mahon and Company  production lenders
• JDC Limited  cameras and lenses
• JDC Limited  grip equipment
• L.A.B.A. S.r.l.  additional jewelry
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Liliana Rubechini, Florencia  costumes
• Location Facilities  location vehicles
• Magic Camera Company, The  boat sequence filmed by
• Marriott Harrison  legal services
• PMK Public Relations  publicity
• Pierson, Heldring & Pierson N.V.  production lenders
• Sapex Scripts  scripts prepared by
• Sartoria Russo, Roma  costumes
• Scottish Historic Buildings and Monuments  thanks
• Sinclair, Tenenbaum & Co. Inc.  legal services
• The Daiwa Bank Ltd.  production lenders
• The Dufay Collective  medieval music performed by
• Town of Stonehaven  thanks
• Twickenham Film Studios  sound re-recording
• Unione Musicisti di Roma  orchestra
• Virgin Records  soundtrack published by (as Virgin Movie Music)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA | UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG (video rating) | UK:U (original rating) | Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

This was the first Shakespearean role that Glenn Close had ever attempted on either stage or screen.

Goofs:

Continuity: During Ophelia's lament, she reaches out with one arm to anyone who will help. In the next shot, the opposite arm is outstretched.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Love at First Fight (#1.21)" (1991)

Very pleasing, if too restless, adaptation, with many splendid cinematic touches

What a joy this adaptation is! Its main virtues are a fine performance from Mel Gibson as Hamlet; a script that makes full use of the movie medium while giving Shakespeare sufficient scope to enrich and entertain us with his people and his words; two great performances from Alan Bates as Claudius and Paul Scofield as the Ghost; two good performances from Nathaniel Parker as Laertes and Glenn Close as Gertrude; and a fine music score from Ennio Morricone that anticipates and amplifies our emotions.

First, my criticisms. In directing his actors, Franco Zefferelli makes two big mistakes, one interesting and one painful. The interesting mistake: Ian Holm changes Polonius from a doddering old man to someone evil-minded and fully possessed of his wits. When this Polonius babbles about plays that are "pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral" he is being deliberately comic. One scene demonstrates the badness of this choice. We have no idea why this sharp-witted, not-very-old man is prating to the king and queen instead of coming to the point about Hamlet's madness. (Then again, Richard Briers gives us a smart Polonius in Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet," and there it worked.) The painful mistake: Helena Bonham-Carter changes Ophelia from a meek victim to a strong-willed, independent-minded young woman. The director and actress probably thought they were being good little feminists, but the idea is psychologically and dramatically disastrous. Bonham-Carter's Ophelia could never go mad. And even if she could, her crass new self is no longer sharply contrasted with a meek former self. This Ophelia seems fully capable of being earthy and vulgar even before she loses her mind. This blunts the effect of the mad scenes which in themselves are beautifully presented and played.

Now the praise. Gibson reads Shakespeare's words skillfully and is bettered in this regard only by Bates and Scofield; his readings convey the words' music and meaning: at long last I understand the line, "What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven." He also reveals one aspect of Hamlet that I see when I read the play. Hamlet is never more dangerous, or off-putting, than when he's clowning. The melancholy Hamlet attracts me and the joking Hamlet repels me. Gibson's Hamlet does the same.

Shakespeare never suffers from the artful cutting and rearrangement of his text. This script is especially clever. Among many nice surprises was hearing Hamlet deliver his "Get thee to a nunnery" speech to Ophelia as they sit in the audience before the play. Even better are the dozens of little touches that only a movie can provide. I loved how the camera showed Hamlet and Polonius spy on scenes that in most productions take place out of their sights. But the script and direction are also a shade too restless. The camera shots and the scenery change rapidly as characters dart from one place to another. Once or twice the movie should have paused and let us luxuriate in the language. The perfect opportunity would have been the "To be or not to be" speech; but Gibson and Zefferelli make it a scene of high drama. I craved the usual Hamlet who stops and tells us what he thinks because he wants to overhear himself.

The idea of Hamlet and Gertrude lusting for each other works surprisingly well. Most post-Freudian productions present this notion, but I don't think it's in the play. The interview in the bed chamber is Polonius' idea, not Hamlet's or Gertrude's. And even Hamlet's most piquant behavior, including his condemnation of his mother's sex life, is consistent with that of a son outraged by his mother's betrayal of his father; but it's inconsistent with that of a jealous son. Surely a jealous son wouldn't dither over killing Claudius. But the script shears off those inconsistencies, and the actors make it work. I could see it in Hamlet's eyes the moment he's alone with the ghost: "Oh, God, let it not find out that I want my mother."