Synopsis
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Mel GibsonHamlet
- Glenn CloseGertrude
- Alan BatesClaudius
- Paul ScofieldThe Ghost
- Ian HolmPolonius
- Helena Bonham CarterOphelia
- Stephen DillaneHoratio
- Nathaniel ParkerLaertes
- Sean MurrayGuildenstern
- Michael MaloneyRosencrantz
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Sun-Times
It's a strong, intelligent performance [by Gibson], filled with life, and it makes this into a surprisingly robust Hamlet. - 88
TV Guide Magazine
Zeffirelli's production is neither high art nor lowbrow pandering, but something in between. - 80
The New York Times
Mel Gibson's Hamlet is strong, intelligent and safely beyond ridicule.... He is by far the best part of Mr. Zeffirelli's sometimes slick but always lucid and beautifully cinematic version of the play. - 80
Washington Post
Thanks to director Franco Zeffirelli and an impressive cast, both the tale and the telling are strikingly fresh. - 70
Time
Franco Zeffirelli's film is plenty pretty. It almost works as a cloak-and-bodkin adventure - 50
Variety
Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet is bland. - 50
Washington Post
There's nothing embarrassing about Zeffirelli's brisk new version, nor anything particularly remarkable; it's an entirely credible, middle-of-the-road production. - 40
Chicago Reader
This Hamlet elevates plot to a height that retains the play's atmosphere but squanders its thematic richness in a welter of "Mommy, how could you?" melodrama.
