Hamlet (1990 film)

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{{Short description|1990 film by Franco Zeffirelli}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Hamlet
| image = Hamletposter.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Franco Zeffirelli]]
| producer = [[Bruce Davey]] [[Dyson Lovell]]
| screenplay = Christopher De Vore Franco Zeffirelli
| based_on = {{based_on|''[[Hamlet]]''|[[William Shakespeare]]}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Mel Gibson]]
* [[Glenn Close]]
* [[Alan Bates]]
* [[Paul Scofield]]
* [[Ian Holm]]
* [[Helena Bonham Carter]]
}}
| music = [[Ennio Morricone]]
| cinematography = [[David Watkin (cinematographer)|David Watkin]]
| editing = Richard Marden
| studio = [[Carolco Pictures]] [[Nelson Entertainment]] [[Icon Productions]] Sovereign Pictures [[Canal+ S.A.|Canal+]]
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
* [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]] (North America)
* [[Guild Film Distribution]] (United Kingdom)<ref name=bbfc />
* [[Carolco Pictures|Carolco International]] (United Kingdom, France and Italy)
* Sovereign Pictures (International)
}}
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1990|12|19|limited|1991|01|18|wide}}
| runtime = 134 minutes<ref name=bbfc>{{cite web |title=''HAMLET'' (PG) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/hamlet-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yotawmdi |work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |date=1 July 1991 |access-date=27 July 2013 }}</ref>
| country = United Kingdom United States Italy France
| 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|access-date=29 November 2020|archive-date=12 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912042419/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|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| gross = $22.3 million (US/UK)
}}

'''''Hamlet''''' is a 1990 [[drama (film and television)|drama film]] based on the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] [[Hamlet|tragedy of the same name]], directed by [[Franco Zeffirelli]] and starring [[Mel Gibson]] as the [[Prince Hamlet|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, Italy and France, the film was the first produced by [[Icon Productions]], a company co-founded by Gibson.

==Plot==
The film largely follows the plot of the [[Hamlet#Plot|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==
{{castlist|
* [[Mel Gibson]] as [[Prince Hamlet]]
* [[Glenn Close]] as Queen [[Gertrude (Hamlet)|Gertrude]]
* [[Alan Bates]] as [[King Claudius]]
* [[Paul Scofield]] as the ghost of [[Ghost (Hamlet)|King Hamlet]]
* [[Ian Holm]] as [[Polonius]]
* [[Helena Bonham Carter]] as [[Ophelia]]
* [[Stephen Dillane]] as [[Horatio (character)|Horatio]]
* [[Nathaniel Parker]] as [[Laertes (Hamlet)|Laertes]]
* [[Michael Maloney]] and Sean Murray as [[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern]]
* [[Trevor Peacock]] as the Gravedigger
* [[Pete Postlethwaite]] as the Player King
* [[Christopher Fairbank]] as the Player Queen
* [[John McEnery]] as [[Characters in Hamlet#Osric|Osric]]
* [[Richard Warwick]] as [[Characters in Hamlet#Elsinore sentries|Bernardo]]
* [[Christien Anholt]] as [[Characters in Hamlet#Elsinore sentries|Marcellus]]
}}

==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 ''[[Jagged Edge (film)|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.<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>

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 [[boxing ring|the ring]] with [[Mike Tyson]]".<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>

[[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.<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 [[Shepperton Studios]] in London.<ref name="ear" />

[[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.<ref name="ear" />

The film attracted little attention from major Hollywood studios, until post-production, when companies such as [[Warner Bros.]], [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]], and [[Orion Pictures|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.<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=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge, England|date=2007|edition=Second|isbn=978-0521866002|page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jack/page/n222 216]}}</ref> 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.<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=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge, England|edition=Second|date=2007|page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jack/page/n129 121]|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=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|location=Baltimore, Maryland|date=Winter 1993|pages=38–9}}</ref> Indeed, Zeffirelli cast Gibson after watching the scene in ''Lethal Weapon'' in which Gibson's character, [[Martin Riggs]], 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=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City |date=19 December 1990 |access-date=22 October 2019 }}</ref> The fight between Hamlet and [[Laertes (Hamlet)|Laertes]] is an example of using Gibson's experience in action movies; Gibson depicts Hamlet as an experienced [[Fencing|swordsman]].

==Reception==

===Critical response===
Initial reviews for Zeffirelli's ''Hamlet'' were mixed.<ref name="ear" /> [[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."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web |date = 18 January 1991 | last =Ebert | first =Roger | author-link=Roger Ebert |title=Hamlet (1990) | work =[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | publisher=[[Sun-Times Media Group]] |location=Chicago, Illinois | url =https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-1991 | access-date=1 May 2020 }}</ref> 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."<ref name="nytimes"/> [[Peter Travers]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' 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 =[[Rolling Stone]] | 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 ''[[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.<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 [[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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1109679-hamlet/ |title=Hamlet (1990) |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|location=San Francisco, California |access-date=31 May 2020 }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], 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=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=2020-10-10}}</ref> Audiences surveyed by [[CinemaScore]] 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= [[CinemaScore]] |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=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=29 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Screen International]]|date=September 3, 1993|page=16|title=Bard influence}}</ref>

===Accolades===
The film was nominated for two [[Academy Awards]], for [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction]] ([[Dante Ferretti]], [[Francesca Lo Schiavo]]) and [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]] (Maurizio Millenotti).<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 [[BAFTA Award|BAFTA]] 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}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130725141445/http://vmr.bham.ac.uk/Collections/ShakespeareInstitute/Hamlet_1990/table/ Shooting script] available via the University of Birmingham's Virtual Manuscript Room.

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamlet (1990 Film)}}
[[Category:1990 films]]
[[Category:1990 romantic drama films]]
[[Category:American romantic drama films]]
[[Category:British romantic drama films]]
[[Category:Italian romantic drama films]]
[[Category:Films based on Hamlet]]
[[Category:Films directed by Franco Zeffirelli]]
[[Category:Films scored by Ennio Morricone]]
[[Category:Films shot in Kent]]
[[Category:Films shot in Scotland]]
[[Category:Films shot at Shepperton Studios]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:Carolco Pictures films]]
[[Category:Icon Productions films]]
[[Category:Films set in medieval Scandinavia]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:1990s British films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic drama films]]
[[Category:Films about mother–son relationships]]
[[Category:Films about incest]]

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Hamlet (1990 film)