Hamlet – the films – There are approximately 50 (!) film versions of Hamlet

Zeffirelli’s 1990 version with Mel Gibson and Glenn Close (Top)

• Zeffirelli's Hamlet:

In casting Mel Gibson, Zeffirelli makes his Hamlet virile and a man of action. Gone is the brooding, hypersensitive philosopher. His Hamlet also de-emphasizes self-doubt – the "How all occasions do inform against me" soliloquy, so prominent in Branagh's version (placed right before the intermission) – is cut entirely.

• Zeffirelli's popularizing and drastic cuts of the words to emphasize the visuals are often criticized.

What effect, individually and taken together, do the cuts have? [Discussion Topic 1: Cuts—HamFilms1] Here are some principal changes to consider:

• Vogue: "Frankly, Franco, that ain't cutting; it's axplay."
• Because of the removal of Claudius's confession scene: "Sometimes the movie forgets that it's Hamlet."
• Mel Gibson: The first draft of the movie was "famous quotes from Hamlet."
• The voice coach on the film: "It is, slightly, the comic-book version."

 

	Here are some of the points of praise and criticism of Zeffirelli's movie. What do you think? [Discussion Topic 2: praise and criticism—HamFilms2]
	Praise:	Criticism:
	Hamlet lying in the graveyard, head to head with Yorick's skull	Making Freudian incest the explanation of Hamlet's actions, moving Gertrude to the center of the film.
	Hamlet looking down and overhearing the plotting against him	Cutting out the first scene of the ghost and much of the second scene's court action makes Hamlet's motivation unclear.
	The vitality and happiness of Claudius and Gertrude	A Hamlet who is more macho than melancholy, an action hero