The
movie
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is perhaps the most
celebrated of all Shakespeare's plays, and for good reason: apart
from its fascinating story of a young man fired with the desire for
revenge, but torn by indecision, Hamlet is a showpiece for
some of Shakespeare's most stunning writing. So it takes, I'd say, a
certain amount of self-confidence to create a film adaptation of the
Bard's most famous play: luckily for us, director Franco Zeffirelli
took the plunge in 1990 with a star-studded cast, and the result is a
most excellent Hamlet indeed.
An important thing to remember about Shakespeare
is that, apart from his wonderful use of the language, he wrote
really gripping stories, and Hamlet is no exception. This
adaptation, like almost all film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays
(except for Kenneth Branagh's version of Hamlet, which has yet
to come to DVD), abridges the original play significantly. Many
scenes and sub-plots are removed entirely, which streamlines the
story considerably; in this case, the removal of characters like
Fortinbras and his associated plot elements serves to focus the
viewer on the core elements of the story: Hamlet's personal dilemma
about his stepfather, and the effects of his behavior on those who
love him.
The editing and condensing, however, most appropriately stops short
at the dialogue: Shakespeare's lines may be trimmed, but they are
never changed. It's amazing to watch Hamlet and realize just
how many of the lines from this play have become famous, quoted and
quoted again (and occasionally misquoted: if you hear a few phrases
in Hamlet that don't sound the way you expect, be reassured
that you're hearing them the correct way at last). Though the
dialogue is written in blank verse (iambic pentameter), which is the
poetic meter that most naturally approximates the rhythms of normal
speech, Shakespeare's dialogue is no walk in the park for modern
actors. It's great to see, then, that the cast of Hamlet
handles their lines very well, with natural pacing and a delivery
that draws our attention to the meaning and emotional force of their
dialogue, not the archaisms.
The one weak point, though, is Mel Gibson in the title role; he does
a respectable job of fulfilling the acting requirements for Hamlet,
but his accent just doesn't fit, and he doesn't always seem to get
the rhythm of the lines right. While all the other actors (including
Glenn Close) sound just right, Gibson stands out: whenever he speaks,
the fact that this is a modern-day actor speaking Shakespeare's lines
seems to jump out and override the sense of immersion in the scene.
Visually, Hamlet looks superb. The location, sets, and
costumes perfectly capture the feel of Shakespeare's medieval
Denmark: that is, while the story itself has a timelessness about it
(unlike Shakespeare's more time-specific history plays), the film's
attention to appropriate period detail provides an additional layer
of depth. One of the most interesting things about Hamlet, in
terms of its style, is how active it is. Director Franco Zeffirelli
isn't shy about having his characters move from one location to
another as they converse, and even the famous soliloquies
are far from static. It makes sense, after all: there's no reason to
assume that the scenes have to be totally static, just because of the
limitations of live theater, or because Shakespeare didn't happen to
include stage directions in his scripts. The combination of excellent
editing and well-handled cinematography make for a very well-paced
Hamlet: it runs two hours and 15 minutes, but it seems shorter
than that, while at the same time never feeling rushed.
The
DVD
Video
Hamlet's DVD transfer is truly impressive, offering a viewing
experience that matches the grandeur of the story. The image is
presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is
anamorphically enhanced. Edge enhancement is totally absent, with the
result that the image is extremely sharp and clear, even in very
challenging situations with dark objects silhouetted against a
brighter background. The print is also extremely clean and clear,
with virtually no noise or print flaws appearing at all. The film's
colors are rich and natural; the palette focuses on browns and black
tones, but these colors look remarkably vibrant. The only slight
qualm I have with the transfer is that some of the darkest scenes are
a bit too black; while I think the overall "look" of the
film is certainly intended to be a dark one, the contrast is perhaps
a bit too heavy at times. But that's really the only minor issue in a
splendid transfer: Hamlet looks superb.
Audio
The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack for Hamlet offers a reasonable
listening experience for the majority of the film. Ennio Morricone's
excellent score is incorporated into the overall soundtrack quite
well, so that it supports the non-dialogue portions of the film while
never intruding when we're listening to the characters speak.
The clarity of the dialogue is a critical point in a Shakespeare
film, since more than anything else, the language is central to the
film... and it's here that the soundtrack falters. For the most part,
the dialogue is handled reasonably well, but it does have a generally
flat sound to it, and on a number of occasions it's even a bit
muffled. If this were just another modern film, I wouldn't be as
critical of this particular flaw, but in Hamlet, we're hanging on
every word, and trying to follow fairly complex dialogue in blank
verse; we need a crystal-clear treatment of dialogue, and we don't
get it.
Extras
A theatrical trailer and two featurettes are included as bonus
material. The first featurette is "Hamlet: An Actor's
Journey"; this eleven-minute piece is an interview with Mel
Gibson in which he discusses his thoughts on the film and the making
of the film. While there's no date given, it appears to have been
done recently, not at the time the film was made. (It's curious to
note how Gibson's Australian accent, which is noticeable in the
second featurette, seems to have disappeared over time, leaving
Gibson with a blander-sounding voice.)
The second featurette is a 51-minute behind-the-scenes piece called
"Mel Gibson: To Be or Not to Be." It's a combination of a
look at Gibson in general (including interview clips from his
parents, who visited the set), and a general
overview of the process of making the movie. Some of the narration is
apparently taken from a journal that Gibson kept during the filming,
intercut with interview clips from other members of the cast, along
with clips from the film. All in all, these two featurettes are
mildly interesting, and offer a reasonably detailed look at the
making of the film without a lot of promotional fluff.
Final
thoughts
This
1990 version of Hamlet achieves what all Shakespeare plays
have always set out to do: it entertains. With its story pared down
to the essentials, this Hamlet moves swiftly along, keeping viewers
intrigued by the story while also preserving the elegance and power
of Shakespeare's dialogue: while the play has been cut down, it has
not been re-written. Though Mel Gibson never quite sounds right as
Hamlet, as a whole, the star-studded cast (including Glenn Close,
Helena Bonham-Carter, Alan Bates, and Paul Scofield) does an
excellent job bringing Hamlet to the screen. Though the sound
quality in Warner's DVD presentation isn't as good as I'd have hoped
for, the image quality is certainly outstanding. Highly recommended.
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