o was great in the Branagh version. I was pleasantly shocked at the performance, especially the scene where goes insane after finding out her father is dead. That is something else that greatly bothers me. I don’t like the way Gibson was directed to play the scene in which he kills Polonius. He doesn’t even play it like he cares that he did it. That also makes Hamlet seem like a man who does not have a mind. I read somewhere once that Gibson felt the same thing about the scene. Ian Holm gives a very fine performance as Polonius. Alan Bates also shines as Claudius. He gives such a fine performance in the role.I am not a big fan of Glenn Close, but she was wonderful as Queen Gertrude. I just don’t agree with Oedipus story line. I don’t feel that the original text calls for it to be so played out. Shakespeare hints at incestual activities in a lot of his plays, including between Tybalt and his aunt in Romeo & Juliet. But I don’t feel it should be taken so literally. It made Hamlet seem as though he really was completely insane. That, to me, keeps the whole play from working. But again, as a movie, it works.Mel Gibson gives a very fine performance as the tragic hero. The only times which he falters, it is due to the directing and re-writing by Zeffirelli. Gibson gives a much more true-to-life and honest performance than say Branagh or even Olivier did. He did a truly amazing job. Nathaniel Parker and Stephen Dillane did nicely as Laertes and Horatio. I would have liked to see more from the grave-digger scene. It didn’t have the comic relief that Billy Crystal’s performance in the Branagh version possessed.Considering all the problems I have with it, the movie itself is spectacular. I have a very biased opinion, being that I know the script so well. Speaking of it as a screenplay and film, it is extremely well done. Zefferelli brings a flow of reality to the story and turns...
