[ note : after claiming otherwise , my appetite was indeed whetted by kenneth branagh 's hamlet to search out other attempts to translate shakespeare to film in hopes of finding a better mousetrap .
as it happens , it did n't take long .
] is there a more romantic director than franco zeffirelli ?
known mainly to american audiences as the man behind 1968 's romeo and juliet ( required viewing for many high schoolers , and as much as most ever learn of shakespeare ) , he is also a favorite at the metropolitan opera , where his achingly beautiful designs further the already lush emotion of many a puccini aria .
last year he gave us his beautifully realized version of jane eyre , one of the twin peaks ( with wuthering heights ) of romantic literature .
it might seem peculiar , then , that zeffirelli ever had an interest in translating hamlet for the screen .
at first blush , hamlet is far removed from romance .
the hero , though a prince , is depressed , conflicted and confused .
the ostensible love interest gets little screen time , and her scenes with her prince are usually as an object of mockery .
the plot is full of political intrigue and the players are as cursed as the house of atreus .
it is zeffirelli 's genius , however , that he is able to expose the romantic core of hamlet and give the sometimes dry tale an emotional embrace .
in this italian master 's hands , romance is everywhere -- in a son 's worship of his father , in the bonds of deepest friendship , in the private thoughts of young lovers , even in the mystery of castles by the sea .
after all , the story hinges on a ghost , and what could be more romantic than that ?
what seemed like a cheap way to sell tickets at the time turned out to be one of the most romantic gestures of all , namely , hiring then - reigning hollywood hunk mel gibson to play the lead . who could believe that the man who made his mark playing mad max and a " lethal weapon " ( in the series of the same name ) would have the skill to succeed in the most famous role in the english language ?
franco zeffirelli
, that 's who .
and it is apparent in every frame that his instinct was right on the money .
what gibson brings to the role is a naturalness and ease which makes the whole story meaningful , not to mention comprehensible .
his line readings sound spontaneous rather than rehearsed .
his movements and gestures ( excepting his sometimes too active eyes ) are totally in keeping with the character .
this is a hamlet whose pain we feel , whose struggle we empathize with , and whose death we mourn as sincerely as horatio at film 's end .
glenn close , the other big name in the production , also does well by the script and satisfies as hamlet 's mother , gertrude -- though i must confess i 'm still trying to understand the character as written .
( zeffirelli 's incestuous interpretation of hamlet 's relationship with his mother does n't help . )
alan bates makes a believably evil claudius without resorting to the mannerisms of a hollywood heavy .
by and large the rest of the cast performs admirably and comfortably
. of special note are the cinematography by david watkin and the score by ennio morricone .
both support the realistic mood marvelously
( as do the sets and costumes ) , without any overstated effects that declare " this is important ; this is shakespeare !
" i particularly appreciate that the words are often spoken without any music at all : the melody of a wonderfully wrought phrase is given its due .
perhaps it is difficult to call edited shakespeare " definitive .
"
and there are certainly quite a few other filmed versions of hamlet that i have not seen .
but if you 've ever felt the urge to overcome your fear of the bard , this hamlet is an excellent place to start .
Output: P