Somethings Missing in Denmark:
A Critique of Zeffirelli’s Movie Adaptation of Hamlet
Director Franco Zeffirelli’s 1990 adaption of Hamlet brings Willian Shakespeare to the big screen engaging the interests of the younger generation. The lure of a younger audience is evident in the casting of the lead roles. Mel Gibson, famous for his roles in Mad Max and, as Martin Riggs, in Lethal Weapon stars as the young Dane, Hamlet. Glenn Close, the ‘bunny boiler’ from Fatal Attraction, plays Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. Released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Dover Castle, perched above the White Cliffs in England, provides the medieval backdrop as Shakespeare’s royal castle of Denmark, Elsinore. Zeffirelli’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, while action packed and entertaining lacks a certain depth and meaning…show more content… Diehard Shakespearean fans may find Zeffirelli’s Hamlet a bit one-dimensional as it focuses mainly on Hamlet’s revenge and eliminates many significant scenes. The opening act shows a kingdom in morning for their fallen king as they attend his funeral. The audience is introduced to the royal family as they surround King Hamlet’s tomb. His widow, Gertrude, cries crocodile tears, Claudius, already wearing the crown, addresses Hamlet in a fatherly manner, and Hamlet seems to sense something is amiss between the members of the court. While the audience may interpret that something is not quite right, the scene is nowhere near as mysterious, intense, or meaningful as Shakespeare had intended by opening with the eerie sighting of King Hamlet’s ghost. Shakespeare utilizes the inaction of guards, “Who’s There? / Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself,” to identify “self” and foreshadow Hamlet’s struggle for self-identity (1.1.1–2). The audience, in Shakespeare’s play, is made aware of the political issues between Denmark and Norway, and the sighting of a ghost,
