DEATH SCENE

1990 version

The acting is really amazing, Mel Gibson managing to get through the emotions and the realism of the death scene. That's the human created by Shakespeare and brought to life by Gibson. It’s believable and emotional, wich makes it a scene of high drama. We feel sorry for the character and even though we already know that he is going to die, it’s still engaging. The 1996 version is more theatrical and over the top. The great score by Ennio Morricone really brings it to life. In casting Gibson, the director has been said to have made the star's reputation part of the performance, encouraging the audience "to see the Gibson that they have come to expect from his other films" Indeed, Gibson was cast after Zeffirelli watched his character, Martin Riggs, contemplate suicide in Lethal Weapon. [ The result - a highly entertaining movie. I would recommend Zeffirelli's HAMLET to everyone. This is the perfect way to introduce someone to the play, except the play itself. No one could have done a job anywhere close to being as wonderful as his in bringing to life the best work ever written for the English language. It’s certainly the most compassionate and human of all the versions. Shakespeare himself would have been proud.

1996

Branagh's own interpretation of the title role, by his own admission is very theatricall and over the top. You can’t really relate to the character .The choices he makes are usually overextended. When it's time to be sad, facing death, he is mechanical and out of the context, never managing to drag you in and make you feel for the character. This version was not a success at the box office., compared to the 1990 version. Branagh himself says his aim is "telling the story with utmost clarity and simplicity." The only merit of this movie is the use of original full and uncut text. Branaugh throws away the story inmersion, using staged elements that turn many people off of Shakespeare. While this film has been praised in some quarters as a serious depiction of the tragedy, it is in fact nothing but a star-studded display of a once-talented filmmaker being overtaken by his own narcissism. The Emperor has no clothes, and this Hamlet has nothing to offer but a few unintended laughs and the appalling sight of one man's ego out of control. The rest is silence.