Zefirelli All Day!

I am going to have to disagree with the vast majority of my classmates, and cast my vote for Franco Zefirelli's film production of Hamlet as the best of the three choices. To start, this version of Shakespeare's tragedy is set in the most appropriate time frame. The film's 18th century setting digs back close to the Renaissance period, which is when Hamlet was written. I feel as though Zefirelli's version gains more authenticity due to its more accurate setting. The lands and areas provided in the film match most perfectly my vision of the setting of the play throughout the first act.
Also, the characters were portrayed well by the actors chosen for this film. Mel Gibson was a fine choice for Hamlet, as he delivers each line from the play with the proper emotion. He clearly possesses the grief and sorrow readers expect Hamlet to display at his father's funeral. Despite cutting his soliloquy short, Hamlet is still able to get his point across in a powerful way regarding his opinion of Claudius and Gertrude. The fact that he was looking down on Claudius and Gertrude during his soliloquy sent forth a symbolic message. Hamlet was looking down upon them as one would a sinner. This highlighted the point that Claudius and Gertrude's incestuous relationship immediately following Hamlet's father's death was immoral and considered to be full of sin.
An effective twist put on the tragedy by this film was using Hamlet Sr.'s funeral as the opening scene. In doing so, there was instantly a dark and somber mood established. Hamlet's first appearance during the funeral was by far the most moving out of the three films. He was dressed in a dark hooded-robe and his face was covered with shadow. He possessed a piercing stare filled with disgust. Hamlet's first appearance made it clear to viewers that he was going for blood sometime in the near future. This film therefore foreshadowed Hamlet's coming dark deed, and in doing so, efficiently introduced the tragedy's main theme of revenge. I didn't see either of the other two directors achieve the multitude of accomplishments that Franco Zefirelli managed to. Thus, neither of the other two films could compare to Zefirelli's production.