In the late 1980s, Zeffirelli considered making a film based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As he had done with his previous two Shakespearean films, he wanted to bring the tragedy to the screen without adapting or modernizing the text, but rather staging it using a distinctly cinematic and accessible language: a thriller filled with events and action, set within a family torn apart by jealousy and suspicion, murder and desire for revenge. To achieve this, he offered the role of the protagonist to Mel Gibson, who at the time was known for action films such as "Mad Max" and "Lethal Weapon". Around him, Zeffirelli assembled a remarkable cast of actors: Glenn Close, Paul Scofield, Alan Bates, Ian Holm, and Helena Bonham Carter.
A major co-production between Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the film was shot partly on sound stages in London and partly on location. After scouting sites throughout Europe, from Scandinavia to Bulgaria, the castle of Elsinore was recreated using two historic buildings in Scotland and in England, and building the interiors in Shepperton studios. The costumes by Maurizio Millenotti earned an Academy Award nomination; the score was composed by Ennio Morricone.