To set the record straight, the dimwitted previous IMDb reviewer credits the direction and cinematography of this movie to Joe D'Amato (he's a fan who gives Joe credit for innumerable pictures he didn't make), both of which are untrue. It's a wonderfully theatrical moment in a surprisingly upbeat porn opus. The famous scene of the players, who reveal the plot in the final act, is very well done by Damiano, and in the spirit, rather than to the letter, of Elizabethan times, the entire ensemble steps out of character in the finale to break the 4th wall and salute the (porn) audience out there watching the movie. Rocco Siffredi appears anachronistically as himself (!), admired as a stud by Hamlet's ghost-dad (played by the director, Damiano), seen humping his classic TARZAN X co-star Rosa Caracciola in a quickie cameo. Draghixa steals the show as a lusty Gertrude, and a virtual who's who of European porn stars of the era, from Roberto Malone (excellent choice for Claudius) to Valentino have smaller roles. Filmmaker Mario Bianchi brought out the best of her (LUCRETIA, NIKITA), but Sarah's youthful beauty, vivaciousness, and anything-goes attitude serve the part well. Sarah Young as Ophelia remains one of my favorite feature roles for this fabulous British porn icon of vignette video fame.
The castle locations are spectacular, and pop up in several other Damiano films made around this time. Christoph Clark stars as the melancholy Dane, and with proper puddin' bowl haircut and convincing costuming he is up to the task, his XXX prowess a given. That's because he throws out the rule book and is freed by not having to be "faithful" to the source. Oddly enough Damiano succeeds where others (including even the celebrated Kenneth Branagh, perhaps more comfortable helming pulp movies ranging from DEAD AGAIN to THOR) have failed. I once took a college course at CWRU about film adaptations of Shakespeare plays, in which the issues and difficulties of transferring to the cinema medium were examined. What Damiano has done is to take oh-so-familiar scenes from "Hamlet" and use them as fodder for slapstick comedy & vulgar dialog mixed with XXX sex. For the original UK English-dubbed release by Sarah Young Communications only classical music is used, and significantly this 2-part version (reissued on separate DVDs in Blighty in 2013) runs 35 minutes longer with extra scenes, compared to the U.S.
In the version on Tip Top DVD in the U.S., tone is set with the theme song, "To f**k or not to f**k" (Damiano pointlessly reprises the song for his 2-part DECAMERON TALES film), a catchy rhythm number, and after the movie ends the cast segues into dancing to it (some via pixillation), also amusing. But Luca Damiano's X HAMLET from 1995 truly fits that description - a lavishly filmed, all-star send-up of Shakespeare that is fun to watch. It's an excellent production.For porn fans, the phrase "they don't make 'em like they used to" usually refers to the classic hardcore era of roughly the mid-'70s to the early '80s. Although I personally do not find this offensive as a viewer, I have to be sensitive to the values of my community, and I strongly advise teachers who want to show this to preview this film and make sure that it's acceptable for your school, students, and district. More problematic is that during Ophelia's mad scene, when she is referring to "Young men will do't if they come to it," she thrusts her hips into Claudius and then lies on the floor raising and lowering her hips in a manner suggestive of intercourse. You do not see frontal nudity, rear ends, or genitalia. One heads-up: If you are a teacher intending to show this to a class, please be aware that there is some brief nudity in Act IV (the second half of the movie) in a very brief flashback scene in which Hamlet and Ophelia are shown naked on a bed kissing. Branagh takes very few interpretive risks with the text, unlike Gibson, Jacobi, and Tennant, but while this does not make for an exciting re-reading of the play, it does provide a fantastic "baseline" to evaluate other productions.
This is the most faithful adaptation of Shakespeare's play currently available.