Hamlet Movie Comparison

The following are journal entries for our reading of Hamlet. Each entry should be completed after we have finished reading and/or viewing that scene in class. The purpose is to prepare you for class discussion; therefore, you should have something written for each entry before we discuss it in class (even if it’s only a question). See Ms. M with questions ahead of time – don’t expect to be given answers in class! Be sure to cite textual evidence to support all your answers – remember to record act, scene and line numbers.

To play one of Shakespeare’s most complex roles successfully on stage or on screen has been the aspiration of many actors. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been the focus on various accounts throughout the 20th Century, each actor attempting to bring something unique and unmarked to the focal character. Franco Zeffirelli and Kenneth Branagh, both film directors, introduce varying levels of success on the screen through downright differences in ways of translation and original ideas. Zeffirelli’s much shorter interpretation of the film is able to convey the importance of Hamlet as a masterwork by using modern approaches to film but still capturing the traditional work behind Shakespeare’s well-known play.

The props and costumes the Kenneth Branagh version used are very modern and unique while the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet costumes are more old and traditional. In the Kenneth Branagh version the costumes are very elegant while the costumes worn in the Mel Gibson version is seen more as rags. For instance, Ophelia is seen wearing old rags covering her when she acts insane in Act 4 Scene 5. In the Kenneth Branagh’s film the director uses flashbacks as a way to illustrate scenes like the scene where Gertrude explains Ophelia drowning in the river. Camera techniques in the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet were creative as the camera slowly pulls back in Act 4 Scene 4 of Hamlet’s soliloquy. However in the Kenneth Branagh version the scenery and props adapt more to the Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.

Tony Robbins said, “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others”. Shakespeare’s writing has had many different ways of being presented because people perceive it in different ways. Whether it is a literal representation or a spin, directors like to show viewers the way they perceive the text. In the movie version of Hamlet the director, Kenneth Branagh, wanted the viewers to find Shakespeare interesting and full of action and drama. Kenneth chose the right direction to go in to keep the audience’s attention but it

Many directors choose to make many different decisions when producing their version of Hamlet. Every actor portrays the character Hamlet in several ways making each version almost a new story. Mel Gibson's 1990 version and the 2009 David Tennant films are very different in style, scene omissions and several other aspects.

When comparing two different Hamlet movies I found that one scene in particular was obviously more different than the others. I compared Columbia pictures 1996 version with Kenneth Branagh playing the role of Hamlet versus BBC’s 2009 Hamlet in which David Tennant played the honorable role of Hamlet. When comparing both movies I found a lot of similarities but there was one major difference when I compared the “To be or not to be” scene. The scenes vary in multiple ways whether it is lighting, focus, camera movements, and even the actors that play Hamlet.

Even more in this version of the story, Hamlet's father's ghost is not shown when he is speaking to his mother about saving herself. If Laurence Olivier's version had actually shown the ghost they would have done that scene perfectly. In the scene, only a voice is heard by hamlet as he is speaking with his mother. When looking at the BBC version of the mother's closet scene we see Polonius giving advice to Gertrude, the queen informing Hamlet that Claudius is angry, Hamlet showing pictures of both brothers and saying his father was the better man, hamlet's ghost appearing, hamlet dragging Polonius's body away after killing him, and Hamlet telling her to repent for her mistakes and to not sleep with Claudius. All of the things mentioned prior in the BBC were all key details laid out in the book that cannot be left out. The only gripe that I had with this scene was BBC changing Polonius's stabbing into getting shot with a gun. That moment somewhat took my interest away from the clip. Lastly, Ophelia's mad scene was done very well in all of the

The first difference is the setting compared to the play and the movie. In the original play the setting takes place in Elsinore, Denmark in the royal palace in the late Middle Ages around the 14th and 15th century. The play starts off with the guards in the castle and Horatio who is one of the guards is the first to see the ghost.But as shown in the movie the setting starts off in New York City in the 2000’s. The director did this to make it different to the book and to other Hamlet movies. It made it more modern and interesting the director might have done this to make the audience understand the movie a little better.

In comparing the David Tennant version of Hamlet to other movie adaptations, it is clear that each one has it’s own unique way of presenting the story. The Mel Gibson version of hamlet takes place in a more traditional and medieval time. In adapting the play, this take on

Over the course of the past fifty years there have been many cinematic productions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, some of which remain true to the text while others take greater liberties with the original format. Director Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 production of Hamlet was true to Shakespeare’s work in that the film’s dialogue was delivered word or word as it is presented in the text. In contrast, Franco Zeffirelli conducted his 1990 production of Hamlet in a much more liberal direction in which lines, scenes and characters were omitted from the film. I argue that from the perspective of an individual with moderate knowledge in Shakespearian literature, that the best film versions of Hamlet are those that take the most liberties from the text. I

     Many of Shakespeare's works have been transposed from stage to screen, none so more than Hamlet. Two of the most unique film appropriations of the play are to be found in Rodney Bennett's 1980 film and Kenneth Branagh's 1996 blockbuster. The two films share many parallels between them in both interpretation and method, however they also have marked differences in their respective approaches to the text.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet has countlessly been formatted into film depictions of the play. Each film seemed to be on one end of the spectrum of either being closely interpreted or completely remodeled a different idea of what Hamlet is. The film version of Hamlet released in 2000 seems to follow closely to the play in some aspects, yet at the same time having its own unique identity Despite there being many differences with the play Hamlet and the film adaptation of Hamlet (2000) by Michael Almereyda there are three categories that really stand out, those are the character portrayal, interrelationship between the characters, and some of the essential themes differ as well. Although there are many differences, one aspect that remains the same is the dialogue of the characters which stays true to the Shakespearean dialect.

In Zeffirelli’s portrayal of Hamlet, there are parts added and subtracted from the play in part to make the movie closer to standard movie length but also to show more of how Hamlet’s mind can work the way it does. There are several other movie adaptations of Hamlet that stay more aligned with the original play, but movies are supposed to make some interpretations of plays because the actors need to try and express their characters’ feelings. Arguably the most realistic interpretation of the original Hamlet would be Zeffirelli's adaptation because, although it cuts out the scene with the ghost, it adds reason to why Hamlet would be suspicious of more characters by adding him silently to the background of the scene.

When the ghost of Hamlet’s father enters, Hamlet is eager to find out what he has to say. The ghost suggests that Hamlet talks to his mother but Gertrude still believes that he has lost his sanity, “Alas, how is’t with you?”. In the movie the ghost appears to be a real person, not a see through character like the other movies depict. This is done to cause the allusion that Hamlet’s father is still

All films about Hamlet have extremely close similarities. However, certain aspects of one movie enhances the play even more. Though all three films were great, the most exceptional film of the three is the version by Franco Zeffirelli. The reason why this film is better than the others is because Hamlet’s character is more compelling, Freudian theory makes the play more interesting, and because the small details in the movie make the play better.