Analysis Of Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet

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Could it be or could it not be? That is the question. Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet was indeed the first uncut film version of Shakespeare’s masterpiece. It was set in a generic 19th century European setting that kept a modern and ancient look from distracting the content. The production design was eye-catching during each and every scene, which was a necessity to include, seeing as though it was a four-hour film. I felt as though Branagh accomplished the heavy task of making it a movie rather than a version of the play. Kenneth Branagh in his 1996 film Hamlet, uses mise-en-scene to characterize Hamlet’s sword, Yorick’s skull, and Hamlet’s dagger in order to carefully utilize and depict the tragedies that took place during Shakespeare’s play. …show more content…

Kenneth Branagh carefully thought out where and when actors were going to speak, move, and blink meanwhile he carefully thought out the props that were going to be included in each scene in order to make such an exhilarating film. From the costumes, to the actors themselves, to the lighting set for each and every scene, mise-en-scene is a very important part of the film. Without a carefully constructed setting, you may have yourself one confusing film! Directing a film that is depicting a play from the 16th century is difficult to do when the budget is limited however, Branagh nearly perfected it. Mise-en-scene also gives you a sense of Branagh’s perspective of Shakespeare’s play because although the content follows the original text, the film is directed based on his vision. For example, the colors of the costumes, the actors, and the decisions made as to when and where to include certain props, were all up to …show more content…

Once the word got around that Hamlet killed Polonius, people would start second guessing whom to trust and disasters would start to occur. A sword was very common to have and it was becoming more and more dangerous as it was being used to commit murder. I do not believe that it was a coincidence that the 'sword challenge ' at the end of the play, led to the death of Hamlet and Laertes. A sword that was poisoned by King Claudius killed them both. The sword also represented irony due to the fact that Hamlet 'tried ' to kill Claudius with his, yet Hamlet ended up dead because of a sword that Claudius poisoned. This scene was successfully filmed thanks to Kenneth Branagh and his use of

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