The classic play of Hamlet, by Kenneth Branagh (1996) and Franco Zeffirelli (1990), bring forth two different analyses and versions of Shakespeare’s script. Though, they are similar in the storyline and the themes, conflicts, both editions represent intense and dramatic dissimilarities with creative ways of portraying many ideas. The most obvious differences were the setting including time period, how characters were portrayed in terms of both personality and social class and costumes. Franco Zeffirelli created a Shakespeare Hamlet edition that would be appealing to younger viewers. Zefferelli’s cinematography is rather physical than intellectual and rational. Zeffirelli’s version was different than common plays, the setting took place in …show more content…
a medieval castle, with costumes that reflect social class, for example, Ophelia was dressed very ordinarily and the King and Queen themselves were dressed in over exaggerated outfits that somehow stereotype what people of a royal status used to wear eras before also allowing the audience to understand the time period. Unlike Branagh’s version, Zeffirelli mainly focused on different social statuses and what kind of role they played in “Hamlet.” However, Kenneth Branaugh uses props and costumes to symbolize certain themes, emotions, and properties connecting to the scene.
Kenneth Branagh’s version of Hamlet took place in a modernized castle, and the costumes were not as medieval as they were in Zeffirelli’s edition. Instead they were dressed very stylishly in common wealthy outfits. Characters such as Ophelia, Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Horatio were also dressed appropriately and of respectable social status which makes the viewers focus more on the storyline and conflicts in the play rather than the difference in social classes presented by clothing by the …show more content…
director. Hamlet was portrayed as more quiet but secretive and aware in Branagh’s version while in Zeffirelli’s version, he was portrayed as very loud, physical, and in a way, unpleasant giving both characters different personalities and attitudes.
The quote of Act 4, Scene 1 shows the extent of Hamlet’s madness and it’s comparison with Nature. Gertrude is speaking about Hamlet to King Claudius: “Mad as the sea and the wind when both contend/Which is the mightier./ In his Lawful fit/ Behind the arras hearing something stir/ Whips out his rapier, cries, “A rat, a rat!, and in this brainish apprehension kills the unseen gold old man” (4.1.6-12). This passage is found to be a very interesting passage because it shows the range of madness and it also compares his situation to two opposing forces of nature. In this quote, Hamlet seems torn between madness and sanity and in that case the two terms, sea and wind are used to represent Hamlet’s character as he is shown to be clashing and battling with his own wish/aspiration and what his father reminds him of doing, declaring that Gertrude is not the one as fault and he should not harm her. Two opposite powers of landscape/nature which is the sea and wind often battle each other in a storm and have an unpleasant encounter, it creates a disturbing havoc and destruction, likely Hamlet is battling with his own will and certain instructions that he has to live up
to. This interesting passage also represents the idea of revenge through madness leading Hamlet to extract revenge. It shows that he is willing to kill anybody because he has been living with the burden of seeing his father’s murderer every day in the King’s throne unable to expose him. Hamlet eventually gets frustrated and hearing the cry for help from behind the arras, without a second thought, hamlet stabbed the person to death later revealed to him that it was Polonius. Hamlet had thought that it was King Claudius and he just wanted to kill him the same way that he killed King Hamlet which brings forth the theme of revenge. Gertrude mentions that Hamlet’s uneasiness caused him to stab Polonius. In this scene, Zeffirelli;s version was quite powerful because Gertrude and Hamlet acted out this scene very dramatically and full of expression, you can see a drastic amount of shock and fear on Gertrude’s face and same amount of rage in Hamlet. In this scene, Hamlet throws around Gertrude very harshly and the audience witnesses Gertrude running away from Hamlet and him blocking her way. Later he got immensely physical with Gertrude, also quite disturbing and unpleasant in Zeffirelli’s edition. However in Branagh’s version, Hamlet still gets physical with Gertrude but it is not as extreme as it was in Zeffirelli’s version, he still throws her on the bed but there is some sort of decency in the scene compared to the other film. Both directors wanted to portray a glimpse of Hamlet’s revenge, they didn’t show the audience how Hamlet actually wants to kill the king but instead portrays how the outcome will be due to his anger and rage. Lastly, the passage represents the passage of Mortality because of Polonius’s unexpected death. His death is actually central to the play because his death is followed by many other deaths to occur in further acts in the play. And his death also portrays the idea of Hamlet going out of control and the fact that he is a danger and a threat to people and humanity. King Claudius is the most worried because he states that, there could’ve have been anybody behind that arras but in reality, he looks at Hamlet as a threat to accessing the King’s throne. Both directors have shown Polonius’s death in the same manner and same type of death and the significance of his death is shown in a lot of detail as well. In Conclusion, Kenneth Branagh and Zeffirelli Franco brought forth two unique and different analyses of the play Hamlet allowing the audience to see two different sides to the play. In one light, Zeffirelli focused on different social class through costumes, and the medieval setting and dramatic scenes, and in the other light Branagh focused on the setting keeping in mind the modern era, and expressing themes through a character’s costumes and kept the film quite decent. The quote selected expressed many themes, three of them being; madness, revenge and mortality.
...ter development was sophisticated and artisitic. In this version, the audience was absorbed with Hamlet’s character. This introduced a variety of thought and reflection making the film more appealing to a widespread audience.
Shakespeare is one of the smartest and most influential authors in the world of literature. A lot of modern writers have based their literary products off of the brilliant works that Shakespeare created and brought to life. A specific example of this is the musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Stephen Sondheim and the 2007 Tim Burton film of the same name. These works have similar parallels with Shakespeare's Hamlet. Both of these works incorporate themes such as appearance vs. reality and revenge for past deeds. Additionally, the main characters in the pieces of literature have peculiarities that make them easy to compare and differentiate.
During class we have reviewed many versions of the play Hamlet. The two movie versions that I chose to compare on the play Hamlet are the David Tennant version and the Kenneth Branagh version. I chose these two versions because these were the two that most interested me. I believe that some scenes from each movie were better than the other, but overall I liked these two versions just as equally. The three main scenes that stood out to me that I will be comparing are ‘Ophelia’s Mad Scene’, the ‘Hamlet Kills Polonius’ scene, and Hamlet’s ‘To be or not to be’ scene.
Everyone knows the story of Hamlet: Hamlet’s father is killed, Hamlet’s mother marries the evil Uncle, everyone thinks Hamlet has gone mad, and almost everyone dies at the end. In David Tennant’s version of Hamlet, the use of the characters’ physical antics, interactions with each other, the stark similarities between the characters, and the way they dress, changes how the audience interprets each character’s actions and contribution to the play as a whole, which then determines how successful this version of Hamlet is.
1. In this specific version of Hamlet there are various characters that demonstrate an exaggerative and dramatic persona; Brain Blessed chose to interpret the role of the ghost in the traditional eerie, spooky, and mysterious manner. He does this by being portrayed as a reoccurring pale figure that is only visible to certain people (the traditional characteristics for a ghost). Also he does this by deepening his voice to sound more frightening. In my opinion, I do not think that the performance of the apparition was believable in any scenes in which it appeared simply because I do not think that something that does not exist in reality can be displayed realistically. Moreover and in contrast, I believe
Hamlet, a tragedy by William Shakespeare shows a lot of adaptations to movies. Hamlet by Mel Gibson (1990) and Kenneth Branagh (1996) interpret and portray the play by Shakespeare in different ways. The two film versions of Act IV of Hamlet have many differences and similarities. Kenneth Branagh’s version of Hamlet is seen covering most of the original text of Shakespeare’s play of Hamlet unlike the Mel Gibson version which omits many scenes and dialogues. The film version of Hamlet featuring Kenneth Branagh is a more successful production of Shakespeare’s play of Act IV according to its setting, editing choices and character portrayal.
Hamlet the Play and the Movie Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a story about a king that was murdered by his brother and the prince has been asked by his father?s ghost to avenge his murder. The original story line has been altered a few times since it has been written. The original Hamlet the play and the altered Hamlet the movie are shown differently in many different ways. Hamlet the movie with Mel Gibson shows different things than the play, but there are three major differences between the two. The three major differences are in the way both of the productions start out, differences in the scene that the players put on a play, and differences in the way the productions end.
It is said that Shakespeare wrote plays, not scripts. His work was meant to be read aloud and not just read. This became apparent while I watching the BBC 's 2009 version of Hamlet. I choose this version because the director Gregory Doran put a modern twist on the classic tale. The director’s display of contemporary technology, dress, and presentation of relationships enhanced the idea that Hamlet’s madness was simply a dramatic act.
Zeffirelli’s filmic Hamlet evidently interprets the original play especially considering Mel Gibson’s performance making it easy for the audience to understand Shakespearean dialect. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a man with friends who proves to be much more reserved, and manipulative than someone might imagine today. His hamlet is considerate in his plans, but with no tact interpersonally. Zeffirelli’s audience is required to focus on the troubles, and character of Hamlet, who is nonstop, and unfriendly, but a sensitive loner when the time is right. Zeffirelli accomplishes this mixture while staying faithful to his starting place my maintaining solid screenplay with a constant flow supporting his own take on the story. Concisely, Zeffirelli’s Hamlet is both a free and a loyal understanding of its source, which is, for today’s viewers, a Hamlet in its own right.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most produced plays of all time. Written during the height of Shakespeare’s fame—1600—Hamlet has been read, produced, and researched by more individuals now than during Shakespeare’s own lifetime. It is has very few stage directions, because Shakespeare served as the director, even though no such official position existed at the time. Throughout its over 400 years of production history, Hamlet has seen several changes. Several textual cuts have been made, in addition to the liberties taken through each production. In recent years, Hamlet has seen character changes, plot changes, gender role reversals, alternate endings, time period shifts, and thematic alternations, to name only a few creative liberties modern productions of Hamlet have taken.
Shakespeare's Hamlet has been adopted to the screen many times, each with its own interpretation of the dialogue. The directors Kenneth Branagh and Michael Almereyda both bring the words of Shakespeare to life with vivid and original settings, costumes, and personalities. Of course they both attempt to convey different moods and tones. Branagh's on-screen version is very traditional as it is set in the 1800's and every word of Shakespeare's is included verbatim. On the other hand, Almereyda presents the world a completely modern version of the famous play complete with cell phones, laptops, guns, and your mundane company take-over!
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably one of the best plays known to English literature. It presents the protagonist, Hamlet, and his increasingly complex path through self discovery. His character is of an abnormally complex nature, the likes of which not often found in plays, and many different theses have been put forward about Hamlet's dynamic disposition. One such thesis is that Hamlet is a young man with an identity crisis living in a world of conflicting values.
Different adaptations of William Shakespeare’s works have taken various forms. Through the creative license that artists, directors, and actors take, diverse incarnations of his classic works continue to arise. Gregory Doran’s Hamlet and Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet bring William Shakespeare’s work by the same title to the screen. These two film adaptations take different approaches in presenting the turmoil of Hamlet. From the diverging takes on atmosphere to the characterization of the characters themselves, the many possible readings of Hamlet create the ability for the modification of the presentation and the meaning of the play itself. Doran presents David Tenant as Hamlet in a dark, eerie, and minimal setting; his direction highlighting the
There have been numerous remarks of William Shakespeare’s most celebrated drama Hamlet. Almereyda managed to make Hamlet a theoretical play, into an intense, action-driven movie without losing much of the initial tragic atmosphere of the original play. The play Hamlet focuses strictly on the state of Denmark on the original Elsinore castle, however Michael Almereyda was able to modernize the movie to New York City. In many ways I think that the modernized version of Hamlet is easier to appreciate but in review that diminishes the play’s “greatness,” in my personal opinion.
Michael Almereyda’s movie adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet brings about a new perspective through its performance. The movie adaptation, Hamlet (2000), retells the original play in a modernized setting, bringing out various different elements of characters, which highlights a new reading of these characters as individuals, and a newfangled reading of the play as well. Throughout the movie, Ophelia and Gertrude, the woman-leads, are advanced in a progressive manner compared to the original play. In particular, Gertrude from Hamlet (2000) is noticeably altered from Hamlet, the play. This new interpretation of Gertrude and the play created by the movie adaptation advances the position of Gertrude as a woman, as well as motifs of incest, misogyny,