Comparing the Opening Sections of Kenneth Branagh's and Franco Zeffirelli's Film Versions of Hamlet

The purpose of this report is to compare and contrast two movies made about Hamlet. I will present and discuss different aspects of the version directed by Kenneth Branagh to that of Franco Zefirelli. During this paper you will be presented with my opinions in reference to determining which version of Hamlet best reflects the original text by Shakespeare. I will end this paper with my belief and explanation of which movie is true to the original play.

The opening scene (1.1.1) of Branagh’s movie is when Hamlet gives his monologue, the lighting at this point is very bright and the camera is slanted vertically. Hamlet is acted out as a very angered character; he leans his weight into a chair, trying to hold back, but eventually collapses dramatically. The camera is approached from the back of him, and his dark clothing makes him pop out to the rest of the brightly colored audience. As this scene

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.

Kenneth Branagh made it seem like Hamlet was following his father’s orders even though in the play he wasn’t. This made the audience feel better about Hamlet because he was actually taking action. Although Kenneth’s version of Hamlet’s character took action it is not as tragic as Hamlet’s character in the play because by Hamlet not taking action it shows how sensitive and hurt he was.

While both did their job of acting out the scene I believe Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 film does a much better job. Kenneth choose to act the scene in a very grand ballroom, which I think was appropriate due to the grandness of soliloquy itself. In the BBC version of the scene Hamlet is shown leaning against a pillar with such low-key lighting you can not tell what sort of room he is in. When Hamlet first enters the grand ballroom in the older movie he takes his time to begin speaking which is crucial between the transition between the last scene and the current scene. The length in speech gives the audience the chance to settle in for what they are about to hear. In David Tennant's version he quickly jumps into his speech not leaving much room for transition. The common audience does not understand every word of the Shakespearean language hamlet speaks and may lose interest while Hamlet continues to ramble on. The continued camera movement throughout Kenneth Branagh’s movies helps the audience to stay focussed on the movie even if they do not fully understand every word Hamlet speaks. During Gregory Doran’s movie, throughout the entire scene there are only two transitions and the camera never moves in either position. This adds to the viewer losing interest, not only are they bored by having nothing in the background to look at, due to the low-key lighting, they are bored by the complex English language Hamlet speaks and given only two transitions and no movements to maintain their interest. The first representation of the “To be or not to be” speech creates multiple plots to further add in maintaining the viewers interest. By placing the king and Polonius behind the two way mirror and having Hamlet walk to the exact mirror creates a sense of urgency that is non-existent in the BBC version. Having this extra story allows

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

Comparing the Openings of the Film Versions of Romeo and Juliet by Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann

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.

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

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.

The setting of these two texts that demonstrates the idea of the challenges and triumphs that lie ahead. The audience is presented with different environments, Shakespeare's Hamlet starts off in a closed and dark environment, this shows that there is something bad is going to happened during the novel,

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.

In The Lion King, Minkoff and Allers present a clear difference between good and evil, whereas Shakespeare’s depiction of good and evil character in Hamlet is not so clear. The characters in The Lion King are categorised almost immediately in the orientation of the film, with the image of the characters giving the audience a clear picture of who the suspected betrayer is. However in the play Hamlet it’s a lot more difficult to label the characters as good or evil, the audience cannot be certain that Claudius is evil until the climax when he reacts to the play organised by Hamlet.

Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 filmic translation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a dramatic telling of the classic story which is as well acted as it is entertaining. Aside from these points, Zeffirelli's (and co-scripter Christopher Devore's) screenplay is an edited, and re-mixed version of the original which has many lines cut, as well as the entire sub plot concerning Fortenbras, completely removed. Franco Zefirelli's private interpretation of Hamlet, although divergent in some ways from Shakespeare's version, still remains a superior rendering, due to the continuity of the screenplay.

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 Mel Gibson and Kenneth Branagh of Act IV of Hamlet have many differences and similarities. Kenneth Branagh 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 according to the setting and time period, cast and editing.