Hamlet Movies Analysis

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 English Play writer, William Shakespeare had written many well-known pieces of work including Hamlet. Hamlet is known to be one of his most popular works. Hamlet was written in the late 16th Century about the Prince of Denmark. The original title of the work was The Tragedy of Hamlet, now it is referred to as just Hamlet. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the mental state of his characters to prove that not all characters in books have to be one dimensional. Shakespeare’s writing shows that humans are complex, and can have different mental states. Characters throughout the story such as, Hamlet, Gertrude, and Ophelia show their not so stable mental state. First we will analyze Hamlet and talk about Ernest Jones’ Psycho-analytic study of Hamlet. Then we will talk about Ophelia and how the events that happened leading up to her death or suicide played a role into her mental state. Finally we will analyze Gertrude, the Queen’s role in Hamlet, and how she is a mentally weak woman and relies on the men in her life.

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.

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.

As read in the play this is a soliloquy spoken by prince Hamlet trying to contemplate death and suicide because of the pain and unfairness in life. This soliloquy in the play is suppose to be dramatic when Hamlet is speaking to himself while Ophelia is over hearing it. Compared to the movie the “to be or not to be” scene is taken in a BlockBuster store. In the movie, Hamlet is walking around the store saying the soliloquy to himself softly. As you can see it wasn't as dramatic as it was expected it to

The speech of Hamlet “O that this too sullied flesh would melt, … But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.” (1.2.129-159) is where we can see Hamlet’s sadness towards his mother, Gertrude and his uncle Claudius and feels disappointed about their decision of getting married. Hamlet is seen to be too upset after his father’s death. It’s not even a month has passed and he gets to hear another news about his mother Gertrude and uncle, Claudius getting married. In the beginning of Act 1 Scene 2, King Claudius gives a speech to his courtiers, telling them about his recent marriage to Gertrude, mother of Hamlet and his brother’s widow. Claudius says that he mourns his brother but has chosen to balance Denmark’s mourning with delight of his marriage. He also mentions in his speech that young Fortinbras has written to him, rashly demanding the surrender of the lands King Hamlet won from Fortinbras’s father, and dispatches Cornelius and Voltimand with a message for the King of Norway, Fortinbras’s elderly uncle.

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 Hamlet play by William Shakespeare, the “To Be or Not To Be” speech is a very famous soliloquy in English Literature. This piece refers to the theme of the afterlife, it also provides Hamlet’s continued reflecting contemplation between his ambiguous personalities. Throughout the speech Hamlet contemplated the thought of offing himself right then and there. This is shown by his depressed sequestered tone and his distressed actions with the dagger that successfully programs the audience to truly see what hides under Hamlet’s previous actions in the play. The Hamlet film by Olivier is most true to the original text because of the creative music choice, the actor’s actions and movements shown in the setting, and

Hamlet is a tragic play, written by William Shakespeare between 1599 and 1602, but as years have gone by, there have been made many movies produced in order to visually illustrate how the events of the play occurred. This allows the film director's interpretation of Hamlet to have an effect on the audience's understanding of the play, because they understand the play the same way as the director. One of the most significant act and scene in the whole play is Act I Scene V. The film work of Hamlet orchestrated by the director really focuses on being exactly as the written play by William Shakespeare. The written work of Hamlet and the movie directed by Franco Zeffirelli have many similar scenes. Act I Scene V is one of the most important

Hamlet by William Shakespeare is one play that has intrigued people for over four hundred years. There have been as many productions as there have been days since the original play 1596-1603. Each production has been different from the next one, no matter where performed or by whom. One film reproduction of Hamlet released in the year 2000, was directed by and stared Etahan Hawke as Hamlet and Julia Styles as Ophelia. This essay will refer to this film as Hamlet 2000 and the original play as Hamlet or text. To compare the text to the film Hamlet 2000 will be divided into three groups, language, setting / plot line and lastly the characters. All though the speech is taken only from the text, the film Hamlet 2000 is vastly different,

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.

There are several film adaptions of the The Tragedy of Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, but I chose the 2009 film adaption of Hamlet directed by Gregory Doran. I did this because I am more interested in how old written texts can be applied to today instead of decades or even centuries back. This film was also only about 3 hours. It also features more people of color than Shakespeare probably imagined when he wrote the original text, which is great because then people of color won’t feel as left out. I chose to watch a film adaption of Hamlet because Hamlet is the most complex character in all of the plays I have read from Shakespeare. The audience gets to see Hamlet’s growing madness, or feigning of it, until things start really getting heated up in the second half of the play. The film makes many changes to the original text, but I think that the most significant changes are the movement of Hamlet’s “To be Or Not To Be Speech”, the omission of Fortinbras and his army at the end, and the appearance of video cameras. These changes work effectively to make the focus of the film on Hamlet.

Hamlet directed by Michael Almereyda took a modern approach to the classic Shakespearean play. The modern version is set in the year 2000 in New York City a big stretch from the original play. Denmark is not a country anymore but instead a corporation. The movie still follows the original plot in the play. With the evil uncle now becoming CEO of the company, after his brother's sudden death. He marries his widow wife while his son Hamlet begins to see his father's ghost.

Often, pieces of literature have been analyzed and made into a motion picture in the hopes of further developing the themes presented in the work. Though the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, has been interpreted and converted into a film numerous times by different directors, Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation particularly captured the essence of Hamlet and helped the audience truly understand the events that transpired in Act Three Scene Two of Hamlet. It is in this act, Hamlet plan to reveal King Claudius’ treachery is played out. Hamlet exposes the king through adding an extra sixteen lines to the play which depicts him killing Hamlet’s father. With the directions Hamlet gave to the actors, Hamlet is able to make the audience recognize the king’s