Zeffirelli's Hamlet Movie Comparison

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.

Hamlet a play written by William Shakespeare is solely revolved around the seeking justice. Hamlet is a tragic play, which involves the Prince of Denmark (Hamlet) seeking revenge for his father’s death. Hamlet was published in the early sixteen hundred’s, and after that there has been a lot of storylines of movies, books, and TV shows that are derived from the play. One of the most similar pieces of work to Hamlet is The Godfather the movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1972. The Godfather is a prominent crime film about a war hero of World War 2 named Michael Corleone, who openly volunteered to take control of his father’s (Vito Corleone) mafia business, after the death of his father and his older brother (Sonny

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.

The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare is about a king that was murdered by his brother and the main character Hamlet, who is the prince and also the king’s son was told by the ghost of his father to avenge his murder. In the play Hamlet, there are many differences compared to the movie “Hamlet 2000” directed by Michael Almereyda. The reason to these differences is to show a modern setting in the movie “Hamlet 2000”, to show the audience a better understanding of the characters, and the difference in the way the movie ends compared to the original play by Shakespeare.

There have been many movie adaptations of Hamlet ever since adapting Shakespeare’s plays into movies became a profitable venture. Two of the more popular adaptations were Kenneth Branagh’s in 1996 and Gregory Doran’s in 2009. Even though they were both based on the same play, these two movies differ greatly due to director’s license. Kenneth Branagh’s and Gregory Doran’s adaptation of Hamlet differ greatly in terms of the setting and how each of the main characters are portrayed.

Franco Zefferelli’s film, Hamlet, adapted from Shakespeare’s text, Mel Gibson’s Hamlet, struts and frets his life in Denmark, convincing almost everyone that he is “mad.” The film bases the question of whether or not Hamlet is actually insane almost solely on Gibson’s acting interpretations, but Zefferelli’s editing choices assist in making the point that Hamlet is not insane, but either in a fog of confusion and anger from his grief, or pretending to be mad to manipulate others.

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.

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.

There are often times in film and literature where a character reaches the “point of no return.” That is the point when their actions force them to either give up or resolve themselves and move forward. In Franco Zeffirelli's adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, King Claudius reaches his “point of no return” when he allows his wife to drink the poison he originally set to kill his own step-son. The main plot of Hamlet deals with a young man’s journey to avenge his father’s murder by killing the perpetrator. This plot gets slightly more complicated when the perpetrator, King Claudius, attempts to have the young man, Hamlet, killed. Claudius’ final attempt to kill Hamlet was dropping a pearl containing poison into his drink. When the king’s wife,

The film that surpassed all my expectations and gave me exactly what I wanted to see was Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet. The way I would picture King Hamlets great castle of Denmark came up exactly the way I thought it would. The 1800’s setting presented in this film gave it more of a professional feel to it and I loved the vibrant colours throughout the movie. So even though the play is suppose to give off a gloomy atmosphere, dealing with the concept of suicide, the vibrancy of every scene would grab your attention away from the themes for a few seconds. It lets you take in the beautiful scenery and how the play should’ve been set up if it did take place in the real world. Scenes such as the burial of Ophelia, where the imagery and setting change from the graveyard to Hamlets old memories of Yorick, the contrasts between such vibrant scenes and darker ones mix and interlace beautifully. This is something that neither Zeffirelli nor Almereyda were able to accomplish in their films. In Zaferelli’s Hamlet the imagery presented throughout was not more than what the settings it could not portray. It didn’t properly grasp more than the generic medieval atmosphere. It would’ve been a lot more successful to include more clips of what life would’ve been like for Hamlet and the people of Denmark. In Almereyda’s version it wasn’t really his fault for not presenting more imagery of the play because it was set in modern times, and we have seen countless movies and clips of

The difference between the costumes, scenery and setting shows how modern the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet is than the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet. One of the difference between the two films is the setting and time period. Mel Gibson version of Hamlet is set in a dark and medieval time castle. Kenneth Branagh's movie of Hamlet was set in 19th century making the setting of the castle more of a luxurious modern palace. The lighting of the movie plays a major role in the production of the film because it demonstrates emotions and feelings from the characters. For instance, in Hamlet starring Mel Gibson the lighting was adjusted to make the scenes darker to show sadness and grief. According to props and costumes the Kenneth Branagh version are very modern and unique while Mel Gibson version of hamlet costumes are more old