Hamlet Comparison Hamlet Is Arguably William Shakespeare\'s

Hamlet Comparison

Hamlet is arguably William Shakespeare's most famous of his many still existing plays. Even people who have not read the play know the basic plot of the story. Prince Hamlet of Denmark is in mourning over the death of his father who, as it turns out has been murdered by his uncle so that Claudius can take over the throne and marry the queen, his brothers' widow. Hamlet decides to act crazy in order to determine if his Uncle Claudius is indeed guilty of the act. Over the course of the story, people die and the play's climax is the final duel between Hamlet and young Laertes where both men die as well as King Claudius and Queen Gertrude. There are countless film versions of the play which represent the attitudes and artistic styles of the filmmakers who created them. One of the earlier film versions created by Laurence Olivier is considered one of the best and two very different film versions from the same decade are the Hamlet by director Franco Zeffirelli from 1990 and Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version of the story. Each version shows a perception of the story unique to the director and actors as is exemplified in the way each shows the famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy delivered by Hamlet.

Olivier's Hamlet was the first English language version of the movie to have sound. In 1948 when the film was made, sound was a relatively new invention and this may explain the overly dramatic effect that the director makes. Preceding the speech itself is a long tracking shot up a flight of stairs followed by a shot over the back of Hamlet's head to a deep chasm. Olivier performs the soliloquy itself as if he were on a stage rather than in a film. This is allayed somewhat by the images of the sea but really the speech seems to be a filmed play rather than a living motion picture. This stilted quality is not helped by Olivier's delivery which is equally mechanical, as though he is speaking words he has spoken dozens of times and it seems to erase all meaning.

The Zeffirelli version of Hamlet is very dark and austere. The costumes are black, as are the backgrounds and the scenery. This is reflected in the "to be or not to be" soliloquy which the director chooses to set in a mausoleum adding to the dark attitude and underscoring bleakness of the speech. However, instead of thinking to himself but speaking aloud as is in the context of the play, Mel Gibson's Hamlet seems to be speaking to the dead, particularly as the graves are designed with human appearances. He is speaking to the dead rather than reflecting on his current situation. Much of the play centers on the conflict between sanity and insanity and one of the major questions is whether Hamlet is indeed pretending to be crazy or if he has actually gone insane and this scene tends to work too hard to play on that uncertainty, which is a failing throughout the film.

Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet is completely different from the Zeffirelli version. Instead of darkness, Branagh bathes the screen in light and bright colors. The soliloquy is delivered by Branagh to a mirrored reflection of himself. This, like the Zeffirelli seems designed to explore Hamlet's burgeoning insanity and the dual nature of the life he is currently leading. However, it comes off as more real and earnest than the other film. Also, unlike the Olivier version, it is large and expansive. The scene is set in a grand room surrounding by mirrors and sumptuous furnishings, as is befitting a castle.