To Blog or Not To Blog ?

I believe Oliver’s version of Hamlet is the most dramatic out of the four versions that we watched. The director places Hamlet on a rock looking over a troubled sea. The weather is very misty and gloomy which provides a visual of what Hamlet’s mind is like while he contemplates suicide. In the back ground, the music playing was very dark and creepy; setting a mysterious tone to the scene. Even though the play was in black and white, I don’t think that that took away from the importance of the speech. By having Hamlet toy with the knife throughout his soliloquy, Oliver definitely added a feeling of suspense to the scene. His use of symbolism mainly comes from the setting he used. However, the way he makes Hamlet recite the speech is quite interesting. Some parts were spoken aloud, while others were spoken in Hamlet’s mind. I think this was a wise decision because the soliloquy was based off of Hamlet wrestling with his thoughts.

Zeffirelli places Hamlet in a tomb/ basement where dead bodies are kept, to deliver his famous soliloquy. This setting added to the objective of the scene because he’s thinking about death, while surrounded by death.  In comparison to the others, this setting would have persuaded Hamlet to commit suicide more than anything. The lighting is still dark but this time it didn’t take away from the scene.  When Hamlet recites the speech, he speaks with a lot of passion. You could really tell that this is something he had really thought about. In the beginning of the scene he spoke quietly, but as you got deeper and deeper into the speech his voice raised as if he was yelling at someone else.  Hamlet’s body language was also very believable. He would often fold his hands as if he were praying or drape his body over a tomb as if that was where he found comfort.

I think the setting that Branaugh used was very clever. Hamlet stands in front of a mirror as he says the speech. This was smart because in reality he was conversing with himself in his head on whether or not he should die. Hamlet saying his speech in a mirror where he was able to see himself, adds on to the depth of the soliloquy. The music in the background is very calm and soothing; which corresponds to Hamlets tone in this scene. Yet, it does provide a contrast because Hamlets mood in the play was not tranquil. The lighting was bright, just like in the ghost scene directed by Branaugh. This scene was probably my least favorite out of the four because it seemed very boring. I expected more drama and theatrics from the director.

Almereyda’s version will always differ from the others because this is the most modern version of them all. The setting was located in a Block Buster.  Hamlet delivered the “To be or not to be” speech while walking up and down the action aisles of the store. He is not making a decision on which action movie to choose just like how he is not making a decision on which action he should follow through with in real life (suicide).  The symbolism in this movie was very significant. Hamlet’s emotion was very vague. He had the same nonchalant tone throughout the whole scene. I kind of liked it because I felt like his relaxed attitude would lead to something big toward the end (nothing happened, but that’s beside the point).  

I believe there are so many versions of this play because each of the scenes can easily be manipulated. This shows that Hamlet is extremely universal and can appeal to several different crowds and audiences. My favorite version would probably be Zeffirelli’s, simply because the director’s choices were more realistic to the time period.