Olivier's version was like a 1950's movie, with black and white display. The scenery was dark, windy and foggy. Hamlet was sitting on a rock by a cliff with the ocean just below. Hamlet looked calm but at the same time confused. The director was trying to show that Hamlet was contemplating whether to kill himself or not and the mood of the scenery showed that. The use of the dagger was another good decision that the director made. The director uses the ocean to show Hamlet's sea of troubles that stood before him. Hamlet had two ways of killing himself which was jumping off the cliff or stabbing himself with the dagger. Even though the scene was black and white, Hamlet himself was showing gray and dull emotions. I think another reason why the director uses this scene is to give Hamlet an easy access to get rid of the baggage he is holding on to. As a whole in this version the actor was really calm and it also looked like the actor voiced the words, which I totally disagreed with.
Zeffirelli's version of Hamlet was the most realistic one of all the versions in my opinion. This version gives you the advantage of knowing what the 1600s would be like. As usual the scene was very dark and it took place in a tomb. Hamlet looks very confused and angry about the decision he has to make. This version enlarged Hamlet's emotions, showing his anger and suffering. When Hamlet spoke of killing himself he stood in the dark but when he spoke of living he would look up to the light. In my opinion this is a sign saying that if you commit suicide you would have to live in darkness for every but him finding a way out of his misery was somewhere towards the light. The director did well to have this scene take place in a tomb because Hamlet was on the verge of killing himself or not killing himself. Unlike the other versions Hamlet looked like he was speaking to someone rather than to himself. The director had Hamlet kneel before the coffin and speak, as if he was talking to the dead about what their after life was like. I believe the director use all these actions to show us that Hamlet was really close to making either decisions.
Branaugh's version was of course colorful, more modern than Olivier and Zeffirelli's version. It was much easier to see Hamlet in this version because it had a lot of light. Hamlet looked confused but at the same time calm. Unlike the other versions you can actually hear the music and with that said, the music was very confusing and breathe taking. The background in this version was gray, showing Hamlet's attitude towards the decision he has to make. I believe there is two reasons to why Hamlet was looking at himself in the mirror; he was arguing with himself and he was looking at himself because he was trying to figure out how to get rid of the burden that was dragging him down. Hamlet arguing with himself was like having a bad and good conscience on your shoulder that you had to chose between. The director uses the dagger as a prop to show us how close Hamlet came to killing himself.
Almereyda's version was really modern and colorful. The actor playing Hamlet looked like he was suffering from depression problems and he also looked really confused. In all respect, Hamlet looked like he was on some type of drug. As he walk around the store he looks on all the stuffs he would miss, if killed himself. The television was showing someone getting blown up while the rest of the room was calm. I believe the director used the television as a prop because it would show how Hamlet was getting influenced by both the disaster shown on the television and the calmness of the room. Media is the one of the greatest influence on young people in modern society, so showing the television was really helpful to my understanding. Committing suicide is one of the hardest things someone can do, so understand why it was hard for Hamlet to do.
I think there are different version because people tend to interpret Shakespeare in their own way and sometimes totally different from others. Hamlet can be described as multicultural and the fact that it is hard to translate into modern language. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare best work that he ever wrote. Hamlet affects people on personal levels because it explains deceit and revenge in a close settings. This play is widely read and used as an example all over the world. I like Zeffirelli's version the most because it looks more original and it put you in the mind set of what old Denmark would look like in the 1600s.
Zeffirelli's version of Hamlet was the most realistic one of all the versions in my opinion. This version gives you the advantage of knowing what the 1600s would be like. As usual the scene was very dark and it took place in a tomb. Hamlet looks very confused and angry about the decision he has to make. This version enlarged Hamlet's emotions, showing his anger and suffering. When Hamlet spoke of killing himself he stood in the dark but when he spoke of living he would look up to the light. In my opinion this is a sign saying that if you commit suicide you would have to live in darkness for every but him finding a way out of his misery was somewhere towards the light. The director did well to have this scene take place in a tomb because Hamlet was on the verge of killing himself or not killing himself. Unlike the other versions Hamlet looked like he was speaking to someone rather than to himself. The director had Hamlet kneel before the coffin and speak, as if he was talking to the dead about what their after life was like. I believe the director use all these actions to show us that Hamlet was really close to making either decisions.
Branaugh's version was of course colorful, more modern than Olivier and Zeffirelli's version. It was much easier to see Hamlet in this version because it had a lot of light. Hamlet looked confused but at the same time calm. Unlike the other versions you can actually hear the music and with that said, the music was very confusing and breathe taking. The background in this version was gray, showing Hamlet's attitude towards the decision he has to make. I believe there is two reasons to why Hamlet was looking at himself in the mirror; he was arguing with himself and he was looking at himself because he was trying to figure out how to get rid of the burden that was dragging him down. Hamlet arguing with himself was like having a bad and good conscience on your shoulder that you had to chose between. The director uses the dagger as a prop to show us how close Hamlet came to killing himself.
Almereyda's version was really modern and colorful. The actor playing Hamlet looked like he was suffering from depression problems and he also looked really confused. In all respect, Hamlet looked like he was on some type of drug. As he walk around the store he looks on all the stuffs he would miss, if killed himself. The television was showing someone getting blown up while the rest of the room was calm. I believe the director used the television as a prop because it would show how Hamlet was getting influenced by both the disaster shown on the television and the calmness of the room. Media is the one of the greatest influence on young people in modern society, so showing the television was really helpful to my understanding. Committing suicide is one of the hardest things someone can do, so understand why it was hard for Hamlet to do.
I think there are different version because people tend to interpret Shakespeare in their own way and sometimes totally different from others. Hamlet can be described as multicultural and the fact that it is hard to translate into modern language. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare best work that he ever wrote. Hamlet affects people on personal levels because it explains deceit and revenge in a close settings. This play is widely read and used as an example all over the world. I like Zeffirelli's version the most because it looks more original and it put you in the mind set of what old Denmark would look like in the 1600s.
I thought Zeffirelli's version was the second best. I liked Oliver's version the best. But I also see where you drew your conclusion. The Zeffirelli versions setting was excellent. The fact that he gave this speech in a tomb was an excellent job by the director and having him talk to the dead was an excellent touch.
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