Comparing Two Film Versions Of Mel Gibson's Hamlet

English students usually hate studying Hamlet due to its extremely hard language and its difficult concepts, my teacher taught us Hamlet using a condensed kid’s version along with two movies, one being a traditional version and the other being traditional and the other being a little more modern. She also included the 1964 Broadway play. Next year there will be a limited time for teachers to teach the unit and the teachers may not have the time to use all four to teach the seniors. If next year’s seniors can only study one version of Hamlet, It should be Mel Gibson’s Hamlet from 1990. One reason this is an excellent version to teach is the acting, it makes it easier to understand although they talk in Shakespearean English the acting will make it easier to interpret the story. For instance the scene where Hamlet goes to talk to his mother and accidently kills Polonius, that scene is filled with emotion and pain, the way Hamlet expresses anger to his mother is shockingly amazing. The acting will not only be intriguing to the students but it will give them a complete understand by also feeling the emotion shown in the movie.
In addition the movie’s setting makes it more realistic, they do a really good job capturing the medieval time period, making you feel like you were a part of the movie and the time period.
The Medieval era is brought to life, you get to experience the lifestyle and the culture during that period of time. There are many scenes where the aesthetics just speak for themselves, the fencing match is the perfect example. The anger that both Hamlet and Laertes had at each other as they swung the swords at each other made me feel like I was actually there, and the bystanders cheering them on made it more realistic and exciting, I didn’t feel like I was watching movie. The action and acting will really keep students intrigued and keep their eyes glued to the
screen. The most outstanding reason this is an excellent reason to teach them using the Movie is the way the Story is told and presented. The story is told in its original traditional way from start to finish, you can feel like you’ve read the whole book just by watching the movie. The emotion used throughout the movie, the visuals captured by the cameras and the authentic feeling the movie has. The presentation of the story being so sensible will make it easier for the students to understand. Other may suggest Ethan Hawke’s Hamlet from 2000 but it wouldn’t be a good idea because it will be difficult for students to understand a medieval story in a Modern theme. It would not educate the students on Hamlet, the new details are extremely hard to understand. Hamlet from a Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, A condensed kid’s version may also be a suggestion but it really doesn’t go into much detail and leaves some things out that may make it difficult for students to understand. The Kids version is a little sugar coated and doesn’t share important details and may confuse the students. Mel Gibson’s Hamlet from 1990 should be taught to next year’s seniors if only one can be taught. This is the best version to learn because of its amazing acting, Its Realistic feeling and its presentation. Ethan Hawkes Hamlet from 2000 isn’t the best option to teach because it’s a medieval story told in a modern theme most likely making it difficult for the students to understand, Hamlet from beautiful stories from Shakespeare isn’t the best option due to it being too condescend and leaving out important details and most likely confusing the students. Students should watch Mel Gibson’s Hamlet from 1990 Opposed to other choices because it’s more understanding and will arouse their interest.