Hamlet And Hamlet Comparison Essay

Hamlet, a play written by William Shakespeare has not only affected literature but also directors in the film industry. Directors, Kenneth Branagh and Gregory Doran have both made different versions of a film based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Branagh directed a 1996 version of Hamlet while Doran directed a 2009 version of Hamlet. In the exchange of dialogue between Hamlet and the ghost in Act I Scene V, Branagh and Doran interpret this key moment differently based on the era of the time. These films have various differences in the scene and this can be seen through the use of the directors’ editing, mise en scene, and music.
Branagh and Doran use editing in the scene to enhance the overall viewing of the audience. The ghost tells Hamlet “Sleeping within my orchard,/My custom always of the afternoon,/Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole/With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,/And in the porches of my ears did pour/The leperous distilment, whose effect/Holds such an enmity with blood of man…” (1. 5. 59-79). Here, Branagh chooses to use flashbacks to illustrate King Hamlet’s back-story of how Claudius killed him to the audience. Furthermore, in the conversation between Hamlet and the ghost, the main purpose is for the ghost to tell Hamlet to revenge for Claudius’s horrible murder (1. 5. 1-91). In this exchange of dialogue, Branagh does not cut out
Instead, Doran chooses to have the viewers watch Hamlet’s and the ghost’s interaction. This does not give the audience background information on what happened to King Hamlet before the play. Moreover, the ghost says to Hamlet “And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed/That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,/Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear.” (1. 5. 32-34) The director’s choice to edit out and shorten this dialogue from the play emphasizes the main point that Doran is trying to get across to the