Preview

The similarities and differences between two movies of the play Hamlet

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
779 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The similarities and differences between two movies of the play Hamlet
William Shakespeare's Hamlet has been remade a number of times in film and in plays. I recently watched two movies of Hamlet directed by different people. The directors add little things to make it their own interpretation of the play Hamlet. Some directors like to emphasize different scenes for instance. The Hamlet movies that I watched were one directed by Kenneth Branagh, and one by Franco Zeffirelli. The directors in each of these had their own way of telling the story of Hamlet.

The first one I watched was by Franco Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli is well known for making Shakespeare plays into movies and making them very accurate to the play. This case was not an exception, Zeffirelli made his version of Hamlet very accurately. He made it in the right period of time, and he rarely missed a scene. Although one part of the play that was missing was the whole story about Fortinbras. The beginning was also different from the play. In the movie, he began with a funeral for King Hamlet, as opposed to the guards seeing King Hamlet's ghost. I think the way Zeffirelli made the movie very accurate to Hamlet was the way he made set look so much like it should in that time period. The castle that was used was very dark looking also, which made the movie more tragic. The performances by the actors in this movie were very intense and true to the characters. I felt that this movie was exactly how I would have pictured Hamlet played out in my head.

The second version of Hamlet that I watched was directed by Kenneth Branagh. This movie did a great job at actually telling the story of Hamlet. Branagh made the story very easy to understand by the way he directed it. While a character was describing something, or telling a story about something, you would actually see it going on so you could understand it more. I really liked that. It helped to keep the story moving and to lighten it a little. Sometimes it is hard to concentrate on what the characters are saying because of how the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nothing quite beats the directing of Kenneth Branagh, as we all know based on his 1996 Hamlet and his 1989 Henry V and Hamlet does not quite outshine Henry V, both films are equally amazing to watch, Henry V, won an Academy Award for costuming, ie Phyllis Dalton, and Branagh’s debut. The film also received Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Director. Although the film was critically acclaimed, there were several flaws that made the film less desirable for some audience members.…

    • 83 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Modern day directors use a variety of methods to hold ones interest. Ethan Hawke and Kenneth Branagh's created versions of Hamlet that shared some similarities, but ultimately had many differences in respects to an audience's appeal. An appealing movie is one that has an alluring ambiance and an intellectual stimulus. With these two movie versions, a setting and a mood forced an audience to acquire specific emotions, but Ethan Hawke's version generated emotions more strongly and effectively. Also, these movies had extremely different uses of music and visuals, but both movie versions incorporated them well for the ambiance it tried to obtain. Finally, both movie versions drew characters to captivate the audience; however in Ethan Hawke's version, the characters were used so effectively that it was easy to feel involved with them. While both these versions of Hamlet had a captivating ambiance, Ethan Hawke's version was more appealing due to the intellectual incentive that it offered.…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Recently, we watched the first 30 to 40 minutes of the Disney classic, the Lion King. However, it was revealed by our substitute that The Lion King may actually be inspired by an infamous Shakespeare play. After doing some quick digging online, the Shakespeare play in question was revealed to be Hamlet. And after doing some more digging, the differences are hard to ignore.…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The widely admired work of William Shakespeare has been, over the span of decades, adapted into films which originate from the same source but differ in context and means of portrayal. Filmmakers, as generations grow and society evolves, must master the art of successfully reaching out and empathizing with differing audiences whilst taking in the social, cultural and economic values widely appropriated by societies, into serious consideration. Kenneth Branagh directed and interpreted his adaptations of Hamlet by Shakespeare. Branagh, in his adaptation (1996), have interpreted Act 5, Scene 1, quite distinctly in means of sound/music, costumes and make up, lighting, camera angles and shot compositions, and editing. All of these factors are relevant…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the movie The Lion King, there are major differences that occur also in between with Hamlet. The Lion King is one of Disney’s most well-known movie and also a favorite to not only adult audiences but to children. It is one of Disney’s most loved films also because it showed animals, love, and how to sing Hakuna Matata. But did you know that The Lion King and Shakespeare’s play Hamlet have the same characteristics and qualities between each other? There are many differences with these two, but these both coincide with each other.…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Two completely different kingdoms about two completely different types of species can be more in common than someone would think. Character is a suicidal, depressed Prince of Denmark and the other a singing, animated young prince of the jungle. How does William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet relate to the Disney movie, The Lion King? Although Simba, the main character in The Lion King has an ending that is more compatible with its juvenile audience, and Hamlet’s ending was literally deadly. They both have to go head to head with their evil uncles and they must overcome moral conflict within themselves. Simba and Hamlet have their obvious difference but also share more unique traits in their stories than some would think.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The famous play, “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, have been adapted into two movies. Zeffirelli directed a historical portrayal of the film, and Luhrmann directed a modern interpretation of the film. Both versions were portrayed in Shakespeare’s original text. Each movie had use a different approach when it came to setting, props and mood.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Book Vs Movie

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages

    For example when Hamlet is talking to Ophelia while she is trying to give his belongings back it seems that the Hamlet is just insulting her in a calm manner but in the novel,but as we see in the film we see that he i very angry while he is saying Hamlet says “Go. Farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry,/ marry a fool, for wise men know well enough/ what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and/ quickly too. Farewell”(III.i.138-142). Seeing hamlet full of anger and sadness in the film it is shown by crying and screaming seeing him do this helps show how much pain he is going threw with his father dead and his uncle marrying his mother. The novel cannot show much emotion because it is expressed in words in Hamlet's soliloquies he speaks on how he needs to avenge his father but never does because he is too much of a coward, when Hamlet is speaking there is so much anger and sadness that he is going thru you can not tell if he sad or if he is just angry in the novel the film showed that the novel couldn't, all the reader could tell is that hamlet misses his…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Michael Almereyda's Hamlet is a modernization of the old play originally written by William Shakespeare. Almereyda’s version of Hamlet is an up and down version of Shakespeare’s indefinite place in the 21st century. In many ways I think that the modernized version of Hamlet is easier to appreciate but in retrospect that diminishes the play’s “greatness,” in my opinion. The producer did a great job making Hamlet “user friendly” for today’s audience, but at what cost?…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hamlet Rhetorical Analysis

    • 1632 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In spite of the fact that the plot evokes the implication that it occurred between the close of 16th century and the start of the 17th century, Shakespeare’s Hamlet surpasses the constraints of time and muses upon both the primitive and contemporary man. In the late 16th century in England, people of all classes on the social echelon, with the exception of royals, were able to publicly eyewitness theatre. Audiences craved new plays to assuage their appetites. One of numerous dramatists that capitalized this abundance of opportunity was Shakespeare. Opposed to the modern time, audiences spectated the play to hear it rather than see it. The articulation of the lines and significance of how the story was recited was crucial…

    • 1632 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Film Analysis

    • 1386 Words
    • 6 Pages

    What would happen if an aunt or uncle murders a parent that belongs to them, to benefit from something such as their bank account? Shakespeare's famous play, Hamlet exemplifies what a tragedy genre is and is a very popular play that has been studied since 1604 ("Hamlet"). In this play that takes place in the Elizabethan era, Hamlet discovers that his uncle, Claudius, murders his father in his sleep, by pouring poison in his ear, all this information is said to Hamlet through the ghost of his father. Every good child who respects their parents, will seek to avenge for them, like Hamlet, they will develop a hatred towards the murderer and plot ways to rat them out, but many are afraid of the consequences and as a result, they shy away and choose…

    • 1386 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The two movie versions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that are directed by Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh have similarities and differences. The similarities include how Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother because of her sudden marriage after the death of his father. The differences include how Hamlet is portrayed as a character. Olivier uses the Hamlet’s relationship with Gertrude and his soliloquy to portray Hamlet as confused, whereas Branagh uses the same dynamics to portray Hamlet as furious.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    David Tennant's Hamlet

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The BBC’s great performances production of Hamlet is a unique contemporary adaption of Shakespeare’s play. The film was directed by Gregory Doran and starred David Tennant and Sir Patrick Stewart. Despite the change in time setting and other small adjustments made to the film more appealing for the small screen, Doran’s adaption of Hamlet was intriguing and stayed true to the overall feel of the Shakespeare’s play.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Essay

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, through his protagonist, he explores ideas relating to conflict. Using detailed textual evidence, how has your personal response to Hamlet been shaped through the composers use of dramatic techniques?…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Best Mousetrap Scene The production of the Mousetrap variant I liked best was Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation. I enjoyed Branagh’s portrayal of Hamlet best because his imitation of Hamlet during the play seemed as if his actions were not planned. For instance, when Hamlet boorishly spoke to Ophelia his tone made the scene feel realistic. I also enjoyed how he adjourned the play several times to emphasize what is going to happen next.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics