Zeffirelli And Hamlet Comparative Essay

To play one of Shakespeare’s most complex roles successfully on stage or on screen has been the aspiration of many actors. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been the focus on various accounts throughout the 20th Century, each actor attempting to bring something unique and unmarked to the focal character. Franco Zeffirelli and Kenneth Branagh, both film directors, introduce varying levels of success on the screen through downright differences in ways of translation and original ideas. Zeffirelli’s much shorter interpretation of the film is able to convey the importance of Hamlet as a masterwork by using modern approaches to film but still capturing the traditional work behind Shakespeare’s well-known play.

Kenneth Branagh made it seem like Hamlet was following his father’s orders even though in the play he wasn’t. This made the audience feel better about Hamlet because he was actually taking action. Although Kenneth’s version of Hamlet’s character took action it is not as tragic as Hamlet’s character in the play because by Hamlet not taking action it shows how sensitive and hurt he was.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been portrayed several times during the past centuries but what distinguishes each piece of work is how the directors approached the play. Hamlet without doubt is a troubled man overcome with the death of his father and the discovery that us uncle-now step father murdered his late father, the king of Denmark. Kenneth Branagh’s and Gregory Doran’s portrayals of the famous closet scene demonstrates two extremes of Hamlet’s relationship with his mother Gertrude.

In the end, we see that Hamlet's inability to act indeed causes his fall, and that his failure costs him not only his life, but also his mother's. In the final scene, Hamlet duels with Laertes, who has conspired with the King to kill Hamlet. In the King's attempt to kill Hamlet, he accidentally poisons the Queen. Laertes delivers the fatal wound to Hamlet with a sword dipped in a deadly poison and it is only with his final life breath that Hamlet finally kills the King. This does not mean that Hamlet has finally acted-he has only reacted to what is happening to him. If Hamlet had initially carried out his

Comparison of Set Designs of Hamlet Film Adaptations During the many years since the production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there has been a considerable amount of film adaptations that recreate the well-known tragedy. They vary in terms of the way it is portrayed by the director, how successful the actors are able to recreate the emotions, staging, music, design, and all factors of movie production. The play was well interpreted in both the film adaptations of 1996, directed by Kenneth Branagh and the one directed by Franco Zeffirelli, in 1990.

The notion that it is possible to perfectly capture Hamlet on screen is ludicrous, at best. This, however, is what draws so many filmmakers to take the challenge, and work their hardest at capturing the full gravity of the tragedy. While many of these films take liberties with scenes, lines, and characters, upon closer analysis, it becomes apparent what scenes make Hamlet so powerful. It is, then, important to see the different choices, throughout different films, and see what makes them so significant to the respective adaptation. A great example of a strong presentation is Kenneth Branagh’s film, as it brings the classic aspect paired with strong acting.

In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare we clearly see the theme Action vs. Inaction. Both versions, directed by Kenneth Branagh and Franco Zeffirelli, portray this theme in different ways. Hamlet often has to make decisions that could make a large impact, such as following a ghost, planning a play, and killing Claudius. It’s all about the actions he takes or doesn’t take, and the way the directors interpret Hamlet’s choices.

Unlike many other adaptations of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Franco Zeffirelli’s version is unique in the manner in which the character of Hamlet is portrayed. Unlike the tone that Shakespeare sets for the protagonist in his original play (and therefore the tone that many major directors base their adaptations on) Zeffirelli paints Hamlet in an extremely upbeat light. He strays away from the norm of depicting the character a lost soul—doomed, in a sense, from the very start, and instead chooses to give audiences a healthy and happy Hamlet, who has “nothing fundamentally awry until everything in his life goes wrong in one swift motion”, as film critic Robert Ebert writes. Mel Gibson is known for his robust and physical acting style and on-stage

Branaugh interpreted Hamlet as a man placed in difficult circumstances, trying to outwit perpetual scheming and sort out what his plan of action should be. He believed that Hamlet’s fatal flaw was his over thinking. The message of his father’s ghost “to avenge his most foul and unnatural murder” (Shakespeare 1.5.25) presses Hamlet’s intellect to its limits. Hamlet wants to do the right thing. The suspense is in trying to decide right from wrong. Hamlet despite wishing to avoid the “morally repulsive action” (Aichinger, par 4) of revenge, he feels the duty to avenge his father’s death. As Foster says, “Hamlet has, after all, been a student of theology at Wittenberg, and his knowledge complicates the situation (Foster, par. 14). Hamlet’s environment is one filled with secrecy and subterfuge and Branaugh uses imagery to convey this sense. The imagery he uses includes black and white tiled floors that create the illusion of a chess board. Chess is a game of strategy and cunning that reflects the deceit and strategy that are so prevalent around Hamlet. There are many two way mirrors and hidden passages, and some doors are even disguised as bookshelves. In the film we see the King

“Give me your pardon, Sir”(Shakespeare 261). Those were the exact words the Hamlet said to Laertes before the match. William Shakespeare Hamlet is the original play and it explained perfectly and leaves us with a powerful shocking ending. Kenneth Branagh, and Franco Zeffirelli are both directors that also have presented movies based on the original. Branagh’s Hamlet best displayed the original Hamlet for many reasons.

Laurence Olivier (1948) and Kenneth Branagh (1996) both created films about the Shakespearean play Hamlet, yet they are both very different. The two films were created fifty years apart and present their film using their own perspectives and interpretations of Shakespeare’s Hamlet while using the same themes Shakespeare had. Two important themes are the use of technology and treatment of women.

With Hamlet’s tragic flaw being his inability to act, he is plagued throughout the play by his immense intelligence and philosophical nature, which causes him to overanalyze each situation, rendering him unable to carry out any action in response. This is evident in the play by the frequent delay of acting out his father’s revenge due to the uncertainty of the evidence pertaining to his uncle’s crime. Hamlet’s inability to act creates a discourse between hamlet and his consciousness, generating an abundance of stress, which causes him to become increasingly frustrated as the play progresses. This frustration leads to him at moments in the play to behave in a rash and impulsive way or acting in an inappropriate manner, contradicting his methodical and reserved disposition. It is the consequences of these “inappropriate” actions that resurfaces at the plays end, to haunt the character, as Hamlet’s inability to act while using his renowned logic and intelligence ultimately leads to his eventual demise at the plays conclusion, due to his inability to act both “effectively” and “appropriately” in critical situations.

Hamlet’s indecision and inaction is what leads to more deaths than intended through the course of the play. In the end, Hamlet fashions himself into a knight as a result of his intense sacrifice. Not only did Hamlet has to endure the loss of his father but as a result of his inaction, he directly caused the deaths of Polonius, Laertes, Gertrude, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. Hamlet also was allusively involved in the deaths of his star crossed lover Ophelia and Gertrude. It is important to consider that if Hamlet stood his ground and killed Claudius then he would have regained his kingdom, Ophelia

The theatrical representation of Hamlet is one of mystery, action, character development, but most importantly, tragedy. A considerable amount of people hold a common belief that the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare is a tragedy, due to the fact that all the main characters perish at the end of the play. An individual might take this stance on this argument upon first hearing. However, the reality of the situation is that there are numerous parts of the play that show that this statement is not only incorrect, but an oversimplified version of the bigger truth. Further investigation into this topic will reveal that, in fact, the decisions the characters make throughout the duration of the play is where the true tragedy builds up.

Hamlet has to deal with the death of his dad as well as the fact that his uncle is behind the doing. He has self thoughts on how he is a coward for not getting revenge for his father and that makes him choke sometimes on his actions, since he's feeling so many different emotions he releases a dark side to him.”Sir, there's nothing you can take from me that I wouldnt rather