11/10/2022 0 Comments Kenneth branagh hamlet![]() ![]() Olivier’s Claudius is shown to be unsympathetic to his nephew/son in law’s woes, coldly dismissing him. The establishment of Claudius’ relationship with Hamlet during the scene where Gertrude consoles her son over his grief is also handled quite differently in both versions. He is forced to confront his actions with dozens of his most important subjects watching, reducing him to a statue and rendering his request to leave a mere murmur. Branagh’s Claudius is shown in a wide shot surrounded by the audience. While Olivier’s Claudius is shown in dramatic close-up screaming “Give me some light!” upon his realization of the play’s significance, Branagh instead keeps Claudius at a quiet distance. Olivier gets to the most important aspect of the scene in a simple and effective way while drastically shortening the scene’s length. Olivier stages the scene as a long wordless panning shot that slowly comes to stop in a close-up of Claudius’ shaken expression. The play is staged as a mimed performance, with all of the actors dialogue eliminated. The most notable example of this is during the staging of The Murder of Gonzago. Olivier also cuts out dialogue, such as Polonius’ exclamation of “I am slain”, in order to better tell the story through images. The elimination of these important subplots drastically streamlines the narrative. ![]() The most notable changes being the complete absence of the characters of Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Fortinbras. While Branagh retained all of the dialogue from the original text, Olivier made drastic cuts to the plot for his adaptation. Perhaps the biggest difference comes from not where the films are set, but by how much they decided to keep when adapting the play the screen. The widescreen cinematography and vibrant art direction also gives the film a scope and scale that enhances the play’s themes of vengeance and political maneuvering, while still staying focused on the title character. This reflects Hamlet’s sense of emotional starkness and state of isolation of his father’s death. The high key lighting and bright white snow contrast with Hamlet’s perpetually black attire. The environment unrealistically reacting to Hamlet’s personality draws a connection between Hamlet’s surroundings and his inner being.īranagh’s setting takes place in the late 19 th/early 20 th century, and favors brightly lit interiors, snowy exteriors, and vibrant colors over moody darkness and black and white photography. Hamlet is shown in a wide shot as the lights around him suddenly dim, leaving him alone in a spotlight. This connection is further enhanced when Hamlet excitedly declares his intention to himself to stage a play to test Claudius’ guilt. This helps make the dark setting an extension of Hamlet’s troubled and grief stricken psyche. Olivier favors low-key lighting to create ominous shadows that fill the cavernous set. Olivier’s version is set in a gothic castle during the late middle ages/renaissance. The first noticeable difference between the two films is their cinematography and mise-en-scene. this post will be taking a look at how the two versions chose to adapt the play to the screen. While it is debatable which version is the more successful movie, what is not debatable is that the two versions have a very different approach in adapting play. Both versions featured their director in the titular role, and both versions were highly acclaimed for offering a bold and cinematic take on the famous source material. While it has had numerous film adaptations, perhaps the most notable ones are the 1948 film version directed by Laurence Olivier, and the 1996 version directed by Kenneth Branagh. ![]() Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and enduring plays. ![]()
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