After reading William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, I had the chance to view, in class, Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet. It was truly a pleasant evening observing the movie in class, for the reason that I was able to evaluate the difference between the movie and what I’ve interpreted about the play myself. It was tough, however, I was able to grab hold of several different ways on how the director modify sections of the play and positioned them into the movie. At first, the age of the movie caught my eye. The movie was made in 1948. My mother wasn’t even born yet! After watching the movie for the first time, it had to be the greatest movie available at that time.
Movie wise, I was surprised how the picture looked in detail, the acting was decent, and the special effects were good. The only thing I dislike was the way Hamlet’s father, the ghost, looked. The costume itself was dreadful, but for that period of time, am assuming that was cool! In the beginning of the movie, you see a fashionable burial about to begin, and you hear an introduction from a speaker. He made a quote, which I especially enjoyed. He said, “This tragedy is about a man who couldn’t decide.” Consequently, it’s hundred percent true. This was one of the two best things I thought regarding the movie.
To a large extent, I also enjoyed the graveyard scene very much. I don’t know why, because I hate graveyards! However, the way the director presented the scene made me feel much more in tune with the movie. I did discover a large number of differences from the movie and the reading of Hamlet. From the beginning to the end, the movie skipped a great deal between parts, several characters weren’t even in the movie, soliloquy’s and lines were moved around, and even characters read other characters parts. Sometimes, I agreed with a skip or even a move, but must of the time I disagreed with it. I like the way the director moved, ” To be or not to be” soliloquy to the top of the castle over looking the ocean instead of Hamlet entering to speak with Ophelia.
At the same time, I disliked the way the director cut out certain characters out of the movie. I thought all the characters should have been part of the movie. I truly detest the way Hamlet kisses his mother, the queen, on the lips. I can understand a tiny peck on the lips here-and-there but not a two-minute tongue kiss.
I also disliked the way Hamlet kills Claudius, the king, stabbing him continuously on chest with his sword. This is cheap revenge compared to making the king drink the poisonous drink that killed Hamlet’s mother, the Queen. Another dislike was the way Polonius was played. The actor was too old for the role and they made him look like a kind and caring old man. The Queen was too young for the role. At first, I thought Gertrude was Ophelia.
Horatio was too soft spoken compared to the readings, which Horatio showed he was louder and more out spoken. The rest of the characters were great. For some strange reason, I really liked the way the actor portrayed L aerates in the movie. However, watching the movie and reading the play provided me with a better perceptive of a Shakespearean tragedy. How each line represents a paragraph and how a play can be change into many different views, meanings, and images.
At the end of the movie, Horatio leads a group of soldiers caring Hamlet’s body to his Grave. A man who couldn’t decide! Notes: 1. The way Hamlet held the sword during the swearing of Horatio and Marcellus. Hamlet held the sword by the blade and the handle was in the up position. The handle of the sword resembled a cross. 2.
I only heard the ghost tell Horatio and Marcellus to swear once. In the readings, the ghost mentions it four times. 3. In the Movie, Hamlet passes out after the ghost fades away in the darkness. He awakes and begins to speak out loud to himself. Eventually, hamlet finds his way to Horatio and Marcellus.
From the readings, I imagined something different from this. I imagined that Hamlet was speaking out loud without passing out when the ghost fades a way and in time, Horatio and Marcellus meet up with Hamlet instead. 4. There’s no spy meeting between Reynaldo and Polonius compared to the play. 5. Ophelia wasn’t asked by Polonius, “What’s wrong.” She just thought about what happened between hamlet and her.
6. I like the way the director moved Hamlet’s line, ” Oh, I die, Horatio” to the end of Hamlet’s last words. 7. After the death of Polonius, soldiers surround the king when he speaks to Hamlet. 8. The Queen takes Ophelia lines as she drowns to death in the water.
9. When the King requested lights during the play, Hamlet quickly comes to him and shoves a flaming torch in his face. 10. The others watching the play start to glimpse at the King questioning themselves. 11.
Hamlet forces Ophelia to sit before the play. 12. Hamlet is alone with the King as he prays. Hamlet gets right behind him and raises his sword above is head and notices a statue of Jesus hanging on the cross.
Hamlet begins to think before doing and decides not to kill the king, because the king might go to heaven if killed during praying. 13. No mention of Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Reynaldo, Volte mand and Cornelius. I did hear young Fortinbras name once, but it had nothing to do with the movie. 14.
In the movie, Hamlet listened to the meeting between the Queen, King, and Polonius. Later, Hamlet enters the room reading a book. 15. I imagined that the castle was near the ocean but in the movie the ocean sits right below the castles walls. 16.
An image of the dying old king pointing towards his brother, after the bother pours poison in the old kings ear. The same image in the play, pointing the finger. 17. When Polonius tells Ophelia not to see Hamlet anymore, She sees Hamlet at the end of the hallway. 18. In the play, the ghost appeared two times in the ACT 1, Scene I.
In the movie, the ghost appeared only once.