Reflection: "To Be or Not To Be"

     Each of the settings of the scenes vary in their own ways.  For example the Olivier version Hamlet is on top of rocks showing little emotion during his speech.  In the other version he is in the catacombs of the castle, where his body language and emotions reall show.  In the version where he is staring in the mirror he is almost talking to himself which is what I believe the speech is about, the inner battle.  In the final more modern version he is walking through a blockbustern which I find a smart move on the directors part because he goes through the action section with the televisions playing destructive scenes in the backround.  The music is rather eerie in most of the scenes which really sets a darker mood.  In the first version it is black and white so lighting is hard to tell, in the Mel Gibson version the lighting is perfect as it is dark and sets the mood.  In the last 2 versions the lighting is brighter which doesn't set a good mood. 
     A big symbol used throughout the Olivier version and the Branaugh version is the dagger.  The dagger plays a very big role when mention in the speech but the directors decide to bring it out as an prop and use it which works very well in my opinion.  I believe that every version other than the  Zeffirelli version shows little emotion.  Mel Gibson shows the most emotion and reall grasps what the speech is really about.  The other 3 version show very little emotion which can be percieved as how Shakespeare intended it but I believe they should have been more passionate. 
     There are so many different version of the play because there are so many different ways this play can be percieved.  This shows how many different levels Hamlet works on and how the different minds of directors work and how they see it.  No one will ever know how Shakespeare intended it and because of that it allows directors to put their own twist on the matter.  The version I liked the most was the Zeffirelli version.  This is because I believe it was the most effective.  The combination of the lighting and setting really worked well for this scene.  Also the passion that Mel Gibson showed whilst reciting the speech really was effective in showing what the it all was really about.
    

Hamlet Ghost Scene Comparison

Between the three movies we watched in class I found the Branagh version to be the most effective.  Even though it was slightly over-dramatic I found that it was appropriate for the situation.  The other two movies we watched really undersold the intensity of the scene and for me made it seem like it wasn't a huge deal that Hamlet's uncle killed his father.  In Branagh's version it shows how angry the ghost of his father is and how much he wants for his son to get revenge.
     It is hard for me to picture Hamlet in a modern time like they tried to portray in the Almereyda version.  It just seems like a bad spoof to me since the scene is taking place in a hotel room, and there is a man walking around dabbing his bloody ear with a napkin.  The Zeffirelli version was very boring and didn't compare to the Branagh version.  Branagh should have toned it down a bit, but still was better than the other two versions we watched in class.