Hamlet

9 Pages 2324 Words

The two different films of Hamlet which I viewed were the films directed by Kenneth Branagh and Franco Zeffirelli. I watched the famous fight scene between Hamlet and Laertes. Though very similar, Branagh and Zeffirelli portrayed this scene in many different aspects, and in specific detail showed their personal thoughts on how this scene should be played. Zeffirelli showed the film better through a more Shakespeare like version. For instance Zeffirelli showed it in an older fashion castle, to where Branagh has it in a palace. Each of these men used things as obvious as the setting, props, and choice of actors as well as the most indiscrete things, such as facial expressions.

The broadest difference in the two films was probably the setting. Branagh’s setting had more of an elaborating setting in what seemed to me a more modern castle. In fact it was not even a castle at all, it was Blenheim Palace. In his setting he has many mirrors, huge chandeliers and whitewalls, carpeted floors which brightened his scene and made it seem more of an upbeat type of a moment which suggested an ironic view of the actions in which were about to take place. Zeffirelli puts his scene in an older type of castle with the brick walls and the use of hard wood floors and the poor lighting giving the feel of a more gloomy depressed setting trying to show the feel of what would happen at the end. Zeffirelli tried to centralize the fight itself mainly to the hard wood slab in which Hamlet and Laertes were battling on. Branagh had the two battle it out on a more elegant thin bright red carpet. This entitles that they shall not fight anywhere but on the carpet and really brings closure on what is happening when they are forced completely away from the carpet. Now you know it is not just a friendly dual anymore, but yet more towards a struggle to survive.

The next thing you must observe is the difference in costumes which Branagh and Zeffirelli had ch...