Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Hamlet's Dillema Response

For so long, Hamlet has planned to end Claudius' life once and for all. By doing so, he will restore his father's honor by avenging his death and re-taking the throne that was rightfully his' once done successfully. One chance of killing him, that one and could be the only chance, was refused. I do agree with his decision because he would lose the credibility of his "insane" behaviors if he murdered Claudius in cold-blood without any evidence to show everyone.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Popular Quotes/Lines: "To be or no to be..."

"To be or not to be, that is the question..."


Yes, that quote is from Shakespeare's Hamlet. This quote was used/referenced by many modern shows/movies an has been referenced throughout many books. The quote itself portrays Hamlet's plan to take his life with his own hands as he also doubts himself of doing so with the combination of logic and religious beliefs. In this scene, he talks to himself as he was about to take his own life. There were four versions of the movie, each has its own unique interpretation of the scene by how the scene should be manipulated by emotions and how it is acted.

First, from a B&W version of Hamlet in Olivier's perspective. In this scene shows Hamlet on a top of a castle tower with a dagger in his hand. I thought that this is the closest portrayal of Hamlet into almost killing himself. He pointed his dagger right into his chest as an attempt to commit suicide. Fused with the suspenseful background music and the way Olivier acted creates an image a reader could possibly imagine while reading Hamlet.

In Zeffirelli's version, the scene was taken place in a catacomb. The setting of the place sets up the mood of the scene in most part and the only highlight of the scene from my POV. I was unimpressed by the portrayal of the scene from this version due to lack of emotions coming from Hamlet and the acting was mediocre. I personally like Mel Gibson and the movies he did, but this one did not felt the same.

  Almereyda's version was taken place in the Blockbusters. I liked the way how the scene was interpreted more of as a form of self-mockery rather than accepting defeat like the previous versions I mentioned. I also liked the creative way of setting up the scene in the most unlikeliest place one could ever imagine when putting Hamlet in the modern-era. Small details can sometimes sets up the scene such as the ACTION aisle and the movie being played on the television. Also, I find Hamlet's style hilarious. Personally, I do not care about fashion but the HAT made me chuckle, especially he is wearing a formal attire. HAVE YOU SEEN HIS HAT?!

Lastly, we look at Branaugh's version. The scene was taken place in a mansion (or the throne room, I can't tell) surrounded by mirrors. In my opinion, this version actually follows what is in the book since the scene did mention other characters spying on Hamlet. To me, this version stood out from the rest of the other versions because of how different the actor portrays Hamlet in this scene. I felt that Branaugh's Hamlet shows more maturity and power than the other versions. While other versions mentioned portrays Hamlet in the scene as weak and shows the acceptance of defeat and self-mockery, this one shows how strong the character of Hamlet really is. The way he talks, the way he shows emotions, and his body language almost shows Hamlet as an immovable object although the character portrayed in the book shows how immature Hamlet is since he was thinking and acting according to his emotions.