Yan Yaroshevich

9/9/10
2nd period

Hamlet Film Analysis

In all three versions of the play, there are some similarities in the way in which

Hamlet and his father’s ghost are portrayed during their first encounter, and the depiction

of events in the play, but the films mostly contrast in the play’s tone, and the characters’

personalities. The similarities and the contrasting in the characters and their personalities

are shown by the director’s choice of lines for them, their actions, speech pattern, and

their emphasis on certain lines or words. The depiction of events, although mostly

similar, varies slightly in the different versions, again by the author’s choice of lines. The

tone of the events varies drastically in each version of the play, which is shown by the

director’s choice in which scenes to include, such as flashbacks. It is also shown by the

pace of the events, and by the choice of the background music in the scene.

In Lawrence Oliver’s Hamlet, it is shown that Hamlet senses the ghost, and as

soon as he does, his heart begins to beat fast, as dramatic music begins playing, and the

film zooms in on Hamlet as the screen blurs erratically. The music stops abruptly as

Horatio warns Hamlet of the appearance of the ghost, and Hamlet falls into the arms of

Horatio and Marcellus. When Hamlet wishes to pursue the ghost, Horatio and Marcellus

try to hold him back, but he breaks free and threatens them with his sword. He follows

the ghost up a staircase, while holding his sword up, with the blade towards the ground.

The ghost looks mysterious and ominous, shrouded in fog, and whispering in a soft yet

eerie voice. He tells the story of his murder through a flashback, in which the edges of the

screen are also covered in fog. As the ghost leaves, he steps back and the area is filled
again with fog, and Hamlet reaches out to him. At this point, Hamlet’s fast heartbeat, and

the dramatic music resumes, until he falls back on the ground. Hamlet’s first steps

towards insanity are apparent in this scene, shown by his beating heart, the dramatic

music, and the camera angles used in the beginning and end of the scene (zooming in at

the beginning, and zooming out at the end). His madness is also shown when he points

his blade towards his companions Horatio and Marcellus. It is appropriate to show this

because the appearance of the ghost is what leads to Hamlet’s insanity in the play. It is

also important to note that he still appears normal during the rest of the scene, while the

ghost is talking to him. The fact that he carries his sword pointing down shows his

willingness to be peaceful with the ghost, and also his faith in the fact that this is indeed

the ghost of his father, who would not harm him. Everything about the ghost himself is

mysterious, suggesting that at least some of what he is saying may be coming from

Hamlet’s mind. The overall tone in this scene depicted by the music, and the ghost’s

appearance, is mysterious as well as melancholy.

In Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet, the ghost appears suddenly as Hamlet is talking to

Horatio and Marcellus. As soon as this happens, dramatic music begins, and a fast paced

dialogue ensues between Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus about whether he should follow

the ghost, in which eventually Hamlet raises his voice and points his blade at them. He

chases the ghost, running through a dark forest, while shouting a soliloquy about his

father’s death, almost chanting it to the accompanying, now louder, dramatic music. As

this happens, the image quickly cuts back and forth from Hamlet running, eruptions of

smoke through the forest, his father’s dead body, and the ghost himself. The pace slows

down when the ghost begins to talk. When the ghost talks to him, he appears threatening
at first, with an evil, unnatural voice, striking Hamlet and knocking him against a tree,

but his voice gradually changes into a loud whisper and he appears more innocuous as he

is telling Hamlet about his memories with Gertrude and about his death. The emphasis on

his blue eyes also suggests innocence. There is a flashback showing King Hamlet and

Gertrude happily together, and another showing Claudius’s murder of the king. When the

ghost must leave, Hamlet reaches out and grabs his hand, just before he disappears. The

tone of this scene begins as erratic, shown by the fast paced dialogue and music, and the

frequent image changes, but it later becomes more calm, as the flashbacks are being

recalled. Hamlet’s madness is also shown in this version, by Hamlet’s drawing of his

sword toward Horatio and Marcellus, and by his loud speech as he talks to them and as he

runs through the forest. However, he appears to be sane as he listens to the ghost, and

after the ghost leaves. The flashbacks in the scene are very clear, suggesting that they

happened just as the king recalled them.

In Franco Zeffirelli’s Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus become immediately

frightened at the sight of the ghost and jump back, and Horatio whispers to Hamlet that it

is coming. The ghost, who doesn’t look any different than the other characters, quietly

beckons for Hamlet to follow him. Hamlet draws his sword here as well, threatening

Horatio and Marcellus when they try to advise him against following the ghost. Hamlet

follows him down a long hallway, with his sword drawn, until he loses sight of the ghost.

When he turns around, he sees the ghost, and drops his sword out of fear. The ghost, who

is calm but sad, explains his death to Hamlet. No flashbacks are used; instead the ghost

uses hand gestures and facial expressions to convey pain. There is no prominent

background music. The tone of this scene is somber, but not quite melancholy, as shown
by the ghost’s speech and expressions. There is nothing abnormal about Hamlet’s

personality during this part of the film. The ghost is very plausible in this version because

of his resemblance to a normal person. This scene is not a very effective interpretation, as

its lack of diversity in the characters’ voices and personalities takes away form the appeal

of the play, and the tone is not a very strong one.

Similarities in all three versions of the play included the ghost’s mood, Hamlet’s

initial reaction to the ghost, and his dialogue with Horatio and Marcellus. The ghost’s

mood is sad in all three versions, although it is hard to distinguish in Lawrence Oliver’s

version. Hamlet’s initial reaction to seeing the ghost is fear in each version. The line

“Look, my lord, it comes” by Horatio is also mentioned in all three versions, although

worded differently. Hamlet’s dialogue with Horatio and Marcellus is included in each

version, and each version includes the line “…do not go with it” by Marcellus. Hamlet

also threatens them both with his sword in each version. Differences in the versions

included the depiction of the ghost, Hamlet’s sanity, the depiction of events, and the tone

of each version. The ghost is depicted as mysterious in Lawrence Oliver’s version,

threatening, but later innocent in Kenneth Branagh’s version, and simply sad in Franco

Zeffirelli’s version. Franco Zeffirelli’s version differs with the other two versions in that

the events are just recalled by the king, with no flashbacks. The flashback in Kenneth

Branagh’s version differs from that in Lawrence Oliver’s because it also includes the

memories that the king had with Gertrude. The tone is most prominent difference

between the versions: mysterious, erratic, and somber for Lawrence Oliver’s, Kenneth

Branagh’s, and Franco Zeffirelli’s versions respectively. Overall the film versions had
much more differences than similarities, and Kenneth Branagh’s version is the best

depiction because it vividly depicts Hamlet and the ghost, and has a powerful tone.