The Two Hamlet Movies Differ in Major Relationships, the Settings, and the Director’s Choices

Thesis: The two Hamlet movies differ in Major Relationships, the Settings, and the Director’s Choices.

Depiction of Major Relationships:

Kenneth Branagh’s movie:

1. Claudius and Gertrude: Hug each other, Holding hands. Gertrude seems to suspect Claudius of something. When he was talking to her once, she refused to talk to him.

2. Hamlet and Ophelia: Passionate, and they care about each other. It is suggested that they slept together. Ophelia and Hamlet seem more mature because they are older.

3. Hamlet and Gertrude: A little bit of abuse, and disrespect towards Gertrude when Hamlet was pretending to be mad. In the end, he does care about her because he talks about repenting her sins.

4. Hamlet and Claudius: Hate each other, there are a lot of awkward pauses. Claudius wants Hamlet dead.

Franco Zeffirelli’s movie:

1. Claudius and Gertrude: More passionate, incestuous. Kiss each other a lot, Gertrude seems to love him.

2. Hamlet and Ophelia: More formal relationship, they don’t seem to love each other a lot. He still seems angry when she doesn’t respond to him. More of an infatuation.

3. Hamlet and Gertrude: Hamlet is rough with his mother. Too loving at times, they kiss. He doesn’t seem to care about her too much.

4. Hamlet and Claudius. Seem to hate each other more. Hamlet keeps making trouble for Claudius.

Settings:

Kenneth Branagh’s movie:

1. Set in Edwardian times. The setting is more of a palace then an old medieval style castle.

2. Ghost meets Hamlet in the forest. The dark and mysterious forest represents the mystery of the ghost and the dark truth about King Hamlet’s death.

3. The palace has bright vibrant colours which contrast well with the dark themes that the play talks about.

Franco Zeffirelli’s movie:

1. Set in medieval times. The setting seems to fit more with the story with being an old castle.

2. Ghost meets Hamlet on top of the castle alone. The top of the castle could represent the closest point to heaven. The fact that it is night represents the mystery of the ghost’s appearance.

3. The castle has dark colours, which represent the dark themes in the play. The colours help to support the different themes.

Director’s Choices:

Kenneth Branagh’s movie: