Reflect on the video of Acts IV and V. What decisions that the director made worked best for you? Overall, how successful was this movie version of the play?
I believe the movie gave a great visual representation of the play. It was nice to see the play acted out in person after reading each act. The movie gave a much more personal touch to the character's lines. Instead of reading each line with the same level of expression, the movie had the actors in character. It helped in knowing if someone was extremely mad, sad, or frustrated. In the last two acts the movie includes things that cannot be seen while reading. For example the scenery when Hamlet is traveling to London. You wouldn't be able to "see" this while reading the book. So overall I beleive the movie gave a great visual composition of the words and how it was acted out. It went well with this unit.
From watching the movie and seeing the director's interpretation of the play, I thought that it was much easier to understand the way that Ophelia was acting when she became insane. In the text of the play, I think that one could not fully understand how insane Ophelia acted when she was singing the erie songs, and discussing flowers with her brother. The movie made these scenes much more haunting, and therefore gave the reader more insight to Laertes astonishment and his reactions to her insanity. These scenes also gave light to why Ophelia may have drowned, whether it was accidental or not. From them one could see that she was obviously insane, and that she may have drowned by mistake, or in her insane state, she may have committed suicide.
The movie always seems much more intense and exciting than the text, which is to be expected. Ophelia's madness for example, is more obvious and vivid in the film. She is shown in a padded room running into the walls. This choice by the director made it clear just how crazy Ophelia had become. The movie also made the kings fear and Leartes' anger more apparent in the scene when Leartes enters followed by a croud of angry people who are shouting that he should be king. The king (Claudius) is obviously afraid as Leartes storms into the room and draws his sword. Overall, I found the film to be a great visual representation of the text. It made the emotions come through the words which had been difficult to understand or recognize the magnitude of the characters emotions just by reading the text. The film also served as a useful way to refresh my memory after break!
After reading through the book, and watching the play after every seen I have learned to finally be able to interpret Shakespeare. When reading the book you dont get quite the same feeling as watching the play because you cannot anticipate the tones in certain characters voices. After watching the play I have much more knowledge in the way Shakespeare wrote and was able to interpret what was going on. As Anna stated with Ophelia, I also didnt realize just how crazy she was until i watched the movie.
The movie was a huge help for me. I love how the showed Ophelia's emotion. When the King and Queen were talking her to. They actor and the director did a great job with Ophelia's speech. She did such a great job, that it kind of help explain what was going on in the play. Because as we were reading aloud in class there defiantly wasn't as much emotion, and I was a little confused as to what was going on. I also think that this version of the video is/was so successful because they didn't cut any scenes or acts out. Not only that but the actors and directors did such a great job portraying the characters.
The director made great decisions about the movement of the characters. Also the tone of their voices. These two things are very important in the portrayal of the mood of each scene. He also matched the characters very well with their lines by directing them to use their hands and bodies to go along with their lines from the play. For example, when Ophelia is in a straight jacket and acting completely crazy in front of her brother, the drama of that scene would not be as significant when we were just reading out of the book. Also her change of voice led us to believe that she had definitely changed because of the previous events. Her voice was very high pitched and off key.
The director made great decisions about the movement of the characters. Also the tone of their voices. These two things are very important in the portrayal of the mood of each scene. He also matched the characters very well with their lines by directing them to use their hands and bodies to go along with their lines from the play. For example, when Ophelia is in a straight jacket and acting completely crazy in front of her brother, the drama of that scene would not be as significant when we were just reading out of the book. Also her change of voice led us to believe that she had definitely changed because of the previous events. Her voice was very high pitched and off key.
In my opinion, the movie version of the play was very well done. It helped to show the movement and attitude of the characters and made it easier to pick up on the emotions of the characters. Based on their tone of voice, you could understand what each character was saying, even without the lines in front of you. I especially liked the scene with the gravedigger. The movie really emphasized the humorous side to the banter between Hamlet and the gravedigger. The viewer is able to see how the gravedigger carelessly throws the old skulls out of the grave and how much Hamlet is affected by Yorick's skull.
I think the greatest decision the director made in the movie "Hamlet" was giving each character a very strong personality. The actors took the personality of their character as they were in the book and then seemed to intensify it. This made the movie more interesting to watch. I thought this version of the play was successful. It helped me understand Shakespeare much better.
The director did a good job of displaying the scene where Ophelia goes crazy. The way that he had her running around and hitting the walls in the room and singing crazily helped to capture just how much she had lost her mind. I liked the movie overall because it was helpful to see the play acted out and it helped me understand some of the scenes that were a little confusing when we read the play. I also thought the movie was interesting enough to keep me watching.
I believe that the video version of the play helped me to understand overall what was going on. I really don't think that watching the movie, even 10 times, would help me remember who said what to who, because it sounds like they are saying the same things over and over again. The only character whose personality was portrayed more in the movie was Ophelia. Her craziness was shown more during the movie than in the book. The emotions Hamlet shows while they were burrying Ophelia seemed more apparent as he proceeded to fight with Laertes. It will be interesting to see how the other character's personalities change and the mood when they all start to die off.
I thought the movie offered a greater insight into the relationship between Hamlet and Laertes and the understanding that Hamlet felt for Laertes situation. Hamlet understands Laertes' sorrow because he too has been in the place of losing a father. The movie did a very good job of showing the emotion that Hamlet felt behind this situation and how closely he felt to Laertes in this situation. I also found that in the scene when Laertes and Hamlet are both going to die that the understanding between them was mutual. It was hard to get such a strong understanding from the book itself, but the movie showed how Laertes finally came to an understanding of Hamlet and the reason behind his actions. Overall i thought that the movie made the emotions much more meaningful than the story did because we could actually see how Laertes and Hamlet interacted with one another.
I think overall the way the play was acted out was really good. I think that majority of the decisions that the director made reflected the text very well. However I think that additional things that weren't mentioned in the text should not have been added. An example is the scene with the statue being taken down at the end which symbolized how the Hamlet family legacy was over and a new one was about to begin. It did not really contradict anything in the book but it didn't really compliment anything I didn't think so it was overall unnecessary. However overall the movie was a really good way to see and understand what was happening in the book.
I think that some of the director's choices in the final scene were really crucial. I had a vague image of the way that Laertes and Hamlet's lives ended, but it was really good to see the way that the director took the final scene, and created his own stage direction for the way that Hamlet and Laerte's were fighting. It was really helpful to see the actual emotions of both Hamlet, Laertes, the King, and Queen as each one uttered their final words.
The movie really brought out the emotion and the tension between the characters for me. While reading the book I never got any strong impressions of emotion or purpose from the lines spoken by the characters. The movie has given me a better idea of how the characters acted throughout the play. I especially liked the scenes with Laertes. He seemed very subdued in the book, a very sad man after learning about his fathers death. But the director gave him life and anger and made acts IV and V much more interesting.
I thought that the movie was a good visual representation of the book. I didn't really enjoy the actor who played Hamlet in the beginning of the movie but as the movie progressed he grew on me and in the end I think he did a good job portraying Hamlet. The best part of the movie for me was when Hamlet threw the sword at the king.
I liked the movie very much. Also since they used the exact script from the play, it was easier to understand what was going on. I grew to like the crazy Hamlet character, the way he says everything fits so well. In the movie I liked how they had the fencing match, in the building, instead of outside like it seemed in the book. It gave a good visual of how Fortinbras kept sneaking in by having them infiltrate the place, and as he closed in the intensity rose there and it rose in the fight between Hamlet and Laertes. The only unbelievable thing abut the movie was how Hamlet threw the sword and it perfectly stabed Claudius in the back, I found that funny.
I liked that they overdid everything that was really important to the play. It made it easier to understand. I also liked that the characters were really well played. Each person brought life to the lines that they had which made it so much easier to understand than the book. It also surprisingly kept me entertained, and I think that if I had to sit down and watch it all at once instead of in segments, it could keep me entertained and I would be able to watch the whole thing.
I agree with a lot of you.. I think it is interesting to see the interpretation of the moment when Ophelia is singing and acting like a crazy person after learning the death of her father. I thought it was very interesting how calm everyone was acting and how they just kind of stared at her as if they wanted to laugh. I thought it was interesting how she didn't really sing most of the lines but spoke them.. just one or two of the last ones were sung which kind of emphasized that her "craziness" was escalating.
I enjoyed the rest of the movie and thought it was a great representation of acts IV and V of the play. I especially liked the fencing scene because it was a good visual of what we had read earlier. The sequence of people dieing followed the book and it turned into an intense scene. I also like the symbolism of the statue being torn down at the end of the movie. In class we talked about what this could represent and it gave a good end to the play.
Personally i really liked the end starting when osric came in to tell hamlet about the king's and laertes' challenge. I thought robin williams did an excellent job on his part. I also enjoyed hamlet throwing the sword through the king and then the chandelier swung down and hit him as well.
Overall I thought the movie had a good representation of the book because there are certain parts in the book that is hard to imagine, but in the movie it helped express the emotions that you wouldn't originally think of. During the last act I thought that the scene when Hamlet was talking to the gravedigger helped me get the feel of how they were expressing themselves to one another.
The movie version of Hamlet was simply excellent. At times, in acts 4 and 5, things were very close to one another and people replied oddly in seemingly haste. However, when we were able to see it acted out (like a true play), it all came together and made sense. We got a full perspective on Ophelia's madness, Hamlet's transition into accepting his fate and becoming determined, and of course the final death scene. Overall, the movie was great and I loved it.
I think that the ending to Hamlet was amazing. I thought the choices that were made to improve the story and make it a little more exciting were great! Little improvments such as the men falling off the staires, Claudious dieing not only from poison but also Hamlet stabing him! It was all very exciting and sad at the same time. I have to say that having Hamlet die in the end actually made me upset because now it will be silent... But yes the movie brought the whole play together and made it much easier to understand and more enjoyable to read.
It was interesting to understand some things in the play like how the death at the end took place and how Ophelia went crazy. I really liked the ending that the director put in about them pulling down old King Hamlet's statue when Fortunbrads came in. I liked watching the movie over all. It was fun.
I really enjoyed watching the movie and thought it was done very well. I really liked how the movie ended with the pulling down of the statue. It seemed to represent the king being released to heaven from his ghostly state. It also helped me to understand what was happening during all the text that we were reading. Overall I thought it was a good thing to do in class.
I like the way the director made Hamlet very sarcastic and how when he was talking to Claudius about how he was his mother since they are one flesh and then the director had Hamlet kiss him. I also like Ophelia's character and how she was really animated and almost over acted when she went crazy after her father died. Overall I thought the movie stuck to almost the exact text and it was nice because it helped me remember certain lines and their meanings. I also thought the actors did a great job on their characters and their personalities.
I really enjoyed the movie version of Hamlet. I liked how they followed the text directly so we were able to have a better understanding of what was going on because we had just read the lines they spoke. It was nice to have a visual of how the play actually played out. The director made some interesting choices sometimes in the way the characters behaved or portrayed a scene. A couple times this happened and it was not the way I had anticipated the scene to happen however it was nice to see the interpretation that the director chose. I also liked the people they chose to play the different characters except for when Robin Williams came in with a small part. I could not take him seriously in the part he played because he usually played in different movies such as comedies. So overall, I really enjoyed the movie and thought it provided a new insight into the reading.
I enjoyed the movie and believed that it was an accurate representation of the play. While reading the book, often times I was so focused on translating and understanding the 'shakespearean' language that I did not grasp the immensity of important scenes. Watching the movie gave me the idea of the emotions in each scene. The part i enjoyed most was watching Ophelia's insanity as well as the end of act 5. While reading, I definately did not see as much emotion as was shown in the play.
I really enjoyed watching the movie as we read the book. When I first read out loud I would get a mental picture of what was going on. However, as we watched the movie I would grasp an even better understanding of the text. Which when I started to go over the notes and parts of the book I could picture the different characters talking to each other very clearly. I especially enjoyed the duel scene. The movie was able to add a lot of information through character development that the text could only cover through scene directions.
Overall the movie was a very good representation of the play. I enjoyed the gravediggers. Not only were they amusing but the scene with Yoric was very well performed. The way that they showed Opelia being crazy really illustrated how far she has degenerated. I thought that they could have done some more flash-backs in a few places to illustrate what had happened a couple of times, like maybe when Ophelia died. But otherwise I enjoyed the film.
I would say that the movie was a great way to see the story in the play really acted out in carefully thought through actions and filming techniques. I will be honest, however, when I say that I was a little disapointed in the film art itself. Shakespear paints such a vivid picture with words that its almost peotry, but in the movie when beautiful "speeches" are being given the movie director chose to do a steady shot of the person speaking instead of doing some interesting or creative filming. For instance in the scene where the queen is talking about the death of Ophilia I was really expecting an artistic and very fairy tale like footage of it, and instead it was just the Queen rambling on and on. (This almost made it feel like the queen had killed her herself). But all in all it was fun to see the play put to life. I want to see the other film of it now!
This movie followed the book very closely. However, many things are not spelled out in the book, and therefore a director must make choices in which to bring the text to life. Hamlet is a book rich with different interpretations, when making a movie, often times a director must pick an interpretation that best suits him and the movie version he is trying to create. In the last two acts of the play, the strong emotions of the characters were very easy to pick up on. When you are reading the book for the first time, it is difficult to pick up on these strong feelings. The actors do a very good job of putting everything they have into the emotions of the character they are playing. Watching the movie after reading the book was extremly helpful in understanding shakespeare's language. They complemnted eachother.
I really enjoyed the cameos by billy Crystal and Robin Williams. I think they brought huge amounts of life to nothing parts. Billy Crystal's wit and manner of delivery really showed the satire of death and grave-making that Shakespeare was trying to go for. By reading that part of the play, it's really hard to catch all of the sarcasm that is slipped into that whole exchange. As for Robin Williams, that was just taking an absolutely nothihng part and making it hilarious. William's flamboyancy used to portray Oeric was just great. Also his facial expressions of excitement used when Hamlet and Laertes started fencing added to his interpretation of the character.
I believe that there were some good things and bad things with the later acts in the Hamlet Video. For one, when we read the fencing scene in the book it just read very awkward because you couldn't tell what was going on as far as who was where etc. I think that the battle was pretty well done since Laertes and Hamlet pretty much chased each other all over the place, and I thought that the director's interpretation of Laertes getting a cheap shot in on Hamlet when his back was turned was an interesting way to go. The parts I found pretty unrealistic about that scene though was how long-winded the characters were before they died, but I guess this was offset by the dramatization of the whole thing. I also didn't realize that Horatio almost killed himself while Hamlet told him not to when we read the text, but I did pick that part up when we watched the video.
Throughout the entire movie the directors interpretation seemed to stay very true to the actual text. It also helped greatly to clarify some scenes that I did not understand very well when we were actually reading them in class. One of these scenes was when Hamlet was watching the gravedigger work, and then proceeded to have a conversation with him. When reading this it was hard for me to completely understand it, but through watching the movie it made more sense. The only thing I didn't really like was the ending, when Hamlet threw his sword at Claudius. It seemed unrealistic, especially when Claudius pulled the sword out of his own back. Overall however, I did enjoy the movie and it helped me to understand the text much more easily.
Overall, I really enjoyed watching the Hamlet movie. At the beginning i was a bit unsure about how the movie would be played out because I had different interpretations of the characters, however, it grew on me and I ended up enjoying it. I believe it was of great value to watch the movie after reading the acts because it gave a good representation of what we had read and if there were any confusing parts, it clarified them nicely. I also believe that it was a benefit to watch the movie that we did in comparison with Mel Gibson's. It really helped to have the exact script of the play in the movie. In scene 4 and 5 I thought that the director did a particularly good job of projecting his vision of the last two scenes. It really helped me understand parts as well as made a vivid picture that sometimes I did not get when reading a few parts. One choice that the director made that was impacting was the final scene when the statue of Old King Hamlet was taken down. I thought it was a very interesting way to end the movie, but it was very symbolic. It could be that Norway is taking over the Kingdom of Denmark, or that King Hamlet is asending into heaven. There are numerous ways to interpret it, but I felt that it was a very strong way to end the film.
i thought it was good. Some of the cinematic choices in terms of boldness didn't impress me though. The scene with hamlet standing in front of the army and the camera panning out... sort of lame even though it was supposed to be all dramatic. They should've left it up to his acting rather than their fancy camera-work and special FX department.
It was definitely good to see people interpret the lines more so than we can as a class; it's quite hard to read Shakespeare correctly at 7 AM
I believe that by watching the film version of Hamlet, the play was a lot easier to follow. I believe that by making Ophelia and Hamlet have a more serious relationship in the movie, I was able to interpret the reasons for the ways both of them acted towards each other, and why I believe Ophelia was so upset. BY breaking up the scenes in the book, and then following that up with each scene in the movie, it gave for a great visual aid. I myself am more of a visual learner, so once I can see what is going on and how the plot is playing out, I grab a much better sense of what was really taking place. Overall I really enjoyed the play. If it wern't for the movie I don't think I would have enjoy the play near as much.
What I think the director did well to improve the play was have Robin Wiliams in it...actually that was kind of a bad idea maybe, I kept getting distracted by him. I loved the sword fight between Leartes and Hamlet, it did add on a bit more contempt for Leartes though as in this version he poisoned Hamlet with a backstab. Though the part where Hamlet harpoons the king was a bit over the top...I don't like how they didn't portray the pirate ship episode though as I'm still rather confused as to how that played out. I really liked this movie, and if I do ever see any other Hamlet movies I'll probably compare them to this one.
The movie version of the play was brilliant. It had great visuals and made understanding what was going on in the play easier. The ending of the movie was directed very well. When Fortinbras' army is closing in on the castle and Hamlet the Queen, King and Leartes are all dying. That gave a different prespective from how it happened in the play and i enjoyed that.
I feel the movie has helped me have a better understand of the play Hamlet after reading each act and watching that act. The part where Ophelia acted crazy was well directed out in the movie, because when reading the play, it didn't show how insane she was without a touch of her feelings and emotion. However, it was sad to see the way they treated her (hosing the water toward her and locking her in a scary little dark room). Finally, the final scene was entertaining and exciting to watch. Both of the movie and the play have contribute different ways for me to have a better unerstanding of Hamlet than just to reding the play. In addition, I really enjoy reading and watching the movie/play.
The movie Hamlet was a good way to help study for the test. I don't think I would see this movie without reading the book though because the the book and the movie were quite different. I think the director did a better job on acts 4 and 5 than the rest because it was more action packed and gave a visual of the best part of the book. What worked the best for me was the ending scence where everyone dies because the swordsmanship was exellent and kept the viewer on edge. I think the director did a good job on the gravedigging part as well.
The film made the plot and characters easier to understand. In the scene where Hamlet is in the Queen's chamber and is making her feel guilty about remarrying, we really see Hamlet's personality (destined for revenge, but loving nonetheless). Also, in the scene of Ophelia's burial, Hamlet is enraged by the grave diggers way of handling her grave and his sorrow when he yells at Laertes, claiming that he (Hamlet) has more love for Ophelia than 40 thousand brothers could ever have. The director did a good job with the movie overall, however the ending was a little bit cliche in the way the characters died.
I really like the movie. It was nice to have a visual representation of what was going on in the play if you had and confusion. It also helped to see how the roles were being played and what emotion were put into certain lines. When reading the play in class the lines were monotone most of the time and you didn't really get that much emotion from them but in the movie you could see the emotion and I also think it helped me to remember the lines better. The scenes such as the duel scene and the gravedigging scene although they were the directors choice it helped to give a visual of what was going on and i don't think i would have been able to understand that play as well as i did without the movie.
I liked the way the movie did the scene with Hamlet and the gravedigger. They did a good job of showing Hamlet struggling with, the knowledge that after death even the most famous person can become nothing but a bung. I also liked the way they did the scene with Hamlet holding Yorick's skull. It is the thing you always think of, Hamlet holding the skull. I also liked the build up they did during Hamlet's soliloquy after speaking with Fortinbras' general. The camera zooming out and Hamlet's voice building up made it a very powerful scene. I could really imagine Hamlet being moved by the willingness of the soldiers to fight. He was clearly moved by them enought to decide that he really was going to have his words "be bloody". He had finally showed the resolve to do what he set out to do all along.
I enjoyed the director’s decisions on the final act. The fight scene between Hamlet and Leartes was great the way it was drawn out. The switches between Fortenbrause’s army and the family matter in the castle made the real smallness of the mater come to light. I always thought that the death of a king would really rattle the kingdom but in the grand scheme of things, it was such a minor tragedy. My favorite part of the last act was the fact that Robin Williams was in it. His part was such a minor and seemingly boring character but Robin Williams made it funny and memorable.
I am a very visual person so it's very hard for me to concentrate sometimes when reading aloud, hwoever the film was key to helping me retain all the information. Although it has been said that the ending was somewhat cliche, I thought it was one of the most entertaining parts of the play. Like how the director chose Hamlet and Laertes to fight upstairs and all over in a seemingly intense and epic battle and how Laertes fell really stunned me, a lot more so then the fight scene in the novel. Also, the director really captured Hamlet's rage for Claudius when his mother died from drinking the poison from the cup. Also, the movie made me feel more aweful for Laertes than the book. First of all, you get disturbed by how Ophelia acts, and seeing and hearing it rather than just reading it changes your whole perspective and you could easily feel how mixed up Laertes was about this. Molly Riegel
At first I was a little skeptical of the movie and I was not very impressed with the way Hamlet was portrayed. I thought his actions and lines were delivered way over the top and that he was acting much crazier than the play called for. However as the play went on I started to like Hamlet and by the end I thought he was playing the part beautifully. In Acts 4 and 5, I really liked that the director choose to shoot the climax showing what was happening both inside and outside the palace. I think it helped give context to what was happening at the conclusion of the play, a part that was a little hard to understand when all I had in front of me were the words.
I thought the ending of the movie was much more dramatic than it had appeared to be when reading it in class. I thought the choice Branaugh made to have Laertes fall from the balcony was very creative and was not represented in the play in any way, which means he came up with it himself. Lastly, the thrusting of the sword at the king by Hamlet was a bit over the top, but still added a lot to the action of the scene. With this piece, the scene came alive inside the castle as the huge battle for control of the kingdom was also raging just outside the room.
51 comments:
I believe the movie gave a great visual representation of the play. It was nice to see the play acted out in person after reading each act. The movie gave a much more personal touch to the character's lines. Instead of reading each line with the same level of expression, the movie had the actors in character. It helped in knowing if someone was extremely mad, sad, or frustrated. In the last two acts the movie includes things that cannot be seen while reading. For example the scenery when Hamlet is traveling to London. You wouldn't be able to "see" this while reading the book. So overall I beleive the movie gave a great visual composition of the words and how it was acted out. It went well with this unit.
From watching the movie and seeing the director's interpretation of the play, I thought that it was much easier to understand the way that Ophelia was acting when she became insane. In the text of the play, I think that one could not fully understand how insane Ophelia acted when she was singing the erie songs, and discussing flowers with her brother. The movie made these scenes much more haunting, and therefore gave the reader more insight to Laertes astonishment and his reactions to her insanity. These scenes also gave light to why Ophelia may have drowned, whether it was accidental or not. From them one could see that she was obviously insane, and that she may have drowned by mistake, or in her insane state, she may have committed suicide.
The movie always seems much more intense and exciting than the text, which is to be expected. Ophelia's madness for example, is more obvious and vivid in the film. She is shown in a padded room running into the walls. This choice by the director made it clear just how crazy Ophelia had become. The movie also made the kings fear and Leartes' anger more apparent in the scene when Leartes enters followed by a croud of angry people who are shouting that he should be king. The king (Claudius) is obviously afraid as Leartes storms into the room and draws his sword. Overall, I found the film to be a great visual representation of the text. It made the emotions come through the words which had been difficult to understand or recognize the magnitude of the characters emotions just by reading the text. The film also served as a useful way to refresh my memory after break!
After reading through the book, and watching the play after every seen I have learned to finally be able to interpret Shakespeare. When reading the book you dont get quite the same feeling as watching the play because you cannot anticipate the tones in certain characters voices. After watching the play I have much more knowledge in the way Shakespeare wrote and was able to interpret what was going on. As Anna stated with Ophelia, I also didnt realize just how crazy she was until i watched the movie.
The movie was a huge help for me. I love how the showed Ophelia's emotion. When the King and Queen were talking her to. They actor and the director did a great job with Ophelia's speech. She did such a great job, that it kind of help explain what was going on in the play. Because as we were reading aloud in class there defiantly wasn't as much emotion, and I was a little confused as to what was going on. I also think that this version of the video is/was so successful because they didn't cut any scenes or acts out. Not only that but the actors and directors did such a great job portraying the characters.
The director made great decisions about the movement of the characters. Also the tone of their voices. These two things are very important in the portrayal of the mood of each scene. He also matched the characters very well with their lines by directing them to use their hands and bodies to go along with their lines from the play. For example, when Ophelia is in a straight jacket and acting completely crazy in front of her brother, the drama of that scene would not be as significant when we were just reading out of the book. Also her change of voice led us to believe that she had definitely changed because of the previous events. Her voice was very high pitched and off key.
The director made great decisions about the movement of the characters. Also the tone of their voices. These two things are very important in the portrayal of the mood of each scene. He also matched the characters very well with their lines by directing them to use their hands and bodies to go along with their lines from the play. For example, when Ophelia is in a straight jacket and acting completely crazy in front of her brother, the drama of that scene would not be as significant when we were just reading out of the book. Also her change of voice led us to believe that she had definitely changed because of the previous events. Her voice was very high pitched and off key.
In my opinion, the movie version of the play was very well done. It helped to show the movement and attitude of the characters and made it easier to pick up on the emotions of the characters. Based on their tone of voice, you could understand what each character was saying, even without the lines in front of you. I especially liked the scene with the gravedigger. The movie really emphasized the humorous side to the banter between Hamlet and the gravedigger. The viewer is able to see how the gravedigger carelessly throws the old skulls out of the grave and how much Hamlet is affected by Yorick's skull.
I think the greatest decision the director made in the movie "Hamlet" was giving each character a very strong personality. The actors took the personality of their character as they were in the book and then seemed to intensify it. This made the movie more interesting to watch. I thought this version of the play was successful. It helped me understand Shakespeare much better.
The director did a good job of displaying the scene where Ophelia goes crazy. The way that he had her running around and hitting the walls in the room and singing crazily helped to capture just how much she had lost her mind. I liked the movie overall because it was helpful to see the play acted out and it helped me understand some of the scenes that were a little confusing when we read the play. I also thought the movie was interesting enough to keep me watching.
I believe that the video version of the play helped me to understand overall what was going on. I really don't think that watching the movie, even 10 times, would help me remember who said what to who, because it sounds like they are saying the same things over and over again. The only character whose personality was portrayed more in the movie was Ophelia. Her craziness was shown more during the movie than in the book. The emotions Hamlet shows while they were burrying Ophelia seemed more apparent as he proceeded to fight with Laertes. It will be interesting to see how the other character's personalities change and the mood when they all start to die off.
I thought the movie offered a greater insight into the relationship between Hamlet and Laertes and the understanding that Hamlet felt for Laertes situation. Hamlet understands Laertes' sorrow because he too has been in the place of losing a father. The movie did a very good job of showing the emotion that Hamlet felt behind this situation and how closely he felt to Laertes in this situation. I also found that in the scene when Laertes and Hamlet are both going to die that the understanding between them was mutual. It was hard to get such a strong understanding from the book itself, but the movie showed how Laertes finally came to an understanding of Hamlet and the reason behind his actions. Overall i thought that the movie made the emotions much more meaningful than the story did because we could actually see how Laertes and Hamlet interacted with one another.
I think overall the way the play was acted out was really good. I think that majority of the decisions that the director made reflected the text very well. However I think that additional things that weren't mentioned in the text should not have been added. An example is the scene with the statue being taken down at the end which symbolized how the Hamlet family legacy was over and a new one was about to begin. It did not really contradict anything in the book but it didn't really compliment anything I didn't think so it was overall unnecessary. However overall the movie was a really good way to see and understand what was happening in the book.
I think that some of the director's choices in the final scene were really crucial. I had a vague image of the way that Laertes and Hamlet's lives ended, but it was really good to see the way that the director took the final scene, and created his own stage direction for the way that Hamlet and Laerte's were fighting. It was really helpful to see the actual emotions of both Hamlet, Laertes, the King, and Queen as each one uttered their final words.
The movie really brought out the emotion and the tension between the characters for me. While reading the book I never got any strong impressions of emotion or purpose from the lines spoken by the characters. The movie has given me a better idea of how the characters acted throughout the play. I especially liked the scenes with Laertes. He seemed very subdued in the book, a very sad man after learning about his fathers death. But the director gave him life and anger and made acts IV and V much more interesting.
I thought that the movie was a good visual representation of the book. I didn't really enjoy the actor who played Hamlet in the beginning of the movie but as the movie progressed he grew on me and in the end I think he did a good job portraying Hamlet. The best part of the movie for me was when Hamlet threw the sword at the king.
I liked the movie very much. Also since they used the exact script from the play, it was easier to understand what was going on. I grew to like the crazy Hamlet character, the way he says everything fits so well. In the movie I liked how they had the fencing match, in the building, instead of outside like it seemed in the book. It gave a good visual of how Fortinbras kept sneaking in by having them infiltrate the place, and as he closed in the intensity rose there and it rose in the fight between Hamlet and Laertes. The only unbelievable thing abut the movie was how Hamlet threw the sword and it perfectly stabed Claudius in the back, I found that funny.
I liked that they overdid everything that was really important to the play. It made it easier to understand. I also liked that the characters were really well played. Each person brought life to the lines that they had which made it so much easier to understand than the book. It also surprisingly kept me entertained, and I think that if I had to sit down and watch it all at once instead of in segments, it could keep me entertained and I would be able to watch the whole thing.
I agree with a lot of you.. I think it is interesting to see the interpretation of the moment when Ophelia is singing and acting like a crazy person after learning the death of her father. I thought it was very interesting how calm everyone was acting and how they just kind of stared at her as if they wanted to laugh. I thought it was interesting how she didn't really sing most of the lines but spoke them.. just one or two of the last ones were sung which kind of emphasized that her "craziness" was escalating.
I enjoyed the rest of the movie and thought it was a great representation of acts IV and V of the play. I especially liked the fencing scene because it was a good visual of what we had read earlier. The sequence of people dieing followed the book and it turned into an intense scene. I also like the symbolism of the statue being torn down at the end of the movie. In class we talked about what this could represent and it gave a good end to the play.
Personally i really liked the end starting when osric came in to tell hamlet about the king's and laertes' challenge. I thought robin williams did an excellent job on his part. I also enjoyed hamlet throwing the sword through the king and then the chandelier swung down and hit him as well.
Overall I thought the movie had a good representation of the book because there are certain parts in the book that is hard to imagine, but in the movie it helped express the emotions that you wouldn't originally think of. During the last act I thought that the scene when Hamlet was talking to the gravedigger helped me get the feel of how they were expressing themselves to one another.
The movie version of Hamlet was simply excellent. At times, in acts 4 and 5, things were very close to one another and people replied oddly in seemingly haste. However, when we were able to see it acted out (like a true play), it all came together and made sense. We got a full perspective on Ophelia's madness, Hamlet's transition into accepting his fate and becoming determined, and of course the final death scene. Overall, the movie was great and I loved it.
I think that the ending to Hamlet was amazing. I thought the choices that were made to improve the story and make it a little more exciting were great! Little improvments such as the men falling off the staires, Claudious dieing not only from poison but also Hamlet stabing him! It was all very exciting and sad at the same time. I have to say that having Hamlet die in the end actually made me upset because now it will be silent... But yes the movie brought the whole play together and made it much easier to understand and more enjoyable to read.
It was interesting to understand some things in the play like how the death at the end took place and how Ophelia went crazy. I really liked the ending that the director put in about them pulling down old King Hamlet's statue when Fortunbrads came in. I liked watching the movie over all. It was fun.
I really enjoyed watching the movie and thought it was done very well. I really liked how the movie ended with the pulling down of the statue. It seemed to represent the king being released to heaven from his ghostly state. It also helped me to understand what was happening during all the text that we were reading. Overall I thought it was a good thing to do in class.
I like the way the director made Hamlet very sarcastic and how when he was talking to Claudius about how he was his mother since they are one flesh and then the director had Hamlet kiss him. I also like Ophelia's character and how she was really animated and almost over acted when she went crazy after her father died. Overall I thought the movie stuck to almost the exact text and it was nice because it helped me remember certain lines and their meanings. I also thought the actors did a great job on their characters and their personalities.
I really enjoyed the movie version of Hamlet. I liked how they followed the text directly so we were able to have a better understanding of what was going on because we had just read the lines they spoke. It was nice to have a visual of how the play actually played out. The director made some interesting choices sometimes in the way the characters behaved or portrayed a scene. A couple times this happened and it was not the way I had anticipated the scene to happen however it was nice to see the interpretation that the director chose. I also liked the people they chose to play the different characters except for when Robin Williams came in with a small part. I could not take him seriously in the part he played because he usually played in different movies such as comedies. So overall, I really enjoyed the movie and thought it provided a new insight into the reading.
I enjoyed the movie and believed that it was an accurate representation of the play. While reading the book, often times I was so focused on translating and understanding the 'shakespearean' language that I did not grasp the immensity of important scenes. Watching the movie gave me the idea of the emotions in each scene. The part i enjoyed most was watching Ophelia's insanity as well as the end of act 5. While reading, I definately did not see as much emotion as was shown in the play.
I really enjoyed watching the movie as we read the book. When I first read out loud I would get a mental picture of what was going on. However, as we watched the movie I would grasp an even better understanding of the text. Which when I started to go over the notes and parts of the book I could picture the different characters talking to each other very clearly. I especially enjoyed the duel scene. The movie was able to add a lot of information through character development that the text could only cover through scene directions.
Overall the movie was a very good representation of the play. I enjoyed the gravediggers. Not only were they amusing but the scene with Yoric was very well performed. The way that they showed Opelia being crazy really illustrated how far she has degenerated. I thought that they could have done some more flash-backs in a few places to illustrate what had happened a couple of times, like maybe when Ophelia died. But otherwise I enjoyed the film.
I would say that the movie was a great way to see the story in the play really acted out in carefully thought through actions and filming techniques. I will be honest, however, when I say that I was a little disapointed in the film art itself. Shakespear paints such a vivid picture with words that its almost peotry, but in the movie when beautiful "speeches" are being given the movie director chose to do a steady shot of the person speaking instead of doing some interesting or creative filming. For instance in the scene where the queen is talking about the death of Ophilia I was really expecting an artistic and very fairy tale like footage of it, and instead it was just the Queen rambling on and on. (This almost made it feel like the queen had killed her herself). But all in all it was fun to see the play put to life. I want to see the other film of it now!
This movie followed the book very closely. However, many things are not spelled out in the book, and therefore a director must make choices in which to bring the text to life. Hamlet is a book rich with different interpretations, when making a movie, often times a director must pick an interpretation that best suits him and the movie version he is trying to create. In the last two acts of the play, the strong emotions of the characters were very easy to pick up on. When you are reading the book for the first time, it is difficult to pick up on these strong feelings. The actors do a very good job of putting everything they have into the emotions of the character they are playing. Watching the movie after reading the book was extremly helpful in understanding shakespeare's language. They complemnted eachother.
I really enjoyed the cameos by billy Crystal and Robin Williams. I think they brought huge amounts of life to nothing parts. Billy Crystal's wit and manner of delivery really showed the satire of death and grave-making that Shakespeare was trying to go for. By reading that part of the play, it's really hard to catch all of the sarcasm that is slipped into that whole exchange. As for Robin Williams, that was just taking an absolutely nothihng part and making it hilarious. William's flamboyancy used to portray Oeric was just great. Also his facial expressions of excitement used when Hamlet and Laertes started fencing added to his interpretation of the character.
I believe that there were some good things and bad things with the later acts in the Hamlet Video. For one, when we read the fencing scene in the book it just read very awkward because you couldn't tell what was going on as far as who was where etc. I think that the battle was pretty well done since Laertes and Hamlet pretty much chased each other all over the place, and I thought that the director's interpretation of Laertes getting a cheap shot in on Hamlet when his back was turned was an interesting way to go. The parts I found pretty unrealistic about that scene though was how long-winded the characters were before they died, but I guess this was offset by the dramatization of the whole thing. I also didn't realize that Horatio almost killed himself while Hamlet told him not to when we read the text, but I did pick that part up when we watched the video.
Throughout the entire movie the directors interpretation seemed to stay very true to the actual text. It also helped greatly to clarify some scenes that I did not understand very well when we were actually reading them in class. One of these scenes was when Hamlet was watching the gravedigger work, and then proceeded to have a conversation with him. When reading this it was hard for me to completely understand it, but through watching the movie it made more sense. The only thing I didn't really like was the ending, when Hamlet threw his sword at Claudius. It seemed unrealistic, especially when Claudius pulled the sword out of his own back. Overall however, I did enjoy the movie and it helped me to understand the text much more easily.
Overall, I really enjoyed watching the Hamlet movie. At the beginning i was a bit unsure about how the movie would be played out because I had different interpretations of the characters, however, it grew on me and I ended up enjoying it. I believe it was of great value to watch the movie after reading the acts because it gave a good representation of what we had read and if there were any confusing parts, it clarified them nicely. I also believe that it was a benefit to watch the movie that we did in comparison with Mel Gibson's. It really helped to have the exact script of the play in the movie. In scene 4 and 5 I thought that the director did a particularly good job of projecting his vision of the last two scenes. It really helped me understand parts as well as made a vivid picture that sometimes I did not get when reading a few parts. One choice that the director made that was impacting was the final scene when the statue of Old King Hamlet was taken down. I thought it was a very interesting way to end the movie, but it was very symbolic. It could be that Norway is taking over the Kingdom of Denmark, or that King Hamlet is asending into heaven. There are numerous ways to interpret it, but I felt that it was a very strong way to end the film.
i thought it was good. Some of the cinematic choices in terms of boldness didn't impress me though. The scene with hamlet standing in front of the army and the camera panning out... sort of lame even though it was supposed to be all dramatic. They should've left it up to his acting rather than their fancy camera-work and special FX department.
It was definitely good to see people interpret the lines more so than we can as a class; it's quite hard to read Shakespeare correctly at 7 AM
I believe that by watching the film version of Hamlet, the play was a lot easier to follow. I believe that by making Ophelia and Hamlet have a more serious relationship in the movie, I was able to interpret the reasons for the ways both of them acted towards each other, and why I believe Ophelia was so upset. BY breaking up the scenes in the book, and then following that up with each scene in the movie, it gave for a great visual aid. I myself am more of a visual learner, so once I can see what is going on and how the plot is playing out, I grab a much better sense of what was really taking place. Overall I really enjoyed the play. If it wern't for the movie I don't think I would have enjoy the play near as much.
What I think the director did well to improve the play was have Robin Wiliams in it...actually that was kind of a bad idea maybe, I kept getting distracted by him. I loved the sword fight between Leartes and Hamlet, it did add on a bit more contempt for Leartes though as in this version he poisoned Hamlet with a backstab. Though the part where Hamlet harpoons the king was a bit over the top...I don't like how they didn't portray the pirate ship episode though as I'm still rather confused as to how that played out. I really liked this movie, and if I do ever see any other Hamlet movies I'll probably compare them to this one.
The movie version of the play was brilliant. It had great visuals and made understanding what was going on in the play easier. The ending of the movie was directed very well. When Fortinbras' army is closing in on the castle and Hamlet the Queen, King and Leartes are all dying. That gave a different prespective from how it happened in the play and i enjoyed that.
I feel the movie has helped me have a better understand of the play Hamlet after reading each act and watching that act. The part where Ophelia acted crazy was well directed out in the movie, because when reading the play, it didn't show how insane she was without a touch of her feelings and emotion. However, it was sad to see the way they treated her (hosing the water toward her and locking her in a scary little dark room). Finally, the final scene was entertaining and exciting to watch. Both of the movie and the play have contribute different ways for me to have a better unerstanding of Hamlet than just to reding the play. In addition, I really enjoy reading and watching the movie/play.
``Mea Pen``
The movie Hamlet was a good way to help study for the test. I don't think I would see this movie without reading the book though because the the book and the movie were quite different. I think the director did a better job on acts 4 and 5 than the rest because it was more action packed and gave a visual of the best part of the book. What worked the best for me was the ending scence where everyone dies because the swordsmanship was exellent and kept the viewer on edge. I think the director did a good job on the gravedigging part as well.
The film made the plot and characters easier to understand. In the scene where Hamlet is in the Queen's chamber and is making her feel guilty about remarrying, we really see Hamlet's personality (destined for revenge, but loving nonetheless). Also, in the scene of Ophelia's burial, Hamlet is enraged by the grave diggers way of handling her grave and his sorrow when he yells at Laertes, claiming that he (Hamlet) has more love for Ophelia than 40 thousand brothers could ever have. The director did a good job with the movie overall, however the ending was a little bit cliche in the way the characters died.
I really like the movie. It was nice to have a visual representation of what was going on in the play if you had and confusion. It also helped to see how the roles were being played and what emotion were put into certain lines. When reading the play in class the lines were monotone most of the time and you didn't really get that much emotion from them but in the movie you could see the emotion and I also think it helped me to remember the lines better. The scenes such as the duel scene and the gravedigging scene although they were the directors choice it helped to give a visual of what was going on and i don't think i would have been able to understand that play as well as i did without the movie.
I liked the way the movie did the scene with Hamlet and the gravedigger. They did a good job of showing Hamlet struggling with, the knowledge that after death even the most famous person can become nothing but a bung. I also liked the way they did the scene with Hamlet holding Yorick's skull. It is the thing you always think of, Hamlet holding the skull. I also liked the build up they did during Hamlet's soliloquy after speaking with Fortinbras' general. The camera zooming out and Hamlet's voice building up made it a very powerful scene. I could really imagine Hamlet being moved by the willingness of the soldiers to fight. He was clearly moved by them enought to decide that he really was going to have his words "be bloody". He had finally showed the resolve to do what he set out to do all along.
I enjoyed the director’s decisions on the final act. The fight scene between Hamlet and Leartes was great the way it was drawn out. The switches between Fortenbrause’s army and the family matter in the castle made the real smallness of the mater come to light. I always thought that the death of a king would really rattle the kingdom but in the grand scheme of things, it was such a minor tragedy. My favorite part of the last act was the fact that Robin Williams was in it. His part was such a minor and seemingly boring character but Robin Williams made it funny and memorable.
I am a very visual person so it's very hard for me to concentrate sometimes when reading aloud, hwoever the film was key to helping me retain all the information. Although it has been said that the ending was somewhat cliche, I thought it was one of the most entertaining parts of the play. Like how the director chose Hamlet and Laertes to fight upstairs and all over in a seemingly intense and epic battle and how Laertes fell really stunned me, a lot more so then the fight scene in the novel.
Also, the director really captured Hamlet's rage for Claudius when his mother died from drinking the poison from the cup.
Also, the movie made me feel more aweful for Laertes than the book. First of all, you get disturbed by how Ophelia acts, and seeing and hearing it rather than just reading it changes your whole perspective and you could easily feel how mixed up Laertes was about this.
Molly Riegel
At first I was a little skeptical of the movie and I was not very impressed with the way Hamlet was portrayed. I thought his actions and lines were delivered way over the top and that he was acting much crazier than the play called for. However as the play went on I started to like Hamlet and by the end I thought he was playing the part beautifully. In Acts 4 and 5, I really liked that the director choose to shoot the climax showing what was happening both inside and outside the palace. I think it helped give context to what was happening at the conclusion of the play, a part that was a little hard to understand when all I had in front of me were the words.
I thought the ending of the movie was much more dramatic than it had appeared to be when reading it in class. I thought the choice Branaugh made to have Laertes fall from the balcony was very creative and was not represented in the play in any way, which means he came up with it himself. Lastly, the thrusting of the sword at the king by Hamlet was a bit over the top, but still added a lot to the action of the scene. With this piece, the scene came alive inside the castle as the huge battle for control of the kingdom was also raging just outside the room.
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