To Be or Not To Be

  A couple of days ago the class discussed the "To Be or Not To Be" speech. Although all of the versions demontrated it in its own unique way, there is only one of them that I really like. Zeffirelli's version is the best in my opinion. Mel Gibson (Hamlet) was phenomenal while acting out the speech. While he was talking, you could feel and understand the mental pain that he was going through. The director also did an amazing job with including the appropriate lighting during the speech.
 
  During class, we watched a much older version that was in black and white. This version was kind of boring but I do give credit to the director for trying to make some parts of the speech a little more dramatic. However, it didn't really grab my attention like the other versions did. I think the fact that the movie was in black and white automatically lost my attention. To be honest, I feel that more modern films grab my attention more than a black and white film. Also, in a much more modern version of Hamlet, the director used the action aisle in Blockbuster during the To Be Or Not To Be speech. I can infer that the director was trying to use the aisle as a symbol to show weither or not Hamlet will take action.

Hamlet Ghost Scene

   Although Hamlet has only one text, the play can be interpreted in many ways. People such as directors can have their own different opinion about what Shakespeare intended. The director Michael Almereyda had created a more modern version to this play. The director kept the same language and structure that the play was written but he added more modern props to the movie. For example, when Hamlet was talking to the ghost, in the background there was a T.V. that was on showing a volcanoe exploding and huge waves crashing against rocks. Even though I'm not sure what exactly the director was trying to convey, I can infer that he was trying to show how purgatory actually is and what the ghost is currently enduring.

In my opinion, I don't like how the version made by Almereyda is modern along with the language and word usage spoken in the play. A much more older version created by Zeffirelli or Branagha are the best for this play. The scenes and setting are much more appropriate.