Creative Piece for as Level English Literature Coursework Comparing Two Film Adaptations of ‘Hamlet’ Essay

Kenneth Branagh takes Hamlet from play to screen in an intense, full-length adaptation and he got it right Gregory Doran as well as takes a whack at bringing Hamlet from the stage to the screen but with a more than modern interpretation. Branagh restores Hamlets greatest scenes and brings knocked out(p) the most in Shakespeares awe-inspiring revenge-tragedy plot in both performance and direction, Branagh displays energy and cogency. The language has the upmost clarity and makes the mental picture feel fond and comprehensible for a range of viewers. Branaghs pragmatic approach, which includes short illustrative flashbacks, work as a perfectly credible cinematic device that helps the sense of hearing to understand the complex scenarios.Branagh tends to rant on and shout throughout the film, especially in his soliloquys, but to the audience it could feel commanding and passionate and so it creates quite an an impressive effect. The musical scores are generally helpful, although on occasions they dont quite fit in with the mood, for example in flake 4, Scene 4, during Hamlets speech, the music just made it more humorous rather than serious and dramatic, honestly it sounded more like a inferior American speech with a flag in the background At the start of the film, the setting is a bit weak, with the shaking of the earth and the appearance of the tincture proving to be a poor attempt at special effects However the film then gets flooded with colour and majestically inviting grand halls and populate which are truly beautiful.The BBCs adaptation of Hamlet (2009), takes a modern-day approach from the start it is clear that this adaptation is modern dress, Hamlet wears jeans and a jersey and he kills Polonius with a handgun, as well as there being Helicopters and women in military roles. Some dialogue and scenes were trimmed and adapted to suit viewers of the modern day and unlike the exuberant, bravura styling of Branaghs version, Doran has favoured a more refined minimalist dramatization. Whilst the production design is theatrical, Doran directs the camera in a manner that is more typical of television he uses a few cinematic flourishes and can reach angles that would be impossible on the stage.The use of modern CCTV may compel the element of surveillance but their clumsy, intrusive functioning is more distractive rather than innovative. It is interesting however how Doran puts a camera in Hamlets pass to highlight that characters observations of others. Onstage, Tennant made eye-contact with the audience, bringingviewers into the plot and the tense impression of the play this quality was also apparent in the film where Tennant looks directly into the camera, enhancing the meaning behind the text whilst recreating the theatrical intimacy. Branagh doesnt stray from the original text in his exciting adaptation of Hamlet and the cast, acting, set and boilersuit production was brilliant and can really captivate viewers. However despite the fact the former Doctor Who star tackled his role with an excellent fierceness, Dorans modern-day approach was nowhere near as dynamic as Branaghs performance.