"Hamlet" in Film

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"Hamlet" in Film

An analysis of how the characters of Ophelia and Gertrude differ in different film versions of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet".

1,018 words () | 7 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how different productions of a play such as "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare will have differing interpretations of characters. The paper focuses on the central female characters in "Hamlet," of Ophelia and Gertrude. It then looks at how they are portrayed differently in two film versions of the play - the 1949 version directed by and starring Laurence Olivier and the 1990 version directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Mel Gibson.

From the Paper:

"The role of Ophelia differs in the two versions as well. In keeping with the play, the Olivier version shows the deterioration of Ophelia as she descends into madness with the death of her father and other events in the play. The Zeffirelli version treats her in a manner similar to Claudius and Gertrude in that she starts at a high level and stays there. In the Zeffirelli version, Ophelia is distracted from the time we first see her so that her madness seems already entrenched and only needs a push to become full-blown. Her madness does not develop in the time of the play but is part of her make-up from the beginning, so just as we immediately see Claudius and Gertrude as guilty, we see immediately see Ophelia as insane."

Sample of Sources Used:

Brooke, Michael. "Hamlet." BFI Screen Online (2006). November 13, 2006. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/440240/index.html.
Ebert, Roger. "Hamlet." Chicago Sun-Times (18 Jan 1991). November 13, 2006. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19910118/REVIEWS/101180303/1023.
Harrison, G.B. Shakespeare: The Complete Works. New York: Harcourt Braced and World, 1952.
Johanson, Maryann. "Mad Mad Mad Mad World." The Flick Filosopher (31 Jan 1999). November 13, 2006. http://www.flickfilosopher.com/oscars/bestpix/hamlet.shtml.
Kermode, Frank. "The Zeffirelli Hamlet." (1990). November 13, 2006. http://www.geocities.com/queeniemab/ZeffHamlet.htm.