Lawrence Olivier's "Hamlet"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses that, from "Hamlet" ,you can understand the general techniques Olivier would employ in his other Shakespearean films. The author points out that Olivier transformed Hamlet from a dark and moody stage performance to a dark and moody film performance; thus, he has, in every aspect, maintained not only the theme and plot of the play, but even its scene settings. The paper concludes that Olivier is a great, versatile director, like Kurosawa, who not only made movies for the sake of attaining success, but also for giving integral messages to movie viewers through the art of film making.

From the Paper:

"It is obvious from Hamlet, that Olivier would make his other movies, based on Shakespearean novels, of manageable length while updating some of the obscure phrases presented in all Shakespeare's stories. Olivier also would rearrange some of the scenes to fit his own style. In Hamlet, he cinematically represented all scenes, which could have been performed on theatrical stages such as the killing of Hamlet's father, Hamlet's act of insanity with Ophelia, Hamlet's seizure by the pirates and the death of Ophelia. In other words, Olivier would try his best to enhance the audience imagination."

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