Abstract 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."
Abstract This paper examines the growth of Pablo Picasso's art as a result of his romance relationship with Fernande Olivier. It illustrates Picasso's inspiration from Fernande to experiment with style, which brought him out of his blue period into his rose period and eventually into cubism. The paper claims that Fernande is responsible for influencing Picasso's mode of living and his way of painting.
From the Paper "Pablo Picasso was one of the key artists involved in the development of Cubism. During that same time period, he was involved with a young woman named Fernande Olivier, who also served as his model for several works, both paintings and sculpture. Their meeting can be considered fortuitous, for in some degree, the meeting helped change direction for Picasso in his work, though there were many other influences on the artist as well pushing him and associated artists in the direction of Cubism. Picasso's early years after settling in Paris permanently were marked by the influence of Fernande Olivier, his first mistress. Prior to Picasso living with this woman, his nude works were fewer and not as freely expressed. It seems that his exposure to a relationship such as this allowed Picasso to express his responsiveness to beauty. After meeting his first true love, Fernande, Picasso showed a significant change in the tone of his works. While she provided the impetus for much change, Fernande was never directly involved in Picasso's works except as occasional model and was seen by many of his friends as an obstacle to greater work on his part."
Reviews the 1948 film version of HAMLET directed by & starring Sir Laurence Olivier. Focuses on Olivier's allegiance to the text in creating his version.
675 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 1 source, 1998, $ 23.95
From the Paper "One of the best film versions of William Shakespeare's Hamlet is that directed by and starring Laurence Olivier and made in 1948. The Olivier film is dark, brooding, and truly theatrical, with sets that are suggestive rather than realistic, expressionistic rather than precise. The darkness of the image is matched by a darkness of spirit and a sense of foreboding that hangs over the film from the first frame. Such a dark and expressionistic setting fits quite well with the internal brooding of Hamlet. The character of Hamlet is considered difficult because he is seen as passive rather than active for most of the play. Early in the play he is given the task of avenging his father by his father's ghost, and yet for most of the play he seems to do nothing about it. He is highly reflective but inactive until the very end of the play when he does.."
Abstract In comparing and contrasting the Laurence Olivier version of "King Lear" in 1984 with the Peter Brook version in 1971, the author notices a number of variables in the body language of the actors and their clothing. There are several similar elements that both renditions share, as might be expected and quite a few different aspects and approaches, especially regarding the respective physical portrayals of their characters by the respective actors and actresses.
Abstract Lawrence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh both produced film versions of Henry V, but they were both very different interpretations. This paper concentrates on Act I Scene I and discusses both directors' editing of the original play and how that affected the portrayal of "King Henry V".
From the Paper "A good king is a moral one who listens to his advisors, who fights only just wars and who has overcome youthful wildness to emerge as a man "full of grace and fair regard" (1.1.22). Or, a good king is a strong one who makes his own decisions, who fights any wars that benefit his country, and who has never had any youthful wildness to overcome. Shakespeare leaves the interpretation of his king in King Henry the Fifth to the audience, and Henry's character has subsequently been performed in multiple ways. Lawrence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh both portray Henry as a good king in their screen adaptations of the play, but Olivier tends towards the former version of Henry as the morally just king and Branagh is more inclined to the latter version of Henry as the strong but immoral king."
Tags: branagh, fustice, kenneth, lawrence, olivier, opening, scene
Abstract This paper reviews and discusses the contrast of the female characters in "Hamlet", as portrayed in two 20th century film productions: Lawrence Olivier's 1948 production and Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version.
From the Paper "Shortly after this sequence, Hamlet bursts into his first soliloquy, and through this "textual transposition," placing the Ophelia scene immediately after the first soliloquy...a direct link is created between Hamlet's sense of sexual betrayal in Gertrude's "dexterous posting" between "incestuous sheets" with his uncle Claudius and Ophelia's refusal of him as a chaste or sexual lover. (Dawson 178; "Hamlet" I.2) The former seems likely, given that the actress who plays Ophelia seems so innocent, blond and docile to her father and brother's wishes, in contrast to the young, sensual brunette Gertrude. Oliver's Gertrude hardly seems old enough to have a mature son, although she also seems anything but innocent in the caressing way she behaves towards Oliver, even at the outset of the film."
Abstract 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."
Abstract The paper discusses how classical literature often uses pairs of dependent characters to justify the unusual, extraordinary adventures and experiences of the main heroes. The paper looks at Virgil and Beatrice in Dante's "The Divine Comedy" and Olivier in the anonymous "Song of Roland" as examples of guiding characters.
From the Paper "The heroes of classical literature almost always have guides who help them or sometimes prevent them from achieving their goals. These character guides are sometimes the peers or friends of the heroes and other times supernatural beings or forces. The role of the guiding figures is obviously that of contributing to the initiating experience of the hero. Because the adventures portrayed in classical literature always have an initiating character, the main hero of the story requires help from other men or forces in his journey. Such guiding roles belong for example to Virgil and to Beatrice in the Divine Comedy, or to Olivier in anonymous Song of Roland."
Abstract This essay examines historical fiction as seen in the famous Hollywood movie Spartacus. The successes and failures of the film in accurately portraying Roman history and the struggle between Spartacus and the Roman Republic are analyzed. Through a look at real historical sources, we can see that for the most part the film is an entertaining but inaccurate retelling of this historical event and the story of Spartacus? life.
From the Paper "The famous and award-winning film Spartacus was produced by Universal Pictures in 1960 and based on a popular historical novel of the same name by Howard Fast At over one-hundred seventy five minutes, it is a lengthy bit compelling viewing experience. The main characters are played by legendary Hollywood stars Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier, although a host of other renowned talents such as Charles Laughton and Tony Curtis also appear."
Abstract This paper examines the characters of the two heroes of this epic historical poem. Their characters are first discussed individually for their strengths and weaknesses as "heroes" and then compared with each other while examining how they complement each other.
From the Paper "The characters of Roland and Oliver (sometimes written Olivier) in the epic poem "The Song of Roland" are friends, fellow warriors, and are connected in several other ways. The two together represent different aspects of the heroic character. The two also represent certain traits and values which help the reader understand the values in feudal Europe."
The character of Roland in the epic poem The Song of Roland may be partially a historical character, a knight in the court of Charlemagne and a key figure in the battle against one specific ruler in a battle at Roncesvalles in northern Spain. Roland and Olivier both represent Christian values fighting against the pagans, and the initial demand is that each ruler who comes under the sway of Charlemagne is to renounce his old religion and convert to Christianity or be put to death."
How it sets the tone & foreshadows the plot. Analyzes two film versions of the opening scene: Orson Welles 1952 film & Lawrence Olivier's 1965 version.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 2 sources, 2001, $ 47.95
From the Paper "The opening scene of a play is arguably the most important, for it sets the tone for all that is to follow and creates the proper atmosphere, begins the themes, and draws the audience into the interplay that follows. The opening scene in Othello introduces the characters and the situation, evokes the desire on the part of Iago for revenge, and foreshadows much of what is to come. Different film versions of the play treat this scene in different ways, but each seems to recognize that the scene itself sets a tone. This means that each film uses the opening scene to indicate what sort of treatment the play will receive thereafter. This is evident in the recently revived film from 1952 by Orson Welles and in the 1965.
In Othello, race is an issue from the first in much the way it would be today. Othello is an important general and so is..."
Compares styles, plot emphases, characterizations, atmosphere, design, the setting of the 1948 Laurence Olivier, the 1990 Franco Zeffirelli and the 1996 Kenneth Branagh versions.
2,700 words (approx. 10.8 pages), 7 sources, 1999, $ 95.95
From the Paper "Film critics point out from time to time how much the director brings to a film and that if two directors were given the same script to shoot, the results would be very different. Filmmakers are almost never given the same script to shoot, but an exception can be found in plays based on Shakespeare where the same essential script is indeed used and where decisions regarding such elements as costume and set design along with visual style can produce works with very different attitudes based on the same initial material. This can be seen in three versions of Hamlet, the Laurence Olivier version from 1948, the Franco Zeffirelli version from 1990, and the Kenneth Branagh version from 1996. The films have very different "looks" as well as giving emphasis to different aspects of the plot, the characterizations, and other elements, and watching the three ..."
From the Paper "The character of Hamlet in the play of the same name by William Shakespeare has long been a difficult one for critics to assess because he is seen as passive rather than active for most of the play. Early in the play he is charged with the task of avenging his father, a task given him by his father's ghost, and yet for most of the play he does nothing about it. He is highly reflective but inactive until the very end of the play when he does his duty, destroys the man who killed his father, and is himself destroyed. Critics have pondered the question of why he waits so long. In his film version from 1948, Laurence Olivier answers this question in a spoken prologue, stating that this is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind. There is no prologue in the Franco Zeffirelli version from 1991, with Mel Gibson in the title role, and it is less clear why Hamlet..."
This paper examines two film versions of Shakespeare's "King Lear", the 1987 version directed by Jean-Luc Godard and the 1984 television version starring Laurence Olivier: Style, critical reception, characters, narrative and adherence to Shakespeare.
2,475 words (approx. 9.9 pages), 12 sources, 1995, $ 87.95
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine two film versions of Shakespeare's King Lear. The plan of the research will be to set forth the context for and fundamental premises of the two works, and then to discuss the style, tone, language, and treatment of the protagonist in each.
The television production of King Lear adapted by and starring Laurence Olivier is accurately described as straightforward in its style of treatment of the text. The production as a whole is set in pre-Christian Britain, which is consistent with the fact that, according to Rowse, the Lear story was familiar to Elizabethans from Holinshed's account of ancient British history and legend. The use of Stonehengelike pillars and rustic wood as structural elements, together with wilderness exterior settings, is consistent not only with ... "
Abstract This paper compares styles of acting, editing, design, costumes, and camera work in Laurence Olivier's Hamlet, Orson Welles' Chimes at Midnight, and Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. The author considers how the performances differ, what the overall style of each of the directors is, and how they illuminated the tricky challenges of transferring language intended for the stage. The author also discusses how these elements contributed to the success of the films.
