Ophelia's Eulogy

I believe everyone who is innocent deserves a proper burial, no matter what. If they did not commit a crime then their life should be honored by a burial. Although the preist decided Ophelia did not deserve the proper burial he should not be the one to judge, God is the only person who should judge whether or not someone should have a burial. Ophelia had an innocent soul, she did no harm, she was just a little crazy. And her fathers death contributed to her madness, and I wouldn't blame her.
I think if anyone lost their father they would go a little crazy too, and she did nothing wrong not to deserve a proper burial. Even though she took her own life, she still deserves not to be disrespected. No one really knows if she killled herself, she could have easily slipped and fell, so the priest shouldnt have judged her, he should have at least put himself in her shoes. Ophelia was suffering, so even if she did kill herself, its not like she had a bad reason to.

Hamlet's Dilemma

   I agree with Hamlet's hesitation to kill Claudius because he has a good reason for it. If I was Hamlet and was about to kill the person who killed my father i would wait for them to commit a sin as well. He is right for waiting because Claudius deserves to go to hell. Since Claudius is praying when Hamlet wants to kill him, it was right for Hamlet to delay Claudius's murder.

    I believe Claudius is really guilty because he poisoned Hamlet's father and then had the nerve to marry his mother. He deserves to suffer. If Claudius was not really guilty Hamlet would probably be executed. If Hamlet killed the king he would be killed because everyone thinks he is crazy and they don't see the fact that Claudius killed his father.

Hamlet To Be or Not To Be

  In Olivier's Hamlet, the setting was old fashion. He was on a beach which was very quiet and his speech was calm. I think the director is trying to convey how Hamlet is trying to really think about whether or not he should end his life.

    Zeffirelli's Hamlet was very emotional and dark. He seemed confused by the look on his face, and his facial expressions were sincere and convincing. He starts to get really angry when he is giving his speech.

    Branagh's Hamlet was very calm quiet and gentle. I thought it was creative how the director made Hamlet recite the speech in the mirror, although it seemed a little too rehearsed. The director did a good job with the props because Hamlet had the knife to his head which symbolizes how he wants to kill himself. The knife could also forshadow him killing someone else.

   Almereyda's Hamlet was well played and beautiful. It was weird how he contemplates suicide in a video store but it was symbollic because he was in the "Action" section. It seemed as if he was looking for a sign from God while he was walking around the store. The music in the store added to the darkness and his hat represented his youth.

   I think there are so many versions of this play because there are so many ways to convey Hamlet and his emotions and each director had a different view. I liked Branagh's version the best because I understood it the most and I liked the usage of props in the version.

The First Ghost Scene

    Mel Gibson portrays Hamlet as very angry and insane. There was music in the first version, the lighting was very dark and scary. The directior Franco Zeffirelli used a lot of flashbacks to add depth to the scene. I agree with the choices Zeffirelli used but I disagree with how over dramatic he made some of the scenes.

    Kenneth Branagh portrays Hamlet as sarcastic and dark, such as when he was in the opening scene with Claudius and Gertrude and he came dressed in all black. There was music, the lighting was dark and Branagh used special effects.

   Ethan Hawke portrayed Hamlet as scared and sarcastic. The lighting was bright and the director Michael Almereyda used props such as the ghost's white towel he used to dab his face with, which added depth to the scene.
   Overall, my favorite ghost scene was the one with Kenneth Branagh because he portrayed Hamlet the best and was close to how the book portrayed him. I agreed with the director's choices such as the lighting and the outfit Hamlet wore.
   If I were to interpret this scene through film myself, I would approach it by making Hamlet seem sarcastic and a little angry at the death of his father but also scared because the ghost is telling him to avenge his death. I would particularly focus on Hamlet's facial expressions and how he reacts to the ghost. In my opinion, the most important thing about this scene would be Hamlet's emotions.