Hamlet film questionnaire - Essay Example

1. The opening scene begins with a close-up of a statue. Who or what is it a statue of Consider the ending of the play. How does this relate to the theme of remembrance The first scene we see in the movie is that of a statue. It is actually statue of Old Hamlet, Hamlet's father. Incidentally the same statue is again shown at the end of the play, but the statue is now toppled from its plinth. The depiction just means to portray symbolically that old order has now changed and the new order of Fortinbras and the Norwegians has emerged and has taken control.2. What is Queen Gertrude wearing when we first see her Why is she still wearing it First time Queen Gertrude is seen , she is wearing a wedding dress in the court of Denmark .

She is still wearing it to declare publicly that she has formally married King Claudius. The marriage needs some justification because it has taken place less the two months after the death of old Hamlet.3. The first time we see Prince Hamlet, where is he and what is he doing How does Branagh as a director deal with many of the asides How is Hamlet's first line handled How does this affect our interpretation of that line First time we see Hamlet, he is in the castle, in front of his father's statue wearing a mourning dress .

He is speaking to himself .its the first soliloquy of the movie .As both actor and director, he plays the soliloquy not as a reverie but as a moral debate on how to be in the world .the first line is handled in a very poignant way and from the very onset we are given a glimpse of how disgusted and depressed Hamlet is about his father's death. He is so anguished that he himself wants to die.4. When Ophelia gives the "remembrances" back to Hamlet, there is a critical moment when Hamlet begins to get violent with her.

What happens to set him off (NOTE: This happens in the film but is not noted in the stage direction of the play.)When Ophelia gives the remembrances back, he initially just meant to convey her that there is nothing in them to be returned. But later on he thinks he is being spied on and therefore he sets off.5. There are a few times when the dialogue of the primary character becomes a voice-over and we flash to the scene the character was initially describing. The first example of this is the Ghost's description of his murder to his son, Hamlet.

Initially, the Ghost describes his murder, but as his description continues, we no longer see the Ghost speaking but a flashback to the actual murder and we see Claudius pouring the poison in old Hamlet's ear as the Ghost continues to narrate. Describe at least two more times this technique is utilized by Branagh in the film. Branagh presents flashbacks to Hamlet and Ophelia in bed together, accentuating the prince's later indifference and motivating her despair at his rejection. Ophelia's mind flashes to gauzy shots of making love with Hamlet as her father's lecturing her on modesty.

The next flashback is when Branagh takes Hamlet's metaphysical lament over Yorick's skull and brings it thudding down to earth with banal images of a boy-Hamlet cavorting on the old jester's back.6. Although Hamlet is stabbed by Laerte's "bated blade" first, Leartes dies before him. What happens in the film to deal with this time issue Before Hamlet dies the swords are switched. He ends up wounding Laertes with the poisoned tipped sword, which ends up killing Laertes.7. Overall, how did viewing the film affect your interpretation of the play Please cite specifics from the film to illustrate your answer The Hamlet is one of the most intriguing and long play written by Shakespeare .

This is the first attempt by any director to bring the un-cut version. All the actors and the sets are great, but the only thing that does not work is Branagh's tendency to over-direct the big dramatic moments. He indulges in quick cutting and flashbacks as though to fend off the audience's objections to the four-hour running time, and the style sometimes looks like wasted energy.