Hamlet is arguably one of William Shakespeare’s best literature pieces and almost 500 years later it’s still being read and used everywhere around the world. Hamlet has been critically analyzed by prominent figures in literature and this dynamic play has taken on a larger role providing both dramatic and philosophical inspiration in our current society. Hamlet is still universally admitted as a great play and has provided motivation for remakes throughout the different eras since it first debuted. In 1996, Kenneth Branagh delivered his interpretation of Hamlet in his stunning 4-hour film that was aved about endlessly.
Thirteen years later Gregory Doran followed suit with his modern day interpretation of Hamlet. Both films were outstanding recreations of the play but were clearly different from one another. As time changes, so does almost every aspect of the world which would influence the films themselves. Kenneth Branagh and Gregory Doran’s interpretation of the play Hamlet varied because the time period their target audience were in. In Act 5 Scene 2, the dramatic climax of the play, the directors chose to use different editing techniques, costume and props, and also expressed heir dialogue differently all to appeal to their target audience.
Branagh and Doran use different editing techniques in their film adaption of Hamlet to appeal to their target audience. In this particular scene, Branagh decided to use the cinematic technique of flash present. This is where the film cuts back and forth between two scenes that are happening simultaneously. Branagh decided to show the attack on the castle by Fortinbras and the events happening inside the castle at the same time. In the original text sounds of an attack was heard inside in the astle and were even acknowledged by Hamlet as he was dying when he comments “What warlike noise is this? (5. 2. 343).
Branagh’s decision to use the flash-present to illustrate Fortinbras’ attack on the castle was strategic to satisfy his target audience. By using this technique he was able to adhere to the original text while still having artistic control. This would appease to his old-school Shakespearean fans who respond better to the original play rather than unconventional adaptations. Doran decided to completely cut out the scene of Fortinbras overtaking the castle, by doing so it made the movie shorter which would make it more bearable for his restless younger audience to sit through.
Furthermore, Doran’s film technique of choice was frequently cutting to a wide pan shot which made it seem as if the audience were watching the scene through a security camera. During the fencing scene of Act 5 Scene, 2 Doran would cut back and forth between reaction shots of the characters to the security camera wide pan shot to grasp the attention of his audience, mainly focusing on the wide shots. Stewart knew the ighting scene would intrigue his audience so he shot it with a wide angle to allow the audience to get the full view of the fight.
And adding the security camera filter emphasized time period the film was being set in. The action in the scene reflected many of the movies that were being produced at that time, and Dorans decided to capitalize on that by focusing in on the action to ensure his young target audience were attentive. In contrast to Doran, Branagh mainly used reaction shots in the fighting scene. By focusing on the characters reaction rather than the ighting he is appeasing to his target audience who would admire his focus on the story rather than the action.
Branagh’s use of costume was impeccable and clearly thought out. Each character’s wardrobe gave us insight into the character. Branagh chose to adorn his characters in costumes from the 1800’s which were similar to the time period that Hamlet was originally set in. In this scene, the women were dressed in large extravagant gowns and had their hair up in intricate styles while the men were in colorful coats and vests. Branagh choice of going with old English costume would entice is target audience of old English Shakespearean fans who would admire his ability to stick as closely to the original play.
Different from Branagh, Doran went with more modern costume, his play was set in 2009 and the clothing of the characters reflected the fashion at the time. The characters were dressed in modern day clothing such as; jeans and sneakers. This appealed to his target audience of younger, more modern Shakespearean fans. Seeing the characters in what the target audience would have seen as everyday clothing would allow the audience to relate to the characters better. Branagh and Doran’s films vastly differ in their use of dialogue and how the dialogue was expressed.
Branagh’s film clocked in at about 4 hours due to his choice of using all of Shakespeare’s original dialogue while Doran chose to cut out lines and scene he considered not important as well as add dialogue which were not in the original text. The directors choice of the dialogues they used was based on their target audience. Hamlet used all of Shakespeare’s original text to appeal to the devoted Shakespeare fans while Stewart is trying to appeal to a younger udience so cutting out dialogue made the play shorter which allows the restless audience members to sit through all of it.
In this portion of the scene, Shakespeare left a lot of room for imagination and the directors interpreted it as they thought fit best. A prominent example of this was the short exchange between Gertrude and Claudius before she drank the poisoned wine. The king tried to stop her from drinking by yelling “do not drink” (5. 2. 282) but Gertrude drank anyways replying “I will my lord, I pray you pardon me” (5. 2. 283). This exchange has caused controversy for a very long time.
On one hand Gertrude could have been completely oblivious to the poison in the drink or as many people believe, she was aware of the poison in the cup and drank it as her final act of love for her son. The two directors were on opposing sides of the controversy and showed it in their film. In Branagh’s adaptation Gertrude could be seen clearly enjoying the fight and even smiling and laughing. Just as she drank she gave no indication that she was aware of the poison. She even goes as far as to offer the drink to Hamlet which he declines, completely unaware of the poison.
In contrast to Doran’s version in which Gertrude noticeably stiffens when Claudius interrupts her drinking and looks into her cup then back up at Hamlet in shock. She even says her following line in a scared tone which prompts the audience to think she knew more than she was letting on. And despite her revelation she downs the cup eagerly and goes off to the side quietly accepting her fate. Branagh and Doran embraced their separate interpretations based on the audience they were targeting. They expressed their standings on the controversy strictly through
Gertrude. Throughout Branagh’s film, he stays true to Shakespeare’s original text, and nowhere in Hamlet does Shakespeare blatantly state that Gertrude was aware of the poison. Branagh target audience were Shakespeare fans, he knew they would appreciate the dedication to the original script, therefore, Branagh did not want to imply anything in the film. Doran was targeting a more modern and younger audience. The younger generation is more open and eager to see a different interpretation of a Shakespeare play over seeing the same typical scene done the same way.
In conclusion, Kenneth Branagh, and Gregory Doran both created exquisite remakes of Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet. But how did these directors manage to create two completely different films based on the same play? Time was a key factor in the outcomes of these films. Kenneth Branagh and Patrick Stewart’s interpretation of the play Hamlet varied because the time period their target audience were in. The directors chose to use different editing techniques, costume and props, and also expressed their dialogue differently to appeal to their target audience.
