Hamlet (1996)

In the movie, Hamlet, directed by Kenneth Branagh, Prince Hamlet recently has returned from England only to discover that his father was mysteriously murdered and his mother remarrying his uncle, Claudius. One night, Hamlet comes face to face with the ghost of his deceased father, King Hamlet, who reveals that Claudius is the man who murdered him and asks Hamlet one thing, to seek revenge. Throughout this literary adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most well known plays, Kenneth Branagh leaves everyone on the edge of their seats as they follow Hamlet and his plot to seek revenge. The play itself is one to watch for, but the big screen adaptation is right there with it. The characters, emotions and actions were flawlessly shown throughout the film, leaving no complaints from myself. Though this may not be a movie recommended for those under the age of 13, Hamlet is acceptable to show to freshman in highschool and adults of any age. To conclude, the silver screen adaptation of Hamlet, is an exceptional movie and highly recommended for those who are fans of Shakespeare's work or for those who just want to enjoy a movie.

The movie and the book were very simaliar however I was not a fan of how over-dramatized the movie was. For example, Hamlet swung on a chandelier in the movie to kill Claudius, however in the book he just poisoned him. Another example would be when Hamlet threw the sword at Claudius, it went too far. The plot however was still was the same which I enjoyed.

In the movie Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Kenneth Branagh, Hollywood meets old fashioned Shakespearean plays. The main character, Hamlet, begins his journey with a familiar face telling him the truth about his father's strange death. Hamlet sets out to expose the truth of his father's death to Denmark and figure out what is really going on through love, madness, and even murder. Hamlet is a great representation of how greed and vengeance can lead to malicious acts. The movie follows the main text well for a movie remake. Even with that, it was not easy to follow the characters or connect with them throughout the movie. I would recommend this movie only for people with a good knowledge of Shakespearean plays. Although the movie was good, the language is not easy to follow. Kids probably won't enjoy this movie. The language, little action, and drawn out long dialogue makes this movie rather boring for the young fellas. The director did a very good job of interpreting confusing scenes into how he saw them. An example of this would be the scene where Ophelia is giving out flowers. Rather than having her hand out real flowers, the director followed the characteristic that Ophelia had gone mad by making the flowers imaginary for the movie. Another plus is the addition of flashbacks during the dialogue. For example, the director showed Hamlet Sr.'s death while the characters were discussing it in one of the firsts scenes. If you've made it this far, chances are you probably don't have a problem with old Shakespeare and understand the language. For you, I'd recommend you watch this movie. It will help you understand the play better and offer another perspective on the confusing language that you didn't have a clue on what was going on.

"Hamlet", based on the Shakespearean tragedy, directed by Kenneth Branagh, is an excellent retelling of the play. It delves into the life of prince Hamlet, and his thirst for vengeance for his father. Throughout the movie, the plot is almost exact to that of the play. We are reading this in English class, and the movie is a perfect comprension aid if anybody in the class has trouble understanding a scene. Luckily, the acting wasn't too cheesy, so it was enjoyable to watch. The only trouble I came across was that the director had his own take on scenes. For example, we were having a discussion in class about if Gertrude knew if the cup was poisoned before she drank it. The play didn't really give an answer to that, but in the movie, we seem to be more sure of the answer. Although instances like that popped up a few times, it didn't take away from the movie at all, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed reading the play!