act3 scene1: differences between the 2 movies

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Act 3, scene 1, where Hamlet tells Olpheila "get thee to a nunnery". What do you think are the main differences in this scene between Branagh and Kenneth?

-- zorella clawz (ssj_zorella@dbzmail.com), November 15, 2000

Answers

Uh - Branagh and Kenneth? Do you mean Branagh and Hamlet?

-- mikken (mikken@neo.rr.com), November 20, 2000.

Or do you mean between Branagh and Gibson?

-- mikken (mikken@neo.rr.com), November 20, 2000.

sorry, I wan't thinking straight at the time. What I meant was, the difference between the two scenes in Branagh's movie and Zeffirelli's movie.

-- Zorella Clawz (ssj_zorella@dbzmail.com), November 21, 2000.

Well, let's see. Branagh had that terrible second right after Ophelia tells Hamlet that her dad is at home. Watch carefully - he wants to believe, wants it, wants it - then, no. He knows she's lying. Let the doors be shut - not just on Polonius, but on Ophelia, his love for her, his hopes .... It was a mastery of the tragic loss that occurs in that one instant. Then a venting of the pain and the rage. Go to the nunnery. Not just to protect men from women, but also me from my feelings for you and you from me (and all men who can never truly love or be worthy of love). Branagh conveys the pain, loss, betrayal, and fear of the characters in the scene.

Zeffirelli, on the other hand (and forgive my memory - I haven't watched it in years) grafts this scene into the beginning of the play scene where Hamlet and Ophelia are already seated in the audience. Hamlet seems to be off his nut when he leans over and tells Ophelia to go to the nunnery. She responds with blank confusion. Who can blame her? Where has she been? What has she been doing? Did she betray him? Did she spill popcorn on him? Z. reduced her part almost to obscurity (along with Horatio). The sad truth is that Zeffirelli did not have an understanding of the depth of the play when he made that film. He missed great opportunities in language and character. His cast could have done so much more if they had a director who understood the power of the play. Ah well. That's my two cents.

-- mikken (mikken@neo.rr.com), December 02, 2000.


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