Hamlet Adaptations
Mel Gibson 1991
- Hamlet and Gertrude Oedipus complex –
sexual like scene in chambers – THEY KISS???
- Hamlet laughs hysterically after Claudius runs
away from the play within the play
Paapa Essiedu 2016
- Ophelia paints her face as she becomes mad
- Hamlet is a painter
- Hamlet is unstable after his confrontation with the Ghost and
threatens Marcellus and Horatio with a gun for them to swear
to not tell anyone
- Hamlet spray paints + defaces portrait of Gertrude and Claudius
out of malice
Kenneth Branagh 1996
- Checkerboard court
- Hamlet envisions killing Claudius whilst he is praying
- Elsinore is always partying
- Recognises he hasn’t killed Claudius but Polonius yet
continues to stab him
- Ophelia in a straight-jacket
- Led sexual implications in Ophelia’s scenes of madness,
thrusts on the floor and flashbacks of sex with Hamlet
- Polonius dismisses prostitute from private chamber before
welcoming Ophelia in – emphasises his moral hypocrisy
Maxine Peake 2014
- Female Hamlet
- The same actor plays Claudius and the Ghost
Laurence Olivier 1948
- All of the soliloquies are partially in Hamlet’s head
- Hamlet is explosive and changes moods instantly – almost as if
bi-polar
- Camera focus on Claudius’ hands multiple times when
addressing death – notably with the murdering of King Hamlet
while praying and when he decides to send Hamlet to England
- Completely cuts out R+G
- Setting
o Spiralling structure+ complex castle
o Restlessness of cameras + constant motion – mirrors Hamlet’s psychological
confusion
Doran 2008
Mel Gibson 1991
- Hamlet and Gertrude Oedipus complex –
sexual like scene in chambers – THEY KISS???
- Hamlet laughs hysterically after Claudius runs
away from the play within the play
Paapa Essiedu 2016
- Ophelia paints her face as she becomes mad
- Hamlet is a painter
- Hamlet is unstable after his confrontation with the Ghost and
threatens Marcellus and Horatio with a gun for them to swear
to not tell anyone
- Hamlet spray paints + defaces portrait of Gertrude and Claudius
out of malice
Kenneth Branagh 1996
- Checkerboard court
- Hamlet envisions killing Claudius whilst he is praying
- Elsinore is always partying
- Recognises he hasn’t killed Claudius but Polonius yet
continues to stab him
- Ophelia in a straight-jacket
- Led sexual implications in Ophelia’s scenes of madness,
thrusts on the floor and flashbacks of sex with Hamlet
- Polonius dismisses prostitute from private chamber before
welcoming Ophelia in – emphasises his moral hypocrisy
Maxine Peake 2014
- Female Hamlet
- The same actor plays Claudius and the Ghost
Laurence Olivier 1948
- All of the soliloquies are partially in Hamlet’s head
- Hamlet is explosive and changes moods instantly – almost as if
bi-polar
- Camera focus on Claudius’ hands multiple times when
addressing death – notably with the murdering of King Hamlet
while praying and when he decides to send Hamlet to England
- Completely cuts out R+G
- Setting
o Spiralling structure+ complex castle
o Restlessness of cameras + constant motion – mirrors Hamlet’s psychological
confusion
Doran 2008
