Going Once, Going Twice, Sold.

     "To Be Or Not To Be" is one of the most important scenes of Hamlet. It is interesting to see how three directors decided to shoot this scene three different ways. Although the three scenes are of the same speech, they have various impacts on the viewer by using certain settings or props.
     Out of the three, the least powerful seemed to be Hamlet performed by Lawrence Olivier. The opening scene of the beach seemed unfitting and the dramatic music seems to over power the meaning of the actual speech. The way he says the speech also seems awkward and meaningless as if he were just reading lines. Having a knife as a prop was a good idea, but it was executed the wrong way. This whole scene is just a train wreck of over dramatization and kills the "To Be Or Not To Be" speech.
     The next scene that was slightly more powerful to me was Hamlet performed by Kenneth Branagh. Once again the setting seemed slightly off. The emptiness of the big room conveys a feeling of emptiness and loneliness to me which is how Hamlet should feel. But at the same time all the white and mirrors in the room bring a sense of lightness and clarity, which is not how Hamlet feels during this speech. Hamlet speaking to himself in the mirror is definitely creepy, but it accurately represents his insanity. This is also another case where a knife was used as a prop, this time it was used more appropriately and had a stronger impact. I think towards the end of the speech they took the insanity factor over the edge.They portrayed Hamlet as overly crazy and angry, specially while he held the knife against his face as he spoke.
     My favorite representation of Hamlet is done by Mel Gibson. I think the director had the best representation of Hamlet and really captured what Shakespeare wanted his audience to see. This scene is shot in the tomb of Hamlet's father, which I couldn't picture Hamlet being in any other spot during this speech. All the darkness and death that surrounds Hamlet is extremely fitting. Here Hamlet speaks as if he were upset and angry, which is how it should be done. His emotions are confused and so is he, to the point that he is considering the worth of life and death.
     Capturing so much emotion and meaning in one scene is a hard thing to do. I congratulate all the directors that attempted their views on Hamlet. The worth of their attempts is left up to each individual viewer. Even though I do find one better than the other, I believe they all were a job well done.