Hamlet on Film: An Alternative Medium Essay

Hardliners and literary purists of Shakespeares works might bring turn break through it hard to engage in the entertaining yet profound innovative adaptation of crossroads. Michael Almereydas re-interpretation of Hamlet set in modern propagation has met mix criticisms maven of disdain and the other filled with delight. There break been many attempts to elucidate Shakespeares Hamlet relevant to todays fast-paced and commercially set society. Still the rest falter bandage a rare few have managed to shine to perfection correct if the snotty will to the highest degree likely pick on the bare anachronism and lack of literary value.Yet Almereydas adaptation of Shakespeares Hamlet to dissipate is able to transcend the fixation for the veritable and permit almostthing that young audiences and readers alike kindle enjoy. Shakespeares Hamlet has attained world-wide familiarity. It follows a plot that even the uninitiated can relate to. It is a story ab forth a person who, after finding out that his mother has married another (who turns out later to be the manslayer of the father) just after the wake of the of his father, suffers an episode of mad rampage and revenge.The folly that Hamlet suffers is a tale that is almost impossible to portray without the back up of poetic lyric poem and lyrics. This is probably why any attempt at projecting the complicated character and his vices in the giving screen would most likely fail. His madness is simply beyond the reach of any cinematic magic. What is required is a clever tinker of words and the appropriate substance abuse of imagery and not a series of images that fails to deliver what is hidden and subtle. provided this major obstacle, Almereydas manner of singing the story in the aforesaid(prenominal) archaic English language moreover with liberal changes in setting, actors and general plot has defeat the hurdle of making Shakespearean plays relevant. The feature that the plot was revamped to include radical technological advancements such as the advent of radiocommunication telecommunications and the dominant presence of corporations is something that b casts on incredible insensitivity to the original Hamlet to pure genius. At first glance, it is difficult to connect the past with the future. other(a) adaptations strive to stay true to the script as well as the contextual background in translating the words of Shakespeare to moving images. However, Almereydas interpretation, if it can be called as such, revolutionizes the way Shakespeare and his works are interpreted on the silver screen. For instance, kings were replaced by corporate big-heads and CEOs and Hamleta medieval figure has been transformed to a person who embodies with utmost true statement late-teenage angst with certain qualities that not exactly keeps in line with how Hamlet was thus but likewise takes on other unique attributes such beingness pensive and reserved.Ambitious as it is difficult, the modern version of Hamlet is in many ways a success than a failure. Ethan Hawkes portrayal of Hamlet maybe a little in any case wide of the jibe in certain digs where it is obvious that the recitation of Shakespeares renowned lines attend forced and contrived. But where it matters the most, especially the famous Hamlet soliloquy where he ponders on the some(prenominal) layers of life and living comes out as both(prenominal) contemporary and faithful to the original.For instance, the dead reckoning in the picture show store is telling of how much the lease has integrated older English to modern life. Ethan Hawke, who plays Hamlet, utters the famous monologue with consistency and resolve. At first, the words come out too slow and too artificial as if Shakespeares words shortly turned violent and meaningless with Ethan Hawkes voice. But after several moments of dramatic pauses and carefully timed emphasis on certain words, the teenage-angst driven speech becomes a beautifu l and deliberate as if the character is both alike and different to Hamlet.Perhaps this is because the lines are inherently profound and no matter who says it and in whatever manner the lines will never be less good than it is. Yet it is clear, that the portrayal is more than sufficient to achieve the standards that Shakespeare, if alive today, would likely approve. In other words, the scene where Ethan Hawke performs the famous lines is a gamble by the director, which gamble has paid off.For one, despite the initial problems with connecting the old times with the new inasmuch as the film is merely a hash over of an old play, the monologue has turned from ancient to modern. Thanks to the controlled way in which Ethan Hawke has delivered the lines, it becomes easy for the modern audience to appreciate the lines as if they were reading the original. other notable feature of the scene is the fact that it is set in video rental store. This is significant because it is generally assume d that when Hamlet said these words he was alone and in a dark place.In the scene however, the place was well lighted and the actor although technically alone was contact by shelves of consumer-friendly products i. e. movies and blockbusters, which if interpreted in the modern sense would probably tonality a picture of a world overwhelmed by the omnipresence of consumers and products. In other words, the scene was shown in a way that touches base with the verity of the corporate world as juxtaposed to the dark and brooding milieu when Hamlet felt the need to question life and his desire to live.The changes in some of the lines are also a contentious issue when reflexion the film after having read the original. While it is admirable that the screenwriter has obdurate to edit a few words out in order to make some of the lines easy to the ears of the moviegoer, the fact that some of the words were taken out and replaced with a re-interpretation if not an abbreviation of complex thoughts puts a capacious crevice from the original work from the adaptation.One such instance is the scene where Hamlet slowly dies as he utters his final words. The original version has a measured cadence to the words but the film turns this turn into short phrases that notwithstanding the close similarity to the original fails to capture the original scene when Hamlet dies. These departures from the original are probably a necessity evil in order to produce and make a film of such scale and ambition.It would not be surprising that to transform a Shakespearean ballad into a modern version would require some tweaking in order to present the story to the audience that does not only overwhelm them with details and the subtlety of the original but manages to thresh out the beauty of the play without being too cerebral. In the same vein, the film is successful as a modern adaptation of Hamlet scarce because the world wherein the story is set is almost similar. While the Prince of D enmark had his grand height and his privileged position as a respected intellectual in Shakespeares Hamlet, so did the Hamlet in Almereydas film.The rest of the characters also jive with, or at least stay parallel to, the original. They erupt and play the roles in the film almost exactly as how one would imagine the characters while reading the play. Indeed, the visual advantages of film are play a major role in making the film a success as compared to the flat and limited stage acting. It is a fact that the plays of Shakespeare were performed on stage with real actors very much like films of today are dominated by actors and actresses.However, it is entirely different when the medium involves the big screen, closed-up images, camera angles and the freedom to shoot scenes in whatever form and location. The limitations of stage Hamlet on a closed-in theatrical platform are overcome by the power of the film to zoom in and out of come across locations. In addition, not only are the locations more versatile and limitless, comparatively, but the facial expressions and the movements of the actors and actresses become magnified for the audience to hear and see with scarce precision and detail.Ultimately, these main visual and auditory advantage help make the modern adaptation a faithful re-production of Hamlet and an exquisitely shaped and clever modern portrayal of timeless and iconic characters playing out a famous story of revenge, betrayal and redemption. Works Cited Hamlet. Dir. Michael Almereyda. Perf. Ethan Hawke, Julia Stiles, Bill Murray, Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Venora, and surface-to-air missile Shepard. Miramax, 2000. Film.