In the first of many soliloquies found throughout Hamlet, it is interesting to see how it plays out on screen or stage by different actors.
After seeing the five versions of Hamlets soliloquy I have to say I enjoyed Mel Gibson's performance best. He not only involved emotion into Hamlets mood but also in what he said. I like the fact that he didn't look into the camera, giving the scene a sense of realism. I thought it was a good idea to have in go to the window and look out at the people as he spoke. Again, it gave the scene a sense of realism.
In regards to Kenneth "the Shakespeare guy" Branagh's portrayal sounded more like he was reciting a speech. Perhaps he was trying not to forget his lines. I like his physical presence but not so much his acting.
With Kevin Kline it was sort of the same thing, instead it seem like he was caught in a fog. I don't know what the producers were thinking but by having all that smoke on stage, it seemed to like I was watching "The happening."
On to Tony Richardson, I liked his performance even it was an old version. I like how he sat in front of the camera and just looked up as if speaking to God. And the fact that he is close to the camera helps for viewer to notice his emotions as he speaks. At one moment he even leans his head on his left fist as if pondering, then slightly hitting himself adding more pain to his performance.
The last performance and my least favorite is by Japan's very own Fujiwara Tatsuya. At first i couldn't tell what was going on. All I could see is people in a cage. After everyone leaves and he's left alone...that's when it got frightfully interesting. He began running around like a "mad" man then stopping to yell (not act). I feel as if the acting was over playing the role of Hamlet. If I didn't know that what I was seeing was a scene from Hamlet, I would have thought it was about a guy who had trouble defecating. He looked like he was constipated (Am sorry!). Needless to say the performance was S*****.
As I mentioned before, Mel Gibson's performance was superb and I highly recommend it. M
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3 comments:
Interesting--check out what John and Christine have to say about their favorites (and I think either one of them or Chrsitian agrees with you on the "going to the bathroom" effect of the last performance)
I think Mel Gibson is the most talented actor out of all the actors portraying Hamlet.However, When I invision Hamlet, I see his emotions being all over the place. That is why I think Kenneth Branagh best portrayed Hamlet.
Good insight on the videos.
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