Hamlet: The First Ghost Scene.

       In Branagh’s version of Hamlet the director chose to set his film in the 19th century. His sets are vibrant and his depiction of past events gives the audience a better understanding of life before the King's death. In my opinion this film is acted the best. The sets are how I envisioned them to be and the actors, especially Branagh, play their parts well. The film is dramatic and the acting is over the top when necessary. The first ghost scene is a pivotal part in Hamlet and should be played with as much emotion as possible. The foggy forest setting and loud music creates a dark and ominous atmosphere that is essential to the story. Overall, I felt this movie was the most successful in reenacting this particular scene.

       Zeffirelli version of Hamlet is Medieval based. For this reason the sets were much darker compared to Branagh's. This immediately threw me off. I was not as drawn or interested as I had been for the first film. Moreover, the acting for me fell flat. Gibson as Hamlet was not convincing and I often found myself bored. The ghost scene was anticlimactic and unappealing. There was little emotion shared between the two characters and I was not as enchanted during this scene as I had been for Branagh's. In my opinion, this subtle approach to Hamlet's first ghost scene was unsuccessful. 

       Of all three visions, Almereyda adaptation of Hamlet is the one I remember least. The film is set in Modern day Manhattan but uses the same dialogue as the play. While watching this scene I felt very underwhelmed.The acting, for the most part, was mediocre and the contemporary setting clashed with the dialogue. In my opinion, this was the worst film of the three. If I were to interpret this scene through film myself, my approach would be similar to Branagh's. I would use dramatic lighting and settings to convey the importance of the scene.