Hamlet: To Be or Not To Be.

       I was really looking forward to watching each on screen portrayal of the “To Be or Not To Be” speech after reading it in class. After watching all four movies I once again felt that Branaugh's film depicted this scene the best. In this particular version, Branaugh chooses to set his scene in a large hall filled with two-way mirrors. Branaugh delivers the speech to one of the mirrors were, unbeknownst to him, Polonius and Claudius are hiding. This added suspense that I felt was not present in the other films.  I also liked Branaugh's incorporation of the dagger during this scene. The use of the dagger worked well with Hamlet's suicidal soliloquy and made the scene more enjoyable to watch.   

       Olivier's adaptation of the "To Be or Not To Be" speech was my least favorite. This particular scene takes place on top of a castle over looking a body of water. Half the speech is spoken while the other half is giving in the actor's head. In my opinion this took away from the scene. I didn't understand the reason for this and was immediately thrown off. The actor's delivery of the speech was calm and slow. In general I felt this scene was boring and lacked the emotion displayed in the other films. 

       I enjoyed Zeffirelli's adaption of Hamlet's speech. This scene takes place in the catacombs below the castle. I felt this particular setting was appropriate but dull. There was nothing really exciting about this set. With that said, I felt Gibson's delivery of the speech was good. It was emotion and well read. I also felt that Hawke's delivery of this speech was emotionally read. However, I did not enjoy Almereyda's version as much. I felt the modern setting (Blockbuster) took away from the speech. Similarly to Olivier's Hamlet, Hawke resists the speech both in his head and aloud. Once again I felt this was unnecessary. In my opinion Almereyda's Hamlet fell flat.