Hamlet- Mel Gibson version.
In my opinion, I found this version to be the best. This version provided a dark setting, with tombs Though everyone has their opinion's about Mel Gibson, he is a wonderful actor. When he started reciting the speech, he captivated me from the beginning. He makes it easy to understand if you have never heard it before. You can tell that he is talking to himself, and that many thoughts are running through his mind...but he doesnt come off as creepy or crazy. He is just truly depressed. Whereas, in Lawrence Olivier's version, he comes off very creepy and crazy.
Hamlet- Lawrence Olivier version
This version of the "To Be Or Not To Be" speech was my least favorite. Not only was the speech delivered in an extremely odd way, it seemed as if was actually going to commit suicide right there. In the speech, Hamlet just contemplates suicide seriously. Even when I read it in the text, I pictured him just talking about it, not actually having the "bodkin" in hand and ready to do it. Also, he doesnt speak in some of the clip. This was one thing I actually liked, that it was a voiceover, it was like you were hearing his thoughts whereas the other two, you just hear them speaking.
Hamlet- Kenneth Branaugh version
This speech was very dramatic and seriously delivered, but the setting was off. It looked like it was in a palace, and then you saw the people in the very beginning. I just didnt really get what the setting was trying to portray. But, I did like the directors decision to use the mirror. It was a very literal "battle" between the character and his inner self. It worked very well. Compared to the other two this one was just okay. It wasn't as bad as te Lawrence Olivier version, however, the Mel Gibson version is still the best in my opinion.
Our opinions concerning the three different versions of Shakespeare's "To Be Or Not To Be..." are tremendously similar. I realized that you basically have the exact same ideas as I do. I agree that Mel Gibson's version is very easy to understand, as well as it gives the best representation of what Shakespeare's Hamlet might have been feeling at that time. Gibson's version is also my favorite because it provides the scenery and mood for the viewer to fully understand Hamlet's unhappy state of mind. Lawrence Olivier's version was also my least favorite. I agree with you on the fact that the entire scene was very odd and unusual. It seemed to me as if Olivier's character was actually going to commit suicide. In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet has more of an internal battle of whether to kill himself or stay alive. In Oliver's version it seemed to me as if he had already made the decision to die, and now he just had to follow through with it. I think you did a very good job at understanding the differences between each version.
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