Hamlet: "To be or not to be"

        "To be or not to be/ that is the question." This quote has become one of the most famous in the history of theatre. This has been interpreted in many different ways. We saw four different portrayals of the same scene, and no two were alike. In Olivier's version, Hamlet is located on a bridge with his feet dangling off. This shows us how suicidal he is feeling and how everything that's happening is too much for him. Zeffirelli has Hamlet doing his soliloquy in a tomb, most likely for his family. He speaks as if almost to the corpses, and this shows us how truly crazy he is becoming. In Branagh's version, Hamlet is speaking in a room by himself to a mirror, as if talking to himself. This is to provide us with an insight into the internal conflict that Hamlet is struggling through. Lastly, Almereyda has his Hamlet walking in the action aisle of a Blockbuster. This portrays him as more modern, yet it reveals his state of mind.
        Each one of these examples has background music. Olivier's music and Zeffirelli's music are very comparable. They both play for the entire scene, but more as a sort of undertone. This sets a mood that Hamlet is slowly going crazy. Branagh starts his music softly, and gradually makes it louder, so it eventually looms over you like an ominous cloud. Almereyda does include music, but it is very different from the others. His music is more modern and it incorporates other sounds that you would hear in a movie store. But nonetheless, it still comes across to the viewers as sort of frightening.
        Olivier keeps his scene fairly simple, but he does use one prop. He uses a small knife in order to enhance the impact that the overall theme had on the viewers. Zeffirelli shows Hamlet with no props in a dimly lit tomb. The torch-lit room emphasizes what is happening in Hamlet's mind. Branagh uses a knife, as well as enough mirrors to fill an entire room. This makes us have to ability to understand what he's thinking and why. Almereyda uses a prop to show that Hamlet is looking at the action movies in the store, and another prop was a movie that was playing on the T.V. in the store.
        When Olivier's Hamlet delivered his lines, he seemed almost emotionless at first, and then he became aggravated as he exited the scene. Zeffirelli as usual had Hamlet portray a variety of emotions. He entered the tomb with great sorrow, and as he delivered his lines, it slowly turned to anger, and then to confusion. This effects us deeply because as he added more emotion, we were able to relate with the character more. Branagh portrays Hamlet mainly with anger throughout. However, he still shows us the characters thoughts through his actions. Almereyda has Hamlet speak mainly in a monotone. This didn't allow much room for emotion. The actor showed no emotion for the entire soliloquy, and this made him come off as slightly emo.
        This play is very complex, and can be interpreted in many different ways. That's why there are so many different versions of it. This shows us how flexible the characters and settings can be. I personally enjoyed the Branagh take on this scene the most because of his attention to detail of what Hamlet was dealing with. I liked how he accurately showed the slow descent into madness of the main character, and also how he briefly showed the fear on King Claudius's face while Hamlet was delivering his thoughts.