Hamlet dvd?

[Guest Barb B]

Is there a good one to watch? We are reading this and I am confussed researching the numerous dvd versions of Hamlet. Which is the most true to the play?

 

Barb

[Phoatogirl]

Hello, this is Phoatogirls son, Michael.

 

I've seen three different versions of Hamlet and most of them are very close to the actual play. I do reccomend the BBC version of Hamlet starring David Tennant. Apart from being set in modern day I found this version to be the closest to the play. Also, David Tennant is a fantastic actor. The Mel Gibson version may be easier to find, but the move scenes around and cut out large portions of the characters monolouges.

 

I hope this helps, these are the two best that I have seen.

[pbjmeyer]

Hello, this is Phoatogirls son, Michael.

 

I've seen three different versions of Hamlet and most of them are very close to the actual play. I do reccomend the BBC version of Hamlet starring David Tennant. Apart from being set in modern day I found this version to be the closest to the play. Also, David Tennant is a fantastic actor. The Mel Gibson version may be easier to find, but the move scenes around and cut out large portions of the characters monolouges.

 

I hope this helps, these are the two best that I have seen.

 

:iagree: the new one with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart is fantastic. You can get it thru netflix.

[holdoll]

is the Kenneth Brannaugh version. It is my absolute favorite!

[Guest]

Watch and compare! The idea that there is one "true" play is actually inaccurate; many, if not all, of the plays exist in several different forms, and the ones that were compiled for the First Folio were often edited so that bits and pieces of different versions got patched together to make a longer play than was usually performed. So I wouldn't worry about finding a magical version that corresponds to the single best text. It's interesting to view them as shifting, living things in their own time and in ours, and to compare how actors and directors approach them -- which would have been what happened in the past as well. In fact the plays were not performed from the First Folio for much of the intervening time, but were censored (particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries), the tragedies given happy endings, etc.

[FaithManor]

I think that both the Kenneth Brannaugh and Patrick Stewart were well done. That said, though the Mel Gibson version did chop the monologues up a bit, I was pleasantly suprised at Mel Gibson's abilities. When we watched it, we had only seen his action flicks and figured that this would be an "oh puuuuuuuleeeeeeez, I can't take it anymore, turn it off!" experience.

 

Faith

[Beth in SW WA]

We saw Hamlet this summer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. So amazing!

 

I like this one with Jacobi.

 

I own the Mel Gibson version. Love the scene in the library. He played a creepy Prince Hamlet.

 

I can't wait to try the new one with Patrick Stewart. I just added it to my Netflix queue. Thanks!