اقتباس‌هایی از هملت

In Week 2 we looked at different film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet around the world. Here we look at the different ways that Hamlet has been interpreted.

There have been more than fifty film versions of Hamlet since 1900. A few of the most famous are:

Hamlet (1948)
This version was directed by and starred the famous English actor, Sir Laurence Olivier and was the first British film to win an Oscar. Olivier adapted the play and reduced its length to about two hours.

Hamlet (1990)
Director Franco Zeffirelli made the decision to cast Mel Gibson, better known for his roles in action films like Mad Max and Lethal Weapon, as Hamlet. Again, the film adapted the play to make it an acceptable length for cinema.

Hamlet (1996)
Actor/director Kenneth Branagh assembled an all-star cast for this unabridged version of the play. The film is often mentioned as one of the best Shakespeare film versions ever made.

As well as filmed versions of the play, there have been several films based on the story of Hamlet.

The Bad Sleep Well (Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru) (1960)
Famous Japanese director Akira Kurosawa directed this story of a young man joining a powerful company to try to expose the men responsible for the death of his father.

Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)
Playwright Tom Stoppard directed this film version of his own play which focuses on two minor characters in Hamlet.

Hamlet Goes Business (Hamlet Liikemaailmassa) (1987)
Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki made this comedy set in a sawmill.

The Lion King (1994)
The king is murdered by his brother. The king’s ghost tells his son to challenge the wicked uncle. Does this sound familiar? Of course this Disney version does not have Hamlet’s tragic ending.

- Have you seen any of these films?
- Do you know any other film versions of Hamlet or films that use the Hamlet story?