带着任务看电影

多年前在OU读书时，我特别羡慕那些电影系的同学们。据说他们天天看电影写影评，能不让我羡慕嘛。时隔二十多年后，当我也有天天看电影写影评的机会时，我觉得带着任务看电影其实并不轻松。

莎士比亚的作品被好莱坞改成了好几个版本，我们的任务就是观看每个电影版本，然后各个击破，写出老师要求的影评。下面这个作业里的电影，保留了莎士比亚哈姆雷特的原味儿，影片长达4小时。我边看电影边翻书，把电影里的台词和莎士比亚原著对应起来之后，我才写出了这个作业。真是费老劲儿了。写作业时，我觉得自己就是一只特认真的笨鸟。功夫不负苦心人，老师给了我满分。

Please respond to the following questions while viewing or after viewing Kenneth Branagh's version of Hamlet (1996). This film is a largely unedited version of Shakespeare's play using the Second quarto version. Here is some additional background on the film http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116477/. Then in order to get credit for this assignment, post one of your responses in discussions.

1. The convention of the soliloquy (one person speaking while alone on stage) is difficult to reproduce on film. On stage, the actor can be speaking to him or herself or to the audience. Film directors need to  make other choices. Please describe how Branagh chose to direct/film one of Hamlet's soliloquies ( such as "to be or not to be"), considering the situation and  using and explaining at least two of the following terms ( you should refer to the text Shakespeare on Film for definitions of the terms): a. closeup b. voiceover c. flashcut (75 word minimum)

a). By definition, closeup is the projection of a cinematic image which takes up a large portion of the screen, achieved through the close proximity of the subject and the camera’s lens(Shakespeare on Film, page 197). When Hamlet speaks his second soliloquy (1.2.154 to 1.2.257), a closeup technique is used. Particularly when Hamlet speaks line 1.2.254 (“ Foul deeds will rise”), a closeup is pointed to his angry face and a book.

b). By definition, voiceover is a voice in a film that is not synchronized with the projected speech of a character, but is spoken as a narrator outside the context of the cinematic action. Often the voice articulates a character’s thoughts, which remain unspoken in the action of the film (Shakespeare on Film, page 201). For the majorities of Hamlet’s soliloquies in this movie, they are not voiceover because the actor speaks out these soliloquies on the screen. However, when Hamlet is informed that his ghost father comes (1.4.19), he rapidly runs in the dark to find his ghost father while he unspeaks lines 1.4.20 to 1.4.38 in a voiceover manner.  

c). By definition, flashcut is the projection of different shots of very short duration following one another in rapid succession (Shakespeare on Film, page 198). When Branagh as Hamlet in the movie performs  lines 1.4.20 to 1.4.38, this technique is used to show his heart drifting. 

2. Identify and describe one of the flashbacks Branagh uses (50 word minimum) 

There are several flashbacks in this movie. The most touching one to me is for Act 1.3.90 to 1.3.135. When Laertes leaves, Ophelia and her father Polonius have a conversation about Hamlet. After Polonius says line 1.3.117 as follows: “ These blazes, daughter….” , a flashback appears to recall the sexual activity between Ophelia and Hamlet. After .Ophelia says line 1.3.145 as follows: “ I  do not know, my lord, what I should think” , the same flashback of  the sexual scene appears again.  When their conversation goes on to the end for this scene, after  Ophelia says line 1.3.136 as follows:” I shall obey, my lord”, this flashback of sexual scene appears one more time.    As an audience, I feel that this flashback is a really powerful  tool to show the inner struggling of Ophelia.

3. Identify a scene that could not have occurred on stage and explain why. (50 word minimum)

Almost at the end of the movie, when Hamlet dies on the floor, at least more than fifty Norway soldiers suddenly break the glass windows and rush into the palace in a very speedy way. These soldiers seem to appear from nowhere in a second.  Handling so many soldiers from different directions on stage is very difficult and I would say that this kind of scene is almost impossible on stage.  I also think that making ghost father of Hamlet suddenly disappear is impossible on stage, too.

4. What was the most effective scene in the movie for you? Explain why.

The most effective scene in the movie for me is when Hamlet talks to his ghost father for the first time.  After Hamlet asks his ghost father about the truth of his death,  the ghost father speaks lines from 1.5,9 to 1.5.28 in a hatred tone. Gradually, the mouth of the ghost father occupies the whole scene by a close-up technique. When the ghost fathers says  “ Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5. 25), his mouth on the whole scene makes this statement really serious and powerful. Since revenge is the main theme of this movie, this order from the ghost father to Hamlet  is a key turning point for what happens next in the movie.  Since this movie director  handles this scene using a close-up technique, I feel it is the most effective scene for me.