Undoubtedly , Shakespeare's Hamlet has been adapted into many films over the years. Its interesting to see how differently each director decides to portray certain scenes. Directors Zeffirelli, Branagh, and Almereyda each use certain settings, lighting, emotion, and music to make their own unique take on Hamlet. Specially referring to the ghost scene, when Hamlet's father's ghost speaks to him of murder and betrayal, each director made a different approach with the emotion of the actors.
In Zeffirelli's version, the audience gets to see the emotions that Hamlet is feeling. Particularly, Hamlet is surprised and scared, but at the same time he takes in what his father is telling him with full understanding. The director portrays Hamlets father in the dark while Hamlet is in the like. With this we see the difference between the living and the dead but at the same time it is not overdone. This version was the best one in my opinion because the director was able show the emotion and point of the scene without exaggerating emotions or making the ghost scene seem more like a fantasy movie than a drama.
From a much different angle, Branagh, portrays Hamlet's father as over barring and a bit scary. The director uses an ominous scene with fog to make the scene seem unsettling when it really shouldn't be. Instead the scene should focus more on the fact that its a turning point in which the course of the story changes. The director mainly focuses on making the scene seem flashy and over the top. It makes the scene completely lose its purpose.
Almereyda's version of the scene is a bit in between the two other scenes. while not as flashy and scary as Branagh's and a bit subtle in symbolism like Zeffirelli's, Almereyda doesn't use elements of film to distinct from the living and the dead. Much like Branagh's version, Hamlet's father gets a little aggressive as well. For both reasons, Almereyda doesn't quite successfully display the mood of the scene but he was able to get the pioint across.
