I was especially impressed with his interpretation of the famous ' To be, or not to be.' speech. His reserved morose Hamlet is really quite powerful. I actually enjoyed Olivier's performance much more than I had expected. Zeffirelli also omits Fortinbras, but retains Rozencrantz and Guildenstern. The scenes that were removed mirror the classic film almost exactly, as does the order of the remaining scenes. In it's flow of action, and arrangement of scenes, it seems that Zeffirelli took quite a bit of inspiration from Olivier's classic. Several of the scenes are rearranged, and, except for the most famous ones, many of the soliloquies are shortened or eliminated. Olivier, in his editing, removes the minor characters Rozencrantz and Guildenstern, and also removes the sub-plot involving Fortinbras. Although a few of the scenes are switched, the entire script is used. Branagh, on the other hand, decided to film the entire play for the most part unchanged. Olivier and Zeffirelli both opted for cutting the script quite extensively, most likely to accommodate film-going audiences, who would tire of the constant soliloquies for which Shakespeare is known. The way in which the directors handled the Bard's material is quite different for each production.

With Branagh's film clocking in at about four hours long, and the Zeffirelli and Olivier versions at approximately three hours and two hours respectively, this made for quite a full day.

Although I had seen the Zeffirelli film before, the other two were new to me.

I watched the films in chronological order, with Laurence Olivier's version coming first, followed by Franco Zeffirelli's version (starring Mel Gibson), and concluding with Kenneth Branagh's interpretation. I must admit that it gave me a different perspective on the well-known play. The experience of seeing three different film interpretations of Hamlet in short successive order was certainly unique. So, armed with four video tapes, a copy of Shakespeare's script, and plenty of popcorn and chips, I prepared to take on three film versions of Hamlet in one day. With murder, ghosts, sword-fights, and generally morbid themes, Hamlet seemed like ideal viewing for Halloween.

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