In any play or other piece of literature meant to be performed, the text leaves loopholes, gaps in meaning that are ultimately meant to be filled by the directors and actors that bring the work to life. The end result of this of course is a myriad of interpretations on the work that end up conflicting or merely differing from one another. The better or more famous the original work, the more interpretations and versions of it there will be. These versions can range widely in quality, intention and in the end, meaning. At the very end, in that last communication between the artists bringing the work to life and the audience, there may still be some interpretation. So the number of analyses on the ultimate root work will have no limit. This type of action can be seen in movies, plays, short stories and music. The greatest shining example of this however, would have to be William Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, Hamlet. Interpreted by four directors, (in chronological order), Laurence Olivier, Franco Zeffirelli, Kenneth Branaugh, and Michael Almereyda, the play takes on four very different tones, personalities and qualities. They differ in the treatment of certain themes and ambiguities, such as Hamlet's supposed madness, the culpability of the queen and Hamlet's relationship to Ophelia as well as specific characterizations, settings and slight abridgements of the original text.
The differences between the film versions and the original start right at the opening scenes. It is here that the true setting is established. This is something that Shakespeare leaves fairly ambiguous. The exact time period in which Hamlet takes place is unclear. There are few clues. One is the use of "Brazen Cannon"(170) indicating that the use of cannons was fairly commonplace. It must also have taken place at a time where both Denmark and Norway would have existed. Other than that, it has been left fairly open.
Ladies and gentleman, there is not one conservative bone in this film! ... Ideally, Luhrman's intention was to add a new twist, a modern twist to his remake. ... The film is set in Verona Beach. Another thing to note is the delivery of the film. ... The actors in the 1996 remake of Romeo and Juliet are not conservatively dressed. ...
Both films utilize two dominant black characters of old Hollywood: the Mammy and the tragic Mulatto. ... As such, the tragedy is drawn from the Mulatto being a victim of a society divided by race, where there is no exact place for one who is neither completely black nor white. ... It has been noted by many film studies scholars that Annie tends to hug and hold Susie more than her actual daughter (Staples, pg. 8). ... Sirk's remake takes place in a time closer to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. ... "While touched by pathos, [they are] distanced from the personal tragedy ...
Media and religion are constantly merging in popular, entertainment and news broadcasts throughout many different types of mass communication, including television and film, to publishing, to music, and to the social media. In general, media provides visual culture, rich symbolism, salient contexts and practices of social participation and identity, and opportunities to makes and remake identities and social relationships to fit evolving patterns of ideas and action (Hoover, Web). ... As the Internet became an increasingly important resource in our civilization, people have being using the Int...
Scarface exceeds the boundaries of its genre and achieves the devastating feel of a Shakespearean tragedy. DePalma's 1983 remake of the 1932 gangster picture Scarface (1932) transplanted the thirties premise to modern day Miami, with the Capone-inspired lead character involved in bootlegging, now a Cuban refugee who rises through the ranks of the cocaine industry. ... The film still packs unforgettable scenes, but few visual tricks like the split screens or 360-degree pans that characterized the previous DePalma films. ... The influence of screenwriter Oliver Stone can clearly be see...
On May 9th, the press sent a message underlining the urgent need of photographs and images of television, and asking that the films and cassettes of the reporters should be collected and checked more quickly, because at the time the material finally reached Britain it was often "deliberately delayed"(Harris 61). For nearly four weeks the Falkland battle had been a faraway, invisible war for the eyes of the Brits and the world, because when the material finally reached London, the Ministry of Defense kept all the photographs and films that showed the catastrophes - like the sinking o...
Also in the following the personal life of Jerry Lee that involved scandal and tragedy, consisting of weird marriages and several divorces. ... Lewis' remake of Roy Hall's "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" spent twenty three weeks on the top of the country charts, going all the way to number one, and topping out at number three on the pop charts. ... He soon appeared in Iago a rock musical film version of Shakespeare's Othello called "Catch My Soul" in 1968. ... He regained a lot of renewed attention in 1989 when the release of "Great Balls of Fire", a biographical f...
