As far as the settings go for both movies, the version with Ethan Hawke definitely exceeded Kenneth Branagh’s version. There is no other setting that I would like to see Hamlet take place in more then 21st century New York City. Being from New York City, I related to the setting personally. I also think people of my generation are more likely to take interest in Hamlet when it is set in a modern society that they can easily relate to. I think a big problem with Shakespeare is that the modern audience finds it hard to relate and maintain interest in a story that uses language and settings that are foreign to them. I thought the modern version of Hamlet

Overall, I liked the modern version the best because I could relate to it very easily and concepts that I did not understand in the book became much clearer because the dialogue was not as lofty. I also think it was important to show how Hamlet could work and relate to modern society. They were both excellent versions but in the end, Branagh’s classical version was just a little too classic for me.

The acting styles differed greatly in the two versions. I felt that Kenneth Branagh and Kate Winslet’s acting was much more dramatic then that of the acting in the modern version. I though emotions were expressed more intensely and gave the audience a clear understanding of what emotion was trying to be conveyed. Kenneth Branagh seemed to be much more distraught about his situation then Ethan Hawke did in his version. When Kenneth Branagh was acting I felt that he really did love Ophelia and was mixed up when he told her that he never did love her. Ethan Hawke seemed to tell Ophelia in more of a vindictive way and it seemed very cruel. Branagh did a better job at displaying Hamlet’s madness and conflict while Hawke did a better job at displaying Hamlet’s anger towards Ophelia. In Branagh’s version, Ophelia seemed to suggest to Hamlet that someone was spying while in the modern version; Ophelia is completely in on the spying and tries to conceal it from Hamlet. I though K

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