To be or not to be: over the authors

The "To be or not to be" speech of William Shakespeare is a timeless example of deep thinking and analysis. In Oliver's Hamlet, hamlet seems more lost in thought than any thing else. you cant tell what he's feeling based on how he says this speech. he shows no emotion as if its rehearsed, and shows no expression at the beautiful scenery around him. in branaugh's version we see hamlet truly thinking.Now when hamlet is in the hollow mansion where he is alone with his thoughts, he shows his conflicting emotions with wanting to kill his uncle. we see feel his emotion as he tries to analyse the meaning of life and death as he stares back at himself in the mirror, emphasizing the "reflection". in Zeffirelli's version, Mel Gibson displays his true confliction with wanting to avenge his father's death but does not want to kill another man with uncertainty. he passionately wants to kill the man he believes killed his father, but he not only has no proof, he also cannot openly kill another man. Finally in Almereyda's version we see a more lost side of this speech. Hamlet wanders around the store aimlessly trying to find his answer. he grapples with his emotions, trying to find not only a conviction to live but also to kill the man believed to have killed his father, despite it going against everything that he stands for. All this confusion and confliction in his head leads him display a lost and wanderlusting side to this speech.   

the message of a ghost

This was an extremely powerful scene in all versions. In the Franco Zeffirelli version, Mel Gibson's emotion as Hamlet was powerful. We can see his desire to see his father's desire to to speak with his son. The ghost's first appearance was ominous. He appeared at 12 midnight and scared the guards with his mere presence. I believe he returned to his castle to check on it's condition. He predicted that, with it's king fallen dead, war would break out which would be why he returned with his old armor for battle. He returned later with his son and the scary, foreboding feeling was gone and a new desperate feeling arrived. The atmosphere that his father created as he approached his son was  full of desperation and an ominous cry for help. The tension in the moment created by the actors was what made this scene so powerful.