Critique: Execution of The Ghost Speech from Shakespeare's "Hamlet"

As the sole member of my review outlet, I take on the task to evaluate various film adaptations

of the Ghost’s speech from Hamlet by Shakespeare (Act I, Scene V), I take said position of a

critic. To you, the reader, I will present my point of view and give my opinion of which film

adaptation of the famous scene was most well executed while comparing and contrasting the

given examples. I write this review for the purpose of entertainment.

We start with the oldest iteration. In the 1948 film adaptation of Hamlet , we can see a Wiseau-like

form of production before even the birth of Wiseau himself. Directed by and starring Laurence
Olivier as both Hamlet and the voice of the ghost, this adaptation provides a very slow-like pace.
Here, the ghost is quite mysterious, as very little physical detail of him is shown other than a
silhouette. Though in this form, the ghost provides little dramatic character with his face mystified
and speaking with a very soft voice, flashbacks are provided detailing the life and cause of death
of the ghost as it is described to Hamlet.

Though not all ghosts are so subtle in their delivery. The 1996 version of a Hamlet film was

directed by Kenneth Branagh. Branagh provided a very jolting performance of the ghost with
intense sound and special effects, casting Brian Blessed as said poltergeist. Here, the voice of
the ghost is quite harsh, and surely strikes hefty amounts of fear into the already heavily
confused Hamlet, here portrayed by the director himself. I, for one, certainly join Hamlet for this
one. In viewing this, I was shaken. My stomach churned to the sound of the ghosts voice as he
described his untimely death in the detail of the source text. The tone of the ghost screamed of
death and destruction, though still while fighting to keep a frog out of his throat. The blues and
whites in the forests shots cast upon the viewer such a cold that they reach for a sweater.

Special effects are great and all, but they are certainly not necessary to provide a stellar

performance. In the case of these adaptations from the Hamlet text, this is all but too true.
Primarily presented as a live play, the adaptation directed by Peter Brook surely takes the cake
when it comes to the Ghost’s speech. Here, Hamlet is the most dramatic. His father can be seen
before him quite clearly as if he were never dead to begin with. The tone of the ghost here is also
quite dramatic and impactful without the aid of special effects; the oration is fiercely and
wonderfully executed. Sound effects in conjunction with the score definitely help add to the
ambient feel of the performance. The delivery of all of the lines here is the easiest to understand
in comparison to the other two adaptations.