Kenneth Branagh's Soliloquy
There is both diegetic and non-diegetic sound in this scene. Hamlet is alone, facing himself in a mirror. He is speaking very softly to himself, and is the only one in the scene until the very end. The music in the background is barely noticeable--it is there only to set the mood: creepy, emotional, serious. Hamlet stands in a big room with multiple mirrors, one of which the camera is focused on. Through the entire scene, the camera faces the mirror that Hamlet looks into; it is an over-the-shoulder shot which captures Hamlet's entire body. It slowly zooms further and further in until the mirror shows a close-up shot of Hamlet's face, and his shoulder is completely out of the picture. He is not wearing anything out of the ordinary, and the only prop he uses appears at the end of his soliloquy: a dagger.
Laurence Olivier's Soliloquy
This version of Hamlet's Soliloquy is much more complex. There is lots of diegetic and non-diegetic sound: in the intro before he speaks, there is loud music playing, while scenes of clouds and the ocean flash on the screen. The camera zooms way in on the back of Hamlet's head (symbolizing the complexity of his thoughts). The music fades out, and we are left with only the background noise of the ocean. Hamlet begins to speak, and the camera is directly on him, showing us a medium shot of him sitting on a rock by the water. He is dressed fittingly to the time period, wearing clothes that nobility would normally wear--tunic and tights. When there is a break in Hamlet's thoughts the music returns, but only for a brief second. Hamlet holds only a dagger, and ends up throwing it into the water below. The scene ends with him walking further and further away from the camera.
Mel Gibson's Soliloquy
The only sound is of Hamlet's voice, which is diegetic. No music, no background noise, only his speech. The camera focuses on him as he walks down the stairs into a room that contains stone statues and walls (props). He briefly sits down in the room, and the camera switches between a close-up of his face, and bits and pieces of the room. In most of this scene Hamlet is walking around the dimly lit room, and the camera follows. Again, he wears a tunic and tights, and no other makeup. Whenever Hamlet pauses in his speech the camera focuses closely on his face, but zooms out again when he continues to walk around the room. It is interesting that in this version of the scene, Hamlet does not take out a dagger, but wanders restlessly around the room. The camera remains stationary as Hamlet walks back up the stairs which led him into the room.
Ethan Hawke's Soliloquy
This was by far the most unique approach to Hamlet's soliloquy. There is music (non-diegetic sound) playing very softly in the background of the scene, along with visual and auditory representations of explosions. 'Hamlet' is in Blockbuster, walking around the store (symbolically, the 'action' section of the store) when he speaks (diegetic sound). He is wearing modern-day clothing: a suit jacket and dress pants, with a t-shirt underneath. He is also wearing a hat into the store. The camera films him from both the front and the back, mostly using a medium shot, but occasionally zooming in further to get his face. It is interesting that in the first half of the scene Hamlet's words are only the thoughts of the character (non-diegetic), but switch to actual speech in the second half. The scene abruptly ends when Hamlet is standing in the middle of the 'action' aisle.
My dear friend Hamlet is represented most nobly by Kenneth Branagh. Hamlet is a great actor when he wants to be (especially with his Uncle), but this scene shows his sincerity. He is faced with a deep emotional conflict. "To be, or not to be; that is the question." The undertone of the music follows Hamlet's thought process through the end of his speech. I know that Polonius and Claudius must have been frightened by his grave thoughts. From their spot behind the wall, they could hear his struggle, his inability to continue through life without his father. There are rare occasions when my lord frightens me with his words, but this, this is one of them. I knew not how far his struggle went, and I still cannot find a means of help for him. All I can do is offer him my honest words, which he listens to unlike anyone else who advises him.
I believe that this scene is most effective when the changes in camera angle and distance are not as noticeable. They take away from the focus of the scene, which is Hamlet's speech. The reason that Kenneth Branagh's scene was more effective than the other three was because it focused on the mirror the entire time, only zooming in little by little, and make minute adjustments. I also think that since this is such an important scene to the play, the speech must be the sole focus in the film. The sound of the waves in the background, or no sound at all, is the best approach to this. It is true that music is capable of setting a background mood for the scene, but no sound at all sets the mood just as well. This scene is serious, and frightening, and emotional, and all of these things can be conveyed very well through the characters voice. The pauses for effect, and the change in volume from Hamlet's character adds more to the scene than music can, and Kenneth Branagh did an especially good job of this. The setting is not as important as camera angles and sound, but still plays a part. Again, Hamlet's soliloquy is the focus of this scene, and the setting should not take away from it. A bare, empty setting is best, because one with lots of props (like the Mel Gibson scene) is a distraction. Costume is of very little importance to me. Although the choice in clothing can reveal the time period (as it did in the last clip), it is not necessary--in this particular scene--to the soliloquy.
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