Which Film Is "To Be" Better?

Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy is one of Shakespeare's most renowned. Through the numerous movies of Hamlet, we are able to directly see how each one interprets the scene so differently from the next. 

As I was roaming around on Google trying to find a version that I felt depicted the scene best, I ran into a clip of the soliloquy which I thought was extremely plane and almost boring to an extent. As I watched the clip above, I quickly realized that there was nothing that captivated my attention. The scene is set-up as if the actor is reading directly out of the play. Although he does show some emotion while reading, the actor doesn't help me visualize his thoughts in any way.

Luckily, I came across a version of the "To Be or Not to Be" that tremendously helped me envision the scene taking place. The actor playing Hamlet helps us understand his exact thoughts by showing several examples of what he is talking about take place right in front of him. I found this to be a lot more helpful than just watching the actor read the lines of the play. I am also able to follow the thoughts of Hamlet in the second clip a lot more easily than the first. Being able to see Hamlet's thoughts firsthand was a huge difference for me.

Although the lines were the same, the way the scene played out in the second clip was way more interesting to me!

Ophelia + Ophelia

As I watched the two clips of Hamlet, I was struck by how similarly the two actresses acted, yet they were so different. While reading this scene, I pictured Ophelia as a girl who received a ton of useless advise from everybody who was older than her. For some reason, I felt as if she was just playing along and not taking any of the advise seriously. The actress playing Ophelia in the Zeffirelli version of the film perfectly acts out exactly my thoughts on Ophelia. She continues to just laugh off all of the "wise" advise which she is receiving. She is not snobby and acting like a smart Alec but by her behavior, we can tell that the words of her brother and her father really don't mean much to her. Instead of stopping to listen, she attempts to avoid more advise by continuing with the task at hand. On the other hand, in the other Hamlet film, the actress playing Ophelia becomes more and more annoyed as her bother gives her advise. Her temper only worsens when her father speaks to her and attempts to rub more wisdom into her. She does not stay relaxed like the other character. Instead she became increasingly angry, as if what they were saying actually bothered her. This, in the end causes her to finally really snap at Laertes and call him a hypocrite. In both cases, I think we can really see that Ophelia isn't the stupid girl that everybody thinks she is. She is actually quite intelligent. She keeps her thoughts in her mind and superficially agrees to listen to avoid conflict and others' doubt in her.