Movie Essays - Oedipal Hamlet in Film -- Movie Film comparison compare

Oedipal hamlet on Film It has commonly been suggested by such disciples of Sigmund Freud as Ernest Jones that Shakespeares character of Hamlet is the victim of an Oedipus complex. While any rendition of the play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark that focuses on the text and not the psychoanalytical fads of the current age disproves any notion of Hamlets oedipal nature, many film artists drive home followed popular psychology and have adopted this theory for the screen. Whether out of precedent, pressure, or some need to discover some complex in Hamlet, this has become a very popular snub for filmmakers. Seeing as how it is impossible to do a production of Hamlet without addressing Hamlets relationship with Gertrude, Hamlet, Sr., and Claudius, the following will be a discussion of several filmic Hamlets, and the presence, or absence of these Freudian notions. While certainly not the first production of Hamlet for the big screen, Laurence Oliviers 1948 adaptation is the first full lengt h commercial version, and is nonetheless highly regarded today. In this film Gertrude looks at Hamlet more like a lover than a mother, gazing at him lustfully whenever he is present. Gertrudes affection is not limited to these gazes, however, as upon Hamlets agreement to remain at Elsinore she snoges him deep and long on the lips, like a lover. Oliviers Hamlet is initially aggressive toward Gertrude during the closet scene, plainly after the visit from the ghost he becomes as affectionate as Gertrude is in the beginning. Hamlet speaks to Gertrude tenderly, and she responds accordingly. He then gives her a deep long kiss to seal their pact against Claudius. Taken out of context the scene would appear to be a conversation and love-pact between two ... ...ed complexes and have given us Hamlets free of supposed incestuous wishes and confused notions. This reverence for the script and lack of supposition give the viewer a more accurate view of Hamlet that is more in keeping with the complex mind Shakespeare offered his audience. Works Cited and Consulted Branagh, Kenneth. Hamlet by William Shakespeare Sreenplay, Introduction, and Film Diary. New York W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reeseman, and John R. Willingham. A Handbook of sarcastic Approaches to Literature. New York Oxford University Press, 1992. Leong, Virginia. Hamlet Article from The Australian. 06 December 1997. (07 December 1997) Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The Riverside Shakespeare. ED. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston Haughton Mifflin Company, 1974.