After the three different movies, I have decided that my favorite version was the one by Franco Zefferelli. I really enjoyed the way Franco decided to start the film. Showing the audience Hamlet Senior's burial as the first scene was a clever way to implant the mood and conflict of the story. Also, I liked that Franco almost immediately switched from the burial to Claudius giving Hamlet a "fatherly" talk. Then, he had almost no transitioning into the wedding and celebrations. By barely giving the audience time to comprehend the situations, Zefferelli successfully shines light upon the swiftness of the death of Hamlet's father to Gertrude's remarriage.
Zefferelli displays an excellent skill of creating dramatic lighting. He positions Claudius and Gertrude behind shadows, and introduces Hamlet by emerging him from the shadows into a brilliant light. The lighting is a marvelous mood creator in addition to the dark scenery and depressing atmosphere. Lastly, what made me really prefer Zefferelli's version of Hamlet was the fact that it is done in a twelfth century setting. The language fits into the era, while Almereyda's Hamlet, in my own opinion, seemed kind of ludicrous, as the twenty-first century setting does not quite complement the Shakespearean language. Zefferelli's film was my favorite, I really enjoyed watching Hamlet through Franco's perception.
