Hamlet on Screen: William Shakespeare's play in film adaptation
| Thesis title in Czech: | Hamlet na plátně: Hra Williama Shakespeara ve filmových adaptacích |
|---|---|
| Thesis title in English: | Hamlet on Screen: William Shakespeare's play in film adaptation |
| Key words: | Hamlet, Shakespeare,film, britska literarura, divadlo, adaptace |
| English key words: | Hamlet, Shakespeare,film,British literature, theatre, adaptation |
| Academic year of topic announcement: | 2011/2012 |
| Thesis type: | Bachelor's thesis |
| Thesis language: | angličtina |
| Department: | Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (21-UALK) |
| Supervisor: | PhDr. Soňa Nováková, CSc. |
| Author: | hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept. |
| Date of registration: | 30.05.2012 |
| Date of assignment: | 30.05.2012 |
| Administrator's approval: | not processed yet |
| Confirmed by Study dept. on: | 03.12.2014 |
| Date and time of defence: | 07.09.2015 00:00 |
| Date of electronic submission: | 10.08.2015 |
| Date of proceeded defence: | 07.09.2015 |
| Submitted/finalized: | committed by student and finalized |
| Opponents: | PhDr. Zdeněk Beran, Ph.D. |
| Guidelines |
| The aim of the thesis is to explore British and American film adaptations of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark. A time span of more than fifty years will become the background for the comparison of five major works based on Shakespeare’s play. The main emphasis will be made on the change of perspective in these adaptations. Five film adaptations will be covered: the black-and-white version of Hamlet by Laurence Olivier (1948), Tony Richardson’s color adaptation of 1969, the popularized Hamlet by Franco Zeffirelli (1990), the four-hour Hamlet by Kenneth Branagh (1996), and a modern version directed by Michael Almereyda in 2000.
Hamlet is a complex and many-sided play, which challenges directors of various time periods to show their version of events. How did time and aesthetic demands influence the film versions? How differently was the play read in individual historical moments and why? What impact did it have on the audience, if it had any at all? What adjustments had to be made? Apart from individual case studies of the above-mentioned adaptations, the thesis will tackle the problematics of adapting a theatre play for the screen. A text on paper intended for performance on the stage may seem like an ideal screenplay, but what are the different demands of the various media? The thesis will, therefore, deal with issues concerning film adaptation of literature in general, the complexity of transferring drama on to the screen and, consequently, get involved with the individual filmic readings of Shakespeare’s play. |
| References |
| 1. Jackson, Russell. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.2. Hutcheon, Linda. A Theory of Adaptation. New York: Taylor&Francis Group, 2006.3. Monaco, James. How to Read a Film. New York: Oxford Uneversity Press, 2009.4. Boose, Lynda E. and Burt, Richard. Shakespeare, The Movie. London: Routledge, 1997.5. Hamlet. Dir., writ., prod., ed. Laurence Olivier. Rank Film Distributors Ltd., 1948.6. Hamlet. Dir. Tony Richardson. Columbia Pictures, 1969.7. Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Warner Bros., 1990.8. Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Columbia Pictures, 1996.9. Hamlet. Dir. Michael Almereyda. Miramax Films, 2000.10. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark. Translated by Martin Hilský. Praha : Torst, 2001.
11. Holden, Anthony. Olivier. London: Penguin Group, 1988.12. Oliver, Laurence. Hercova zpoved. Translated by Soňa Nová. London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1982.13. Clarkson, Wensley. Mel Gibson – Důvěrný příběh. Translated by Ljubomír Oliva. London: Blake Publishing, 1993.14. Липков, А.И. Шекспировский экран. Москва: Искусство 1975. |