Hamlet 3:1 Video Analysis Blog

Out of the three movie versions of Hamlet, Act 3 - Scene 1, presented here, the Lawrence Olivier version best portrays Hamlet’s thoughts, emotions, and actions during his most famous soliloquy. The power of the scene is derived not from over-emotional portrayals, but by a combination of interesting cinematography, precisely-designed musical pieces, and the acting of Lawrence Olivier himself. While Olivier as Hamlet does not show the raging emotion that may be expected during such a climactic scene, the piece is masterfully crafted so that the actor is not the dominating force in the movie on purpose. It is the interaction between the implied emotions of Olivier as Hamlet, the cinematography, and the background music generate an exceedingly wholesome and powerful portrayal of Lord Hamlet’s philosophical battle with himself.

The cinematography of the Lawrence Olivier version of Hamlet’s soliloquy is phenomenal. At the exposition of the scene, the screen is dominated by a high and foreboding perspective, with the camera floating above Hamlet’s head, who is standing on the edge of the roof of a high tower. The camera slowly zooms in on the back of Hamlet’s skull, until all is darkness. This is a great symbolic act which represents the viewer of the movie merging into Hamlet’s dark psyche and tortured mind themselves. Emerging on the other side, the viewer is now seeing through the eyes of Hamlet, which are gazing down at the crashing waves below. This is greatly symbolic of Hamlet’s mind, which, like his physical body, is teetering on the edge of destruction, represented by the high cliff with tumultuous waves below.

Aside from the physical scenery present, Olivier’s portrayal of Hamlet is by far the most convincing, and the most accurate to proper interpretation of the play. Hamlet consistently stares off into the abstract distance throughout the majority of the scene, with a stoic face and steady, slow voice. His vacant expression seems quite natural upon a man who has been drawn to deep introversion by “a sea of troubles” (58) and supernatural horrors. When he moves, Olivier as Hamlet moves slowly, steadily, and deliberately as he reaches for the dagger strapped to his hip. This, too, is received by the viewer as extremely natural because Hamlet himself, through the verbal expression of this soliloquy, admits to being torn in two directions and towards two courses of action. He seems as if he is in a state of mystical stupor, possession, and bewilderment as his thoughts are played out for the audience to hear. He seems to be almost consoling himself by pondering what it means “to die, to sleep,” (59) and how it would put an end to the “heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks/ that flesh is heir to.” (61-62) While these thoughts are heard, the camera starts to zoom in on his face, and there appears to be a slight smirk across Hamlet’s face as he contemplates this release from his earthly demons. This parallels the slow, dreamy pace of the soliloquy at this point, where it truly depicts a state of confusion and conflicting thoughts ebbing and flowing against each other.

Aside from Olivier’s actual voice lending an eerie tone to the scene, the presence of music is also a great amplifier of the tone. During the beginning of Hamlet’s soliloquy, slow, drawn-out notes can be heard as he is speaking the words “To die, to sleep - / no more, and by a sleep to say we end / the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks / that flesh is heir to.” These low, melodic tones greatly accentuate the dreamy nature of this scene by lulling the audience the same way that these words seem to have a tranquilizing effect on Hamlet in the scene. This lullaby of sorts is suddenly and abruptly interrupted by shrill instrumental blasts and rhythmic beats of drums, which resemble a quickening human heartbeat. The music pieces are the auditory embodiments of the emotions felt by Hamlet in this scene, as he is apparently thrown off balance by a sudden burst of horror which accompanies the shrill musical blasts. The beating drums are left to be interpreted as the loud pounding of Hamlet’s own terrified heart.

Immediately following this outburst is a wider shot of Hamlet, who is now reclining awkwardly on a large stone upon the roof of what is presumably the castle. From this angle, Hamlet is seen as reclining with the clouds in the sky at his back. This has an interesting symbolic interpretation, because as he speaks the words “For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, / when we have shuffled off this mortal coil,” we can clearly see that his mind is metaphorically, as well as literally, in the clouds. As he contemplates the release of death, he gazes up at the cloud-covered sky with almost a sense of longing.

These frequent changes of emotion seem almost natural in Hamlet’s cloud-filled mind, and as he moves towards the end of the soliloquy the camera reverts back to a shot of the ocean tides moving far below. The rocky shore and frothy waves below signify both the literal rock bottom that Hamlet could hit (should he fall off the edge of the castle), as well as the metaphorical rock bottom that his madness could bring him to experience. As the scene ends, Hamlet curiously walks away from the camera, into the fog, and simultaneously down a flight of steps. This is directly representative of his deteriorating mental state- his descent into madness, and the clouding over of his reason.