date further in time. The wardrobe is also inconsistent with Shakespeare's original play. The men are not dressed in tights and there is a lavishness and brilliance about the costuming and palace. Branagh's version seems to be placed somewhere in the late 19th century.
             The 2000 version, directing and starring Campbell Scott takes the largest departure from Shakespeare's time period and setting. The clothing, though not the same as today is far more modern than either Olivier's or Branagh's. The men wear suits and ties, while the women seem to be robed in type of gown wore by women in the very late 1800s or very early 1900s. Even the background music is a more modern type of jazz. Hamlet is no longer living in a castle, rather his home is now a large, mansion set on sprawling green lawns that lead out to a beach. Scott's Hamlet no longer takes place in Denmark or anywhere in Europe. This Hamlet is located in Long Island, New York. An interesting concept, however may lead the audience to be a bit confused when characters speak of Norway.
             An interesting aspect of "Hamlet" is the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. In reading the play, on only knows that there is some romantic situation going on. However, it reads as vague and lacking in passion which makes it difficult to understand how the end of this relationship would result in Ophelia's descent into madness. The film versions help the viewer gain more of a feeling on the intensity and tangibility of Hamlet and Ophelia. Branagh's version explores this possibility best, using a flashback device of intimate love scenes between Hamlet and Ophelia. This gives the characters much more depth and dimension. The audience is can now believe that Hamlet obviously did at one point have strong feeling for Ophelia. As for Ophelia, to have had a covert affair with Hamlet adds a sense of realness to her upcoming insanity. It also lends a bit of irony when Ophelia receives...