The 15 Minute Hamlet

Out of all the many Shakespeare plays that I have had to read in high school and college, Hamlet has always held a special place in my heart. Maybe it's because my high school teacher was smart enough to give my class plenty of interesting adaptations and spin-offs to examine along with Shakespeare's original work. Upon closer examination, I have come to realize that my relationship with Hamlet began with the understanding that adaptations of 'classic works' can be admired and respected- I find it both funny and ironic that four years later from that class, I'm approaching Hamlet once more with adaptation and change in mind.

When I found out that I would be doing blog posts for the Hamlet portion of our class, I immediately began thinking about what I could talk about and put up here for people to discuss. And then I remembered this video that my English teacher had showed us long ago called "15 Minute Hamlet". It was based on a play written by Tom Stoppard, and it portrays Shakespeare as a director attempting to capture Hamlet in 15 consecutively rolling minutes on film.

Links (separated into Part I and II) can be found here:

Part One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSDUnc9Qbts

Part Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KaARdL-10c

I found it interesting that the short movie, after showing the viewers Hamlet as captured in 15 minutes, then brings our perspective to Shakespeare and two other men, one of which seems to dislike it and tells him to change it. After this, we watch as Shakespeare cuts and sews the bits and pieces of film reel back together for an even shorter version of what was previously filmed; this new editing seems to delight the two men upon it's showing. And as the camera slowly closes in on Shakespeare's face while the two men clap, the viewers are transitioned once more into a theatre full of people giving Shakespeare a huge round of applause. It got me thinking about how many layers there are in this short film. It feels as if it's a story inside a story, inside yet another story. It's true, the manner in which "15 Minute Hamlet" is filmed brings to light certain humorous elements that make it really hard to take the overall work seriously. The shortened version that Shakespeare produces the second time around really brings that to light- the way that Ophelia dies is fantastic! But if you think about it- even though they do use all of Shakespeare's lines within the filming, it's adaptation once more. By applying new elements (such as the changes that film might introduce to this play), a person's idea of Hamlet is irrevocably altered. That doesn't mean that "15 Minute Hamlet" could change a person's idea of what Hamlet is about- but it can definitely help one to see it in a completely different light.