:: Hamlet : Kenneth Branagh (1996) : gravedigger scene ::

Hamlet is around thirty. Branagh was exactly the right age to be playing him in this film.

Branagh looks too old to be Hamlet.

Shakespeare sure could write :D.

"What man dost thou dig it for?" "For no man, sir." "For what woman, then?" "For none neither." "WHO is to be buried in it?" "One that was a woman, sir, but rest her soul, she is dead." "How absolute the knave is! We must speak by the card..." Hahaha yes, indeed. Shakespeare uses puns and alternate meanings hilariously.

aaahaha, probably the best version of this scene

And just to avoid confusion, I wasn't responding to you Han. I agree that the part could well be cast for an older player, as aged wisdom would provide an additional layer to juxtapose against Hamlet's academic knowledge. I think, regardless, Hamlet's intent, what drives the character, is noble. However, the play constantly questions, from the opening lines, whether the prince is excessivly gloomy and brooding. I think Claudius calls in an "unmanly grief" or something to that effect.

Yes, oh anonymous net cowboy, give me a thumbs down, you wound me! Haha, seriously, you tell me what Crystal's look at 4:35 is supposed to mean. I think he's playing the character masterfully as a kind of real-world wiseman to counter Hamlet's booksmart scholar. I think Branagh did a beautiful job with Hamlet, and the langauge is powerful, but Crystal took an honest approach, and I think his reaction at once recognizes Hamlet's situation and at the same time lightly mocks his excessive grief.

The thumbs down was there before I got here, honestly! I gave you one up! The gravedigger is also a character surrounded by death, and to him, it's probably become funny rather than morbid. He may well look upon it much more naturally than Hamlet's melodramatic waxing. Good interpretation!

I deserved the thumbs down. You're right. Retrospectively, in rewatching it, his interpretation is really unique. I was used to a more classic "old man" type playing the gravedigger, but I think that like most of what Branagh does with the Bard, it's 50/50. Some may say that the Hollywood gloss detracts from the central point of the story, while others might say that it adds a new vitality and freshness. Depends on who you ask, I suppose, but I've really come to like Crystal's version.

I think that it's really pretty interesting. He's got a sort of curious look. I've always imagined the gravedigger as a much older part, and as such, he may well have been looking upon Hamlet's youth, or perhaps realizing who he was.