Laurence Olivier

Art and emotion, often times, go hand-in-hand with one another due to the generalistic idea that emotions are what fuels the artist drive to produce such wondrous masterpieces. Poetry, is one such art that allows its creator to call upon a variety of emotions. Whether those emotions are a sense of delight, anger, contempt, sorrow, etc, all are forms of emotion and are easily seen throughout the many poems written by Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Paul Lurance Dunbar. When these poets fuse…

idea that civilization often imposes labels, and roles onto us- and often, without thinking twice about it, we adhere to those roles. This book then allows us to explore how we react to society’s impositions. Text Name: “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1896) What it's about: I found this poem to be hardest to explain concisely what it is about. Essentially, the poem is about how African Americans used a “mask” to hide their true feelings at a time of severe explicit inequality.…

character’s multiple attempts to avenge the death of his father. With its profuse number of film adaptations, Hamlet raises questions concerning madness, incest, homosexuality, murder and faithfulness. The film versions produced in 1948, directed by Laurence Olivier, and in 2000, directed by Michael Almereyda, provide two varying insights of this classic writing. The version made in 2000, starring Ethan Hawke, takes on a modern twist of the play, integrating current…

description of the basic camera movements the director intends to use in shooting the film. In both Olivier and Almereyda’s versions, the text of Hamlet has to be substantially trimmed and most of the time, rearranged in the screenplay to allow it to adapt to the conventions of film and to keep the film from becoming too long. There are notable physical and material differences between the screenplays of Olivier and…

There were a multitude of renditions of Hamlet's soliloquy "To be or not to be" over the years, however the best video was performed by Laurence Olivier. It is the greatest because the setting, costume, and sound are the most optimal to depict the image that Shakespeare was aiming to display. The setting is perfect for this because Hamlet is contemplating whether or not to continue living, so choosing a setting at a high elevation lets him decide his fate most easily. The first line of the…

The 1939 screen adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by William Wyler, tells the story of two troubled souls destined for a life of failed happily ever after. The story opens with Mr. Lockwood, the new garage tenant, appearing at Wuthering Heights to take Shelter from a storm. While there, he encounters the haunting spirit of Cathy, calling out to her love, Heathcliff. Unnerved, Mr. Lockwood tells his tale to Ellen, the housekeeper, who then…

Branagh or David Tennent; Laurence Olivier’s rendition of Hamlet’s soliloquy is surely the victor. Olivier’s excellent use of graphics, brilliant camera movement and outstanding selection in music makes it the best Hamlet soliloquy throughout the ages. Firstly, the eye pleasing black and white graphics captures the mood of the soliloquy effectively. Hamlet is contemplating suicide in his soliloquy, so naturally the mood is dark and gloomy. The black and white graphics Olivier chose emphasizes…

Showcased in their workshop presentation, discussion, and performance of Henry V, the American Shakespeare Company (ASC) demonstrate significant understanding and enthusiasm in their interpretations of the play; namely in the portrayal of Henry himself. ASC Co-founder and Artistic Director Jim Warren professes that “like all of Shakespeare’s major characters, Henry is not just one thing. He’s calculating and heroic; he’s patriotic and ruthless; and he gets the girl with one of Shakespeare’s most…

The “To be or not to be” soliloquy should demonstrate that Hamlet is contemplating suicide due to the emotional distress that has befallen him. With this in mind, Richard Burton played the most compelling Hamlet out of the three options. Richards portrayal is convincing as he displays the characteristic human response an everyday person would endure in a similar situation. Hamlet battles stressful situations in numerous areas of his life. First from dealing with the death of his father whom he…

Sofka’s extraordinary life ranged from childhood in the highest court circles of Tsarist Russia to Communist Party meetings in post-war Chelsea, and ended peacefully on a remote patch of Bodkin Moor. She appeared just six weeks ago on a Time watch television documentary on Rasputin, recalling in a few moments' shots the pre-1917 Russia from which she had come so long ago. Sofka Skipwith was a hero of the Holocaust and saved 2000 French Jewish women. She was born Sofka Dolgorouky in St…