Hamlet - Mel Style

 

 Who knew Mad Max made an appearance in Hamlet?

It's Franco Zeffirelli's 1991 adaptation of Shakespeare's moody prince, starring Mad Mel as the perturbed prince, crazy Glenn as Queen Gertrude, Helen Bonham Carter as the tormented Ophelia, Alan Bates, and Ian Holm. I believe the latter is Polonius, which would make Bates the Step-King.

I was delighted to see this one come up on the suggested viewing list. I've already seen two or three Hamlet adaptations and I've watched Branagh's 4 hour marathon a couple times. How does Zeffirelli's version stack up against that of the actor/director who tackled not only Hamlet, Henry V, Much Ado about Nothing, and who knows which other of William's plays?

Zeffirelli gets off to a great start by having a cooler sounding name and a movie short enough that I don't have to take a break in the middle to renew my passport. So, he's got those things going for him.

On the other hand, Branagh didn't have crazy Glenn, so that's a point for him. What have I got against Glenn? Nothing really. She's a fine actress. My distaste for her is purely subjective and probably irrational. That's just the way it is. I preferred Branagh's Julie Christie in the role.

However, Zeffirelli came back with Helen Bonham Carter in the role of Ophelia. I have to approve of the choice. She looks like she's about fourteen in this movie, but she played the character less over-the-top insane than Kate Winslet's Ophelia. I preferred Carter's more demure and sympathetic interpretation of the drown-bound maid.

As for the poisoned daddy of Hamlet, Zeffirelli's ghost-king, played by Paul Scofield, lacked the impressively frightening and motivating presence of the scenery-chewing Brian Blessed.

Alan Bates just doesn't have much to work with in Zeffirelli's adaptation. He's the villain but lacks opportunities to be villainous, his fratricidal deed having preceded the beginning of the play. In Branagh's marathon, Derek Jacobi gets a little more to work with. I have to give the character to Branagh.

As for Polonius, I think I'll call this role a draw. I like both Bilbo Baggins as well as Tom Good/Hector MacDonald in the role. They both proved adept at catching a sword behind the tapestry, which was their primary purpose, so the young Laertes could return with visions of vengeance dancing in his head.

 "Alas, poor Yorick!" The skull had the same number of lines in both adaptations. As for the graveyard scene, Zeffirelli's was good enough. Branagh's was what? It's difficult to remember what I didn't like about it now. Was Billy Crystal too deep into the role to speak clearly enough to be understood? Can't say. I don't remember. I'll have to decline to give points either way on this one.

Laetes returns to avenge the death of Polonius and gets further motivation when his sister Ophelia decides to dabble in underwater poetry. Nathaniel Parker fills the role without as much venom as exhibited by Michael Maloney in Branagh's version. It's a close call, but the duel has to be the deciding factor. Branagh's brings more excitement and tension. It's the climactic scene of the play, and Branagh nails it.
 

Of course, the big lacuna in my comparison to this point has been the lead actors. Mad Mel versus Henry V, Australia versus Great Britain. They both measure up at 5'10" and were about the same age when they elected to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. I admit that I liked Gibson's portrayal. However, Branagh enjoyed a bigger set and a more comprehensive role. He got a lot more screen time than Gibson and had more impressive sets about which to hurl his intemperate outbursts and indulgent monologues. He created a more complete character because the director elected to perform the entire play. Branagh wins this one by virtue of getting to make the important decisions.

Looking back over the score, I count a 4-4 tie, but the calculation is premature. We're not done yet. There's much more to consider. Branagh did the whole play. He had all the characters, and more importantly, he had Charlton Heston--that alone gives him the victory for the better adaptation.

I recommend Zeffirelli's version as a great way to familiarize oneself with the basic plot and the main characters without distractions. It's a streamlined abridgment that carries the audience through from start to finish with an unobstructed view of all the major landmarks. Branagh's Hamlet, like Shakespeare's play, wends its way through the landscape, leaving the main road to explore every copse and goat trail along the way. It's a complete experience--if you've got the time and your passport is new.

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Enough about The Bard. Let's talk about me. I signed a contract for publication of a short story yesterday and finished writing another new story too. I've sent the new one to my Skirmish Team for a quick review. The story contracted for publication is "A Stardust Memory" and comes out next month in a sultry murder jazz themed anthology in ebook and paperback. I'll post the cover when it's available.

Tea, Coercion, and Conciliatory Acts

 Fun Fact:

Frederick Lord North was 38 when he became prime minister in 1770. Corpulent with large features and a bulbous head, he was famous for his wit, literary anecdotes, and historical references. Prior to becoming PM, he had supported the policies that led to the revolution in America. Although he took a more conciliatory policy when he took office, his policies regarding the East India Company tea precipitated the rebellion. 

The East India Tea Act of 1773 was designed to make tea cheaper in America and increase revenues from the tea tax, thus upholding the right of Parliament to tax America. It seemed like a win-win. While England viewed the right to tax as fundamental to parliamentary supremacy, the Americans regarded any direct tax as a tool for tyranny.

The Americans responded by dumping the East India tea into Boston Harbor. North escalated the tension by imposing the Coercive acts, intending to make an example of Massachusetts; instead, it made North despised in the colonies. The sanctions failed to isolate Massachusetts, uniting the colonies in opposition. 

In February 1775, North introduced his Conciliatory Proposal to Parliament to avoid escalating the conflict. The idea was to allow the colonies to tax themselves--provided they made a sufficient contribution. Parliament would not give up the right to tax the colonies but would suspend the exercise of the right. As you might expect, it was a hit neither with Parliament nor the colonies. Franklin said it was akin to a highway man bringing his hat to the window for you to fill sufficiently to spare him the trouble of rifling your pockets himself.

Although North showed tremendous political courage in submitting the proposal in direct contradiction to the King's wishes, it was too little too late as parliament and the people were set on demonstrating supremacy, and it didn't address other issues that concerned the colonists. 

The heavy losses at Bunker Hill in June 1775 made North believe that a successful military conquest of the colonies was not a likely possibility. 

The above is condensed from The Men Who Lost America by Andrew Jackson O'shaughnessy -- Chapter 2 or 3, I think.

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I spent most of yesterday researching and writing a short story. Don't leap to the conclusion that I finished; it's not even half done. The weather was too cold to do anything outside, and will be worse tomorrow with temperatures coming in at -20.

A fellow author's having a difficult time, being hospitalized at the moment. Give her books a look and choose one or six to start with. Here's a link to Rex Regis, a series starter.

Writing Buddies

 

The characters and items pictured above have been my writing companions for a few years now. On the left is what may be an Aztec death whistle. It makes a sound like rumbling wind or growling jaguar. There are two stone dice from Texas, some poker chips from a production I was in, one white plastic die, an Eiffel Tower replica (not actual size), and a dragon I found at Walmart. The two flanking denizens not only assure that I focus on my work, like the other items, they also have special functions.

The stone dice are a reminder  that the protagonist can't always succeed--even sure things are subject to chance. Even when he does succeed, there must be high probability that he won't. The plastic die suggests that after a failure or a success, there may be more unanticipated possibilities that can change the earlier result. A little luck never hurts. The chips represent the idea that a good story requires rising stakes. Eventually, the protagonist has to go all in.

The Eiffel Tower replica is a reminder to write stories that stand out from the rest of the landscape. The real tower was assembled in two years, two months, and five days. Although that was record time for the age, it's a reminder that a quality project takes time. The Eiffel Tower is made of wrought iron from the Pompey forges in France. The metal was refined through a process known as puddling, which creates almost pure iron. Eiffel claimed it was the best and most robust of materials--another thing it has in common with my stories. It was the first building to reach 1,000 feet in height and remained unchallenged for 40 years. (These facts and more about the tower can be found here). Don't forget, the tower symbolizes Paris, a city of mystery with countless faces. Stories there may rise to the tower's lofty pinnacle or descend to the dark catacombs. Whether in Roman, Viking, medieval, or modern times, Paris makes a fabulous setting. Anything can happen in Paris. A great story has no limits, and the boundaries of every setting and genre can be expanded.
 

What about the monsters? The Aztec death whistle conjures images of human sacrifice with bloodstained altars, stone knives, and naked hearts offered to the sun. Sometimes a story should tear your heart out--or at least nick it. On the one hand, it's death at the hands of evil or deceived fanatics. With the dragon on the other hand, it's have death by fang, flame, and claw. A good story should have some fire to it, with multiple ways to land the protagonist in jeopardy. The antagonist or difficulties must be formidable; it helps if they seem insurmountable and are complicated by a serious case of awesome. 

Finally, note that the death whistle and the dragon bookend the tableau. They remind me to get the protagonist into some peril or adventure early--it helps the reader get interested--and to have a powerful finale. Those monsters on the flanks also symbolize the terrible choices the characters must face. Awful consequences and uncertainty torment the protagonist. The big decisions turn on the small hinges of character and necessity. All the alternatives have their risks and drawbacks. The monsters are Scylla and Charybdis. The true hero sometimes must place his hope in something beyond himself and his own abilities, and trust that he has made the right call--just like the writer does.

Remember, time is running out to get the first three books in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series for only 99 cents each. The first two books lead to the thrilling finale in the third.

Jeff Chapman

 Interview with Jeff Chapman

Author of

The Great Contagion, The Sniggard's Revenge, Last Request: Victorian Gothic, and more

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

I’m working on a novel in my Merliss Tales fantasy series. Merliss is the spirit of a young woman who has been trapped inside the body of a gray cat. She had been training to become a healer/shaman, so she retains some magical abilities, but she lives as a cat. The magic which transferred her spirit to the cat gives her physical body an unusually long life. We’re talking thousands of years. Merliss aids her human companions in their battles with disease and supernatural threats. I’ve written two novels in the series (The Great Contagion and Cat Sidhe) and a short story “The Water Wight.” My work in progress is The Breath of the Sea, which is set several centuries in the future from the first two novels. The story concerns an injured mermaid and a dying girl who befriends the mermaid. Merliss is drawn into events to protect the mermaid.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

The Merliss Tales were inspired by a cat that my family adopted off the street. Smokey arrived at our house one day begging for food. She was sick and starving. After a trip to the vet, we had a new cat. Smokey possessed several old battle scars. One of her ears was notched and two of her four canines were missing. This gave me the idea for a character based on an old soul in a cat’s body. Merliss was born.

Do you write in more than one genre?

Yes, in addition to fantasy, I’ve written weird westerns, steampunk, horror, historical, and stories that are just weird.

 Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

The Merliss Tales feature a cat as the primary protagonist. I call it fantasy from a cat’s eye view. Much of fantasy is written from the perspective of people at the top of the social order. Many of my fantasy stories focus on characters in less exalted positions. I’m aiming to tell the story of events from the perspective of the man in the trench as opposed to the general directing the army.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I’ve always found stories of premature burial especially terrifying. This fear was the premise for my historical novella Last Request: A Victorian Gothic. I also love cats. So, it’s not surprising that I’ve created a fantasy series centered around a cat and cats make frequent appearances in my other stories.

 What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

I have a couple degrees in history, and I enjoy reading and watching documentaries about historical events. My interest in history has guided me toward the fantasy genre. I love looking at the past. Fantasy gives us an opportunity to make up a new past.

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

They should check out Simon Kewin’s The Genehunter. It’s a dark story about a time in the future when human cloning and human-machine integration become commonplace. Kewin gives a compelling glimpse of where humanity’s darkest desires might take us when paired with the technology to get us there.

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

The Great Contagion. The story is dark and gritty at times and told completely from Merliss’s perspective. More than a few reviewers have said it’s unlike any fantasy they’ve read before.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

I wouldn’t describe the events as fortuitous, but I faced some serious health issues a few years ago which reminded me of my mortality and refocused my efforts on pursuing my writing dreams.

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

Have you written any vampire stories?

Yes, I published a short story titled “The Princess and the Vampire.” It’s about a spoiled princess who wants to take a vampire as a lover, but first she wants him to be de-fanged, literally, as in his fangs removed. The love affair doesn’t go according to plan.

 Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

I've all my wisdom teeth
Two up top, two beneath
And yet I'll recognise
My mouth says things that aren't so wise

That’s a few lines from “The Bereft Man’s Song” by the Crash Test Dummies. It’s part of my email signature. I do have my wisdom teeth, but they don’t always impart wisdom. Seems appropriate to place at the end of an interview.

Links:

http://www.jeffchapmanbooks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/JeffChapmanWriter

https://www.goodreads.com/JeffChapman

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jeff-chapman

https://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Chapman/e/B004YQ2ZWW

https://books2read.com/ap/n0Qjkw/Jeff-Chapman

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Thanks to Jeff for participating.

My news for the new year is from a list about last year. My story "Tokens of Moonlight and Mist" made the Tangent Online Recommended Reading List of 2024. The story is in Cirsova Magazine Issue 21/Winter 2024.

I'm between short stories at the moment, having submitted one yesterday and not having commenced another. I've also got Antonio and Rip nagging me for attention for the stand alone novella of their adventure in the islands and perhaps Mexico in search of Johnny Coyne and Catalina with the matter of the stolen ship and munitions to increase their ardor for the chase. Rip wants the ship. Antonio wants Catalina.  It will be book 7 in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series. If you haven't read the prequel to the series, In Death Bedrenched, you can find it on the first of the links below. Check out the other deals too.

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