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William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in 1602. It has been performed and directed more times with more interpretations than perhaps any other work in the English canon. The focus of the plot is on the young Prince of Denmark, who suffers from an “antic disposition,” or madness, after the realization that his uncle Claudius has murdered his father and usurped the throne. However, this madness is not genuine. “I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw” (2.2, 378-379). Hamlet feigns insanity in order to manipulate those around him and discover the truth about his father’s murder. Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in his own version of Hamlet in 1996. His version contained the text in its entirety without any exclusion, clocking in at a full 238 minutes. Branagh’s film version of Hamlet contributed to the play’s understanding of Hamlet’s “antic disposition” by its portrayal of Old Hamlet’s Ghost, the famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy, the love scenes between Hamlet and Ophelia, the confessional scene, and the play within the play. Branagh shows that Hamlet is not overwhelmed by madness, but rather focused with rage and vengeance for the death of his father. Br