British Universities Film & Video Council

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Dustin Hoffman and Peter Hall

Synopsis
Television arts documentary. Sir Peter Hall rehearses with Dustin Hoffman and other cast members of the Peter Hall Company for the London stage production of The Merchant of Venice. Filmed over one complete day’s rehearsal, the scenes covered are I iii, II v and IV i, mostly Hoffman’s scenes. Both Hoffman and Hall comment on the character of Shylock with emphasis on anti-semitism, and Hall expounds his theories of speaking Shakespeare’s verse. An interesting look at the rehearsal process but one dominated by Hall and Hoffman in what soon becomes a self-satisfied and congratulatory exercise.
Series
South Bank Show, The
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Notes
The Birmingham Shakespeare Library holds a transcript.

The BFI National Archive also holds production material and inserts.
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
anti-Semitism; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Verse speaking; Rehearsals
Related items
Merchant of Venice

Credits

Director
Tony Know
Producer
Tony Know
Contributor
Peter Hall
Cast
Abigail McKern 
Basil Henson 
Dustin Hoffman 
Francesca Buller 
Geraldine James 
Leigh Lawson 
Michael Siberry 
Nathaniel Parker 
Peter-Hugo Daly 

Production Company

Name

London Weekend Television

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 0165
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
View this record on the Shakespeare site for additional details

Record Stats

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