Silent Shakespeare

Synopsis

A compilation of seven early silent versions of Shakespeare plays, created from nitrate prints held in the BFI National Archive. They include examples of hand-stencilled and tinted prints, and, though sometimes damaged or incomplete, provide a unique record of a performance.
The films are: 1) KING JOHN (GB, 1899, director W-K L Dickson, production company British Mutoscope and Biograph Company) - the first Shakespeare film ever made, featuring Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree; 2) THE TEMPEST (GB, 1908, director Percy Stow, production company Clarendon Film Company, Croydon; 3) A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (USA, 1909, directors J Stuart Blackton and Charles Kent, production company Vitagraph Company of America; 4) KING LEAR / RE LEAR (Italy, 1910, director Gerolamo Lo Savio, production company Film d’Arte Italiana; 5) TWELFTH NIGHT (USA, 1910, director Charles Kent, production company Vitagraph Company of America; 6) THE MERCHANT OF VENICE / Il Mercante di Venezia (Italy, 1910, director Gerolamo Lo Savio, production company Film d’Arte Italiana; 7) RICHARD III (GB, 1911, production company F. R. Benson Company for the Co-operative Cinematograph Company).

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video

Technical information

Black-and-white / Silent

Year of release

2004

Credits

Director

Charles Kent; Gerolamo Lo Savio; J. Stuart Blackton; Percy Stow; William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson

Writer

William Shakespeare

Music

Laura Rossi

Cast

Herbert Beerbohm Tree	King John
F. R. Benson	Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard
F. R. Benson

Additional Details

Production type

Fiction Films

Plays

King John; King Lear; Merchant of Venice, The; Midsummer Night’s Dream, A; Richard III; Tempest, The; Twelfth Night

Subjects

Drama; Media studies

Keywords

early cinema; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes

DVD extras: commentary by Dr Judith Buchanan.
The films are available to download and stream on Globe Player. https://globeplayer.tv/videos/silent-shakespeare (accessed 8/2015).

General

The seven films are catalogued separately with cast and production information.

Distributor

Name

BFI Video

Email

video.films@bfi.org.uk

Web

http://www.bfi.org.uk External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7957 8957

Fax

020 7957 8968

Address

21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN

Distributor (Sale)

Name

Retail outlets