Learning on ScreenHamlet
- Alternative title
- Richard Burton’s Hamlet
- Synopsis
- Richard Burton’s performance as Hamlet, directed for stage by John Gielgud, and recorded at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre, New York, on 30 June and 1 July 1964, during a regularly scheduled performance of the play. Cameras were placed at various points in the auditorium, recording the performance over the two nights, and the actors made no concessions to the cameras. The result was as close to a live theatre performance as possible. Burton is charismatic, treating the role almost as a one-man show, he is clearly enthralled by the language, but fails to unite the production through engagement with the physical stage and rapport with the emotional demands of the other characters.
- Language
- English
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Film; Video
- Technical information
- Black-and-white / Sound
- Year of release
- 1964
- Duration
- 191 mins; 17,196 feet
- Availability
- Sale
Credits
- Director
- Bill Colleran
- Producer
- Alfred W Crown; William Sargent
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Costume
- Jane Greenwood
- Art Direction
- Ben Edwards
- Contributor
- John Gielgud
- Cast
Additional Details
- Theatre
- Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York
- Production type
- Stage Recordings
- Historical period
- 1960s
- Plays
- Hamlet
- Subjects
- Drama
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
- Related items
- Richard Burton Discusses ‘Hamlet’
- Shakespeare - Playing the Dane
Notes
- Notes
- The 1996 BMG video release includes a four-minute interview with Richard Burton made on the eve of the original screenings of the film. The video release is currently out of distribution (8/2009). The DVD (NTSC) interactive menus include filmographies and awards, trailer and chapter selections.
The British Library Sound Archive holds a live sound recording made 30 June 1964. - General
- The stormy production became the subject of Jack Thorne’s 2023 play, The Motive and the Cue, directed by Sam Mendes. The original National Theatre production starred Mark Gatiss as Gielgud, Johnny Flynn as Burton and Tuppence Middleton as Elizabeth Taylor.
- History
- The film from the two performances was edited and 1000 prints were screened for two days only to American audiences in cinemas across the country. All prints were then destroyed except one, sent to the British Film Institute, and Burton’s personal copy. Following Burton’s death, his wife Sally decided to make the print available and this was done in conjunction with the National Film and Television Archive and the British Film Institute. New technology has allowed significant improvements to be made to the technical quality of the original.
- Reviews
- Rothwell, Kenneth S. Cineaste 25, no. 3 (2000), pp 50-2 (in review article). Richard L. Sterne John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet: A Journal of Rehearsals. (New York: Random House, 1967). Cast as a ‘Gentleman’ in the production, Sterne secreted his reel-to-reel tape recorder where it could log rehearsals, including private ones with only Burton and Gielgud.
Online Availability
- Online URL
- https://youtu.be/vABGEzB7T9M
- Online format
- Streamed
Production Company
Distributor
- Name
Shakespeare Network (SN)
- Web
- https://www.youtube.com/@ShakespeareNetwork External site opens in new window
Distributor (Sale)
- Name
Retail outlets
Record Stats
This record has been viewed 827 times.
