Hamlet (1964/I)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Directors:

Bill Colleran
John Gielgud

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The highly successful 1964 Richard Burton Broadway production of "Hamlet", deliberately staged in the style of a "dress rehearsal", but performed in front of a live audience.

Plot Keywords:

Theater | Star Crossed Lovers | Poisoning | Fratricide | Queen

Cast

Richard Burton	...	Hamlet
Hume Cronyn	...	Polonius
Alfred Drake	...	Claudius
Eileen Herlie	...	Gertrude
William Redfield	...	Guildenstern
George Rose	...	First Gravedigger
George Voskovec	...	Player King
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hugh Alexander	...	Cornelius / Second Gravedigger / English Ambassador
Philip Coolidge	...	Voltimand
Christopher Culkin	...	Player Queen
John Cullum	...	Laertes
Michael Ebert	...	Francisco / Fortinbras
Dillon Evans	...	Reynaldo / Osric / Fortinbras's Captain
Clement Fowler	...	Rosencrantz
Geoff Garland	...	Lucianus
John Gielgud	...	Ghost (voice)
John Hetherington	...	Player Prologue
Barnard Hughes	...	Marcellus / Priest
Linda Marsh	...	Ophelia
Robert Milli	...	Horatio
Frederick Young	...	Bernardo

Also Known As:

Richard Burton's Hamlet (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

191 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre - 205 West 46th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Theatrofilm

Trivia:

The film was scheduled to be shown in cinemas for a week and then all copies were to be destroyed. A single print was found in Richard Burton's garage after his death, which his widow allowed to be distributed as a DVD.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Richard Dreyfuss/Jimmy Buffett, Gary Tigerman (#3.19)" (1978)

Hard to find and too often overlooked!

Difficult to find since it is essentially a video taping of a Broadway performance, but this is a Hamlet not to be missed! Under the firm directorial hand of John Gielgud, Richard Burton creates one of the memorable Hamlets. He rivals Olivier in a very different interpretation. It is important to remember when watching this one that it is not a movie! Still, Burton vividly demonstrates that he could have been the first classical actor of his generation had he focused on that phase of his career. Gielgud appears as the Ghost of King Hamlet and is magnificent in the role. Hume Cronyn is perfection as Polonius. The remainder of the cast is good but not breathtaking. Trivia Buffs!! Who plays the Player Queen in this version (yes, Player Queen)-- a very young Christoper Culkin. Long before he shortened that first name to Kit and fathered MacCauley.

Burton had instructed that after a limited theatrical release all copies of this were to be destroyed. It is fortunate for those of us who love this play and love great classical acting that somewhere someone failed to follow instructions. If you can find a copy by all means rent it.