Richard Burton's Hamlet
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Movie Reviews of Richard Burton's Hamlet
Movie Review: This `Hamlet' IS Hamlet
Summary: 5 Stars
I have seen every filmed version of `Hamlet' there is and untold stage perfomances and never - never - have I been so thoroughly convinced of the reality of the drama as I am with this version. Taped during a live stage performance in `64, directed by Gielgud (who first interpreted the role realistically), this film offers brilliant work by Hume Cronyn, Alfred Drake and Linda Marsh - but most of all by Richard Burton who delivers the lines as though they are being spoken for the first time. The entire production has that same quality though - it's the first `Hamlet' I've ever seen where I genuinely felt sorry when Polonius is killed and where I've laughed at the `fishmonger' scene. In black & white, it is certainly not as `showy' as some other filmed versions - but I don't believe there is one better.Movie Review: Brilliant performace preserved, limited presentation
Summary: 5 Stars
4 stars for presentation, 5 stars for performance. I can remember listening to Richard Burton's great HAMLET performance on the Columbia Records Broadway cast album (unfortunatly unavailable on CD).Now I can see him perform in this record of one of the Broadway perfomances. It was worth the long wait. Having been informed that this film was destroyed only to have resurface on this DVD is great news. Unfortunatly the technical aspects of the film are wanting, oftened resembling an old TV Kinoscope. The DVD format does not improve the picture or sound much. Still it is watchable and Burton's great performance (along with the rest of the cast)make it extremely worth while. Maybe now Columbia (or Sony)will reissue the stereo cast album so that the two will complement each other.Movie Review: I enjoyed this adaptation
Summary: 5 Stars
I was a freshman in high school in 1964. The English Department purchased a bunch of tickets and we all went to see this. As it happened, the freshman class was studying Hamlet at the time.I have not seen the video, but I thoroughly enjoyed the original performance. It was just as the video reviews say - dark lighting, few closeups, etc. As I recall, there were only a couple of cameras positioned in or near the first row, so it we saw it as if we were in the audience. Quite different than anything else I have ever experienced. I also seem to recall that what we saw was live and without an audience. Richard Burton was a great Hamlet.
Movie Review: Review for Richard Burton's Hamlet
Summary: 5 Stars
The new, sealed, DVD arrived even before the scheduled delivery date. It would have been very informative if Amazon had published more information about this version of Hamlet. It had been a long time since I had seen this version, but I remembered that the actors wore "street" clothes.I discovered, after opening the DVD, that this was filmed during the final rehearsal (prior to dress rehearsal) and was directed by Sir John Gielgud. The film was supposed to have been destroyed, but Burton kept a copy archived. Amazon should also include that critics hailed this version as the height of Burton's vocal powers and charisma.Movie Review: Burton's Hamlet has aged surprisingly well
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're interested in Shakespeare on stage as opposed to Shakespeare on film, this is an excellent video. I taught an introductory theater course where we looked at several different Hamlets on video, and, in terms of getting a sense of the play's theatricality, this DVD and a recording I made of Peter Brook's recent production (recorded from German TV, I don't know if the video is commercially available or not) were the most enlightening for the students. I find Burton's performance considerably less affected than that of several modern interpreters, e.g. Branagh or Kevin Kline.