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Hamlet
(1909) France
B&W : One reel
Directed by Gérard Bourgeois
Cast: Jean Mounet-Sully [Hamlet]
[?] Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France or Le Film d’Art? production; distributed by [?] Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France? / From the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The film was released in the USA by R. Prieur on 2 February 1910.
Drama: Historical.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 12 February 1910, page ?] To adequately represent Shakespeare’s greatest drama in a motion picture is a difficult task, and though in this instance the producer has done well, one must say that it is a great pity he hasn’t done a bit better. Improvement in the interpretation would, perhaps, make amends, at least in some degree, for the deficiencies in photography. There are too many weak spots in the film, detracting from its mechanical beauty, though one must say that the improvement in photographic quality of this firm’s work is marked. One wishes, however, that they might have gone a little further in this direction and have make the picture clearer and better through its entire length. The staging is perhaps adequate. Staging in Shakespeare’s time was not the elaborate operation it is now, and what appear to be meager settings often represent fidelity to the original. The acting has weak points, yet is, perhaps, a reasonably satisfactory reproduction or the play as it is likely to be understood by a majority of readers. Pictures that stage actors and producers forward by the necessity of producing something out of the ordinary unquestionably exert a beneficial influence and assist materially in both dramatic and photographic development.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: (unknown) [France]; Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Authors: William Shakespeare
Listing updated: 4 November 2022.
References: Ball-Shakespeare pp. 160a, 386 : Website-IMDb.
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