Hamlet

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.

Whereas it is true that this version of "Hamlet" with Richard Burton in the title role was a hit on Broadway, that's just part of the story behind the video release.

Burton had become an immensely popular actor after his scandalous marriage to Elizabeth Taylor during the rigors of filming "Cleopatra," in which he played the love-crazed Mark Anthony. After that film's long-delayed release (late 1963), the pair became "Hollywood royalty" with a world-wide following.

Developers/producers of Electronovision capitalized on their phenomenal popularity by arranging the taping of a dress rehearsal. It was released theatrically during the course of the play's Broadway run.

Electronovision was another version of closed-circuit TV; hence, the master videotape is in black-and-white.

A later try with Electronovision was the 1965 closed-circuit, theatrical release of "Harlow," which starred Carol Lynley as 1930s movie actress Jean Harlow. It barely preceded the 1965 film of the same name (Carroll Baker in title role). Although that film was forced to rush through production, it didn't finish in time to be the "first."

Critics of that period, who were not all impressed with this "new medium," really lashed out at this one, which they claimed went "against all ethics."

To my recall, that controversy ended Electronovision.

I'm notorious for my dislike of Shakespeare. I've often said the only Shakespeare I like is 10 Things I Hate About You. When I watched Richard Burton's Hamlet, everything changed.

Burton's energy level is unbelievable. He practically bounces right out of the screen to personally tell each audience member his vision. It's incredible to watch, and incredible to know he gave that same performance every night for 137 nights on Broadway, a record. This taping of a live performance was stylistically filmed as a "rehearsal", so the sets are minimalistic, and everyone is wearing street clothes. Normally, I don't like when period pieces are modernized, but in this case, Richard Burton could have been wearing a clown costume and I still would have loved it.

Richard Burton is the first and only person in the world to make me understand Shakespearian language. I don't know how he does it. He embodies the meaning behind the confusing words and opens a whole new world for the audience. It's incredible.

If you like Shakespeare, watch it. If you like Richard Burton, watch it. And if you like the Hamlet story, regardless of how many other versions you've seen and which one you think is your favorite, watch it. It will become your new favorite. Frankly, it's the best.

I didn't know a record of this famous production existed until I found it on DVD at the library. What a find! John Gielgud directed Richard Burton in "Hamlet," an acclaimed production in modern dress that was eventually recorded with a process called Electronovision and released in movie theaters. What's fascinating is that this is a record of an actual Broadway performance before an audience; the actors make no concession to the cameras and change nothing. The black-and-white process is crude, far inferior to that of recent stage shows presented on PBS. Yet I was amazed how compelling the show was anyway. Maybe the crudeness helped. It felt like a shadow retrieved from the past: I thought of the filmed dream from "Quatermass and the Pit."

Richard Burton makes a fine Hamlet, more virile and physical than most; his intellectual side is de-emphasized but far from lost; and he's funny. The rest of the cast is uniformly good, but Hume Cronyn stands out as Polonius. He's so good, so funny, so able to bring out both the wisdom and the foolishness of the character that until he's dispatched, the play feels like the "Hamlet and Polonius Show."

Happily a year ago, I found at a thrift store a book by Richard L. Sterne (one of the minor players in this production) called "John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet." It includes transcripts of Gielgud directing the cast, the prompt script Gielgud created, and Sterne's interviews with Burton and Gielgud. I've only looked into it, but I can highly recommend it based on what I've read. Anyone who finds this DVD may want to seek out the book as well.

Filmed, or rather videotaped, performance of the Broadway production of Shakespeare's play. Richard Burton stars as the Danish prince who plots revenge against his mother and uncle for the murder of his father. Also featuring Hume Cronyn as Polonius, Alfred Drake as Claudius, Eileen Herlie as Gertrude, Linda Marsh as Ophelia, John Cullum as Laertes, George Voskovec as the Player King, William Redfield as Guildenstern, Clement Fowler as Rosencrantz, and Barnard Hughes as Marcellus. John Gielgud, who staged and directed the play, also provides the off-stage voice of the Ghost.

Running a cool 3 hours and 10 minutes, this presentation is the opposite of the Russian version I watched last night. This strips away the visual, and focuses completely on the text. It's presented as a sort of dress rehearsal, with the performers wearing street clothes, and the sets bare and virtually nonexistent. Burton is good, although he's said to have detested this recording, made over several days from several performances in front of live audiences, and then edited together seamlessly. I thought Hume Cronyn stole the show, and wasn't surprised to learn that he won the Tony that year for his performance. For some reason, there was a contractual stipulation that after the theatrical run, all prints and negatives of this were to be destroyed, and the film was thought lost for a long time, until a single copy was found in the possession of...Richard Burton.