Shakespeare in Performance: Film
Hamlet: Prinz von Danemark (1960, Franz Peter Wirth)
| Title | Hamlet: Prinz von Danemark |
|---|---|
| Year | 1960 |
| Release Locations | West Germany |
| Director | Franz Peter Wirth |
| Medium | Black & white video |
| Length | 2 hrs, 7 mins |
| Languages | German |
| Dubbed Languages | English |
| Audience | college and university general public high school |
| Play Connections | Hamlet (interpretation) |
Description
Made originally to be shown on television, the production achieved such success that Hollywood Director, Edward Dmytryk, bought it and arranged to dub in English dialogue. Unfortunately many viewers have objected to the dubbing, which inevitably makes the actors appear to be "out of sync." The staging is bare, almost minimalist, one might say, with sets of cubes, blocks and risers to demarcate the different areas of the castle. As the late Lillian Wilds wrote, the set becomes "unremittingly claustrophobic" and there is "perhaps no daylight, no world outside. Hamlet's world is completely circumscribed by blackness" (Wilds 139)
Description from Shakespeare on Screen : an International Filmography and Videography by Kenneth S. Rothwell and Annabelle Henkin Melzer. ©1990 Kenneth S. Rothwell. Cited by permission. — Added 2008-11-14
Cast Overview
Production Team and Crew Overview
Production information courtesy of: Kenneth Rothwell