Shakespeare in Performance: Film
Hamlet (1964, Bill Colleran)
| Title | Hamlet |
|---|---|
| Year | 1964 |
| Release Locations | USA |
| Director | Bill Colleran |
| Medium | Black & white video |
| Length | 3 hrs, 19 mins |
| Languages | English |
| Audience | professional |
| Play Connections | Hamlet (recording) |
Description
This famous but elusive version of Hamlet was recorded at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City, on June 30 and July 1, 1964 during a regularly scheduled performance of the play. Directed by John Gielgud, the play came to New York City after a stormy interval in Toronto. The recording of the play was done by a technological system called "Electronovision," which involved several strategically deployed hidden cameras that transmitted impulses to a master camera. The production was then at once relayed to theatre audiences throughout America. This method, which allowed audiences to view New York theatre on home-town movie screens, where people had gathered especially for the occasion, was a kind of hybrid of live theatre and movie-going. It brought a glimpse of the ritual and glory of great theatre into middle America, but was doomed by encroaching technological advances that would make it harder and harder to entice audiences away from electronic home entertainment centers
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