This production of Hamlet, directed by Sir John Gielgud and starring Richard Burton, was recorded in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City during a spectacular season for Broadway. It was the year of Carol Channing's Hello Dolly, Barbra Streisand's Funny Girl, and Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. Noel Coward, Arthur Miller and Alec Guinness were also on the Great White Way that year. But the show that created the most excitement was Richard Burton's Hamlet. Given the importance of the show, a film was made of a single performance. At Burton's insistence, after screening the film for just two days, all copies were destroyed except for one that went to the British Film Institute and one that went to Burton's home. 25 years after the stage production, Burton's widow allowed this audio recording to be made from her copy. This performance differs from other recordings of Hamlet, not only because of Burton and Gielgud, but because it is a live recording of an actual performance on Broadway, not in a recording studio.You get the immediacy of a live production of Hamlet on Broadway in the nervousness of the actors, knowing that they can't go back on it, that this is for all time, unlike films, where you can if you make a mistake go back and do it again. The particular intensity and nerves of this is probably the same kind of thing that excites a real audience in a real theatre. - Richard BurtonFor more informative lectures about this work, don't miss A Study Guide to Hamlet. Or, listen to a conversation with Professor Harold Bloom.
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"This play was a great read and I only wish I could have seen this performed. Reading Hamlet's third soliloquy for the first time also made me fully analyze the depression and anxiety behind the words which is often misinterpreted as a simple question and answer session with himself. " — Mercedes (4 out of 5 stars)
"This play was a great read and I only wish I could have seen this performed. Reading Hamlet's third soliloquy for the first time also made me fully analyze the depression and anxiety behind the words which is often misinterpreted as a simple question and answer session with himself. "
" You can't see/read this play enough. "
" <sub> while i do find shakespear engaging, that is once the teacher translates of course (god bless sparknotes). However i find it rushed, and lengthy. I much preferred Othello. "
" This edition is really great for teaching Hamlet. "
" Perhaps my favorite Shakespeare play. The subject of many papers, Hamlet is one of the most complex characters in all of literature. He is tragic, funny, and lovable. The characters, plot, and writing are all magnificent. "
" not nearly as good as Macbeth. i was disappointed with it after all the hipe ive heard. "
" INSECT what are the school thinking? "
" Another of the few overhyped plays of Shakespeare. Didn't really live up to the hype, but overall, it was a satisfactory read. Good to finally understand the much referenced "To be" speech. "
" The only part of this play that I really don't like is when Polonius rambles on and on to Laertes about how he should act.. I'm ashamed to say I usually skip it, as well as when Laertes talks to Ophelia about Hamlet.. that entire thing actually.OH I'M SO LAZY. "
" Shakespearean perfection... Arguably the greatest play of all time... Get it Bill! "
" This play was the entire focus of my senior year A.P. Lit class. "
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English poet and dramatist of the Elizabethan and early Jacobean period, is the most widely known author in all of English literature and often considered the greatest. He was an active member of a theater company for at least twenty years, during which time he wrote many great plays. Plays were not prized as literature at the time and Shakespeare was not widely read until the middle of the eighteenth century, when a great upsurge of interest in his works began that continues today.
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