Richard Burton's Hamlet [1964] Live on Broadway

Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 2
File size                                : 1.55 GiB
Duration                                 : 3h 10mn
Nominal bit rate                         : 1 000 Kbps
Width                                    : 708 pixels
Height                                   : 472 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 4:3
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 29.970 fps
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.100
Writing library                          : x264 core 120
 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058175/
 
http://image.bayimg.com/cd06dbbf7f49b471710efc842fd747e38f67417e.jpg
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burton's_Hamlet


The production took place because of a lighthearted agreement between Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole while they were filming Becket. O’Toole decreed that they should each play Hamlet afterwards under the direction of John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier in either London or New York, with a coin toss deciding who would be assigned which director and which city. O’Toole won London and Olivier in the toss, with Burton being assigned Gielgud and New York. O’Toole kept his part of the agreement, appearing as Hamlet under Olivier's direction in the premiere production of the Royal National Theatre later that year, and Burton approached producer Alexander H. Cohen and Gielgud about mounting a New York production

Because Burton disliked wearing period costumes, and for aesthetic reasons of his own, Gielgud conceived of a production performed in a “rehearsal” setting with an incomplete set and the actors wearing what appeared to be street clothes (although the costumes were actually the result of continuous trial-and-error in rehearsals, with the actors bringing in countless variations of attire for Gielgud to consider). Gielgud also opted to depict the Ghost as a shadow against the back of the stage wall, voicing the character himself on tape (since he was unavailable while the production was in performance).

The production was a financial smash, achieving the longest run for the play in Broadway history at 137 performances, which broke the previous record set by Maurice Evans's GI Hamlet in the 1940s. The run's popularity was due in no small part to attention Burton received for his romance with Elizabeth Taylor, whom he married while the production was in Toronto pre-Broadway; crowds gathered outside the New York theater to get a glimpse of Burton, and sometimes Taylor, after the show. Burton was passionate, virile, calculating and sardonic in the role, varying his interpretation throughout the run, giving free rein to his magnificently effective[neutrality is disputed] voice, and wearing a v-necked black sweater or jacket and simple slacks. Burton's reviews in the title role were largely favorable and he received a Tony Award nomination for his performance. A distinguished aspect of the production was Hume Cronyn’s puckish performance as Polonius, which won him the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. Eileen Herlie, who played Queen Gertrude, had already played the role in Laurence Olivier's Oscar-winning 1948 film version. Less favorably received were Linda Marsh as Ophelia and Alfred Drake as King Claudius, whom Gielgud had considered replacing with respectively Sarah Miles and either Harry Andrews or himself in rehearsals. (Gielgud did play the ghost of Hamlet's father as a disembodied voice, with only the Ghost's shadow seen.)

By contractual agreement, all prints of the film were to have been destroyed after its theatrical run. However, by chance, a single print was discovered in Burton's garage following his death, and his widow allowed it to be distributed on VHS, and later on DVD. The film was originally titled Hamlet, but the VHS and DVD covers read Richard Burton's Hamlet.

Cast

Hamlet - Richard Burton
Polonius - Hume Cronyn
Claudius - Alfred Drake
Gertrude - Eileen Herlie
Guildenstern - William Redfield
First Gravedigger - George Rose
Player King - George Voskovec
Voltemand - Philip Coolidge
Laertes - John Cullum
Francisco/ Fortinbras - Michael Ebert
Reynaldo/Osric - Dillon Evans
Rosencrantz - Clement Fowler
Lucianus - Geoff Garland
Marcellus/Priest - Barnard Hughes
Ophelia - Linda Marsh
Horatio - Robert Milli
Cornelius/ Second Gravedigger/ English Ambassador - Hugh Alexander
Bernardo/Ensemble - Robert Burr
Player Queen - Christopher Culkin
Ensemble - Alex Giannini
Ghost - John Gielgud
Ensemble - Claude Harz
Player Prologue/Ensemble- John Hetherington
Ensemble - Gerome Ragni
Ensemble - Linda Seff
Gentleman - Richard L. Sterne
Ensemble - Carol Teitel
Ensemble - Frederick Young