The performance captured on film was one done live in 1964 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The DVD title refers to the lead actor, Richard Burton as Hamlet. I thought it odd that it was identified as his Hamlet, and not the playwright's or even the director's (Sir John Gielgud). The rear of the DVD case holds remarks from the director. He calls it "a Hamlet acted in rehearsal clothes, stripped of all the extraneous trappings...This performance was conceived as a final run-through...."
The performance is a refreshingly traditional version of Hamlet. At a run time of just over three hours, not much of the script is removed (and that which was deleted was not noticeable). There is minimal set dressing and there are no costume changes, which makes sense when one reads the director's notes. The preserved video is in black and white. The video is at times tough to interpret and the audio is at times difficult to decipher, but for such an historical document these problems can be overlooked.
Several things stood out from the production. It is a very animated performance. Richard Burton fit expectation perfectly as to what Hamlet should be. He displayed a terrific emotional range, becoming intense without going over the top. Some suspension of disbelief is required, though, to imagine a 39-year-old actor in the role. Also very animated was the audience. I cannot recall any Hamlet I have seen that received as much applause. Entrances, exits, scene changes--such a reception is nearly unheard of. It also was an audience that understood what they were seeing and reacted appropriately, as much a credit to the theatergoers as to the acting company.
The ghost was presented as a shadow on the set, with the voice of the director taking the ghost's lines. A complete reversal from the most recent Hamlet I saw, which included a ghost able to be hugged, this was a very fitting portrayal. In the chamber scene, just before the ghost's reappearance, Hamlet compares pictures of Claudius and his father from lockets. Oddly, there were no lockets, perhaps another indication that this was simply a run-through.
The dumb show was presented before "The Mousetrap." How did Claudius miss it? He was too busy canoodling with Gertrude. The entire scene was well-choreographed, and it actually made dramatic sense. It was not so much the play that offended Claudius as Hamlet's unseemly behavior during the performance, a great interpretation of the scene.
The duel between Laertes and Hamlet also was well-choreographed, although not terribly violent. The switch of foils occurs when Hamlet takes the unbated one directly from Laertes and throws his own back in return. That seemed to be kind of a cop-out. It left me wondering if the transfer might have been changed in the actual production.
Overall, this version of Hamlet is excellently rendered and well done. Having just viewed the play on stage one week ago, I did not know whether I would be able to watch it again so soon after (especially a three-hour version). This one was tremendously enjoyable and restored my faith in live performances.
As a bonus to the performance, the DVD includes an interview with Richard Burton. He and the interviewer discuss how it was that the film version came to be. Through a novel process called "electronovision," a live performance was captured on film. Fifty-five years later, this creation of a "theatrofilm" seems second nature in a world overrun with technology. At the time, though, the concept had to be both new and exciting. The recorded play was sent to 1,000 movie houses for four performances held over two days in September (23rd and 24th), 1964. People were able to go to their local movie house to see a Broadway play on the big screen. Consider this the ancestor of Fathom Events or NT Live today. Even the notion that the theatrofilm would be preserved was not expected. As Burton put it, following those four showings his Hamlet "will never possibly be shown again." That one is able in 2019 to watch a live performance from 1964 is truly an incredible, one-of-a-kind experience!
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