Hamlet (1961 film)
{{short description|1961 film by Franz Peter Wirth}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Hamlet_1961_poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Promotional poster
| native_name = Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark
| director = Franz Peter Wirth
| producer = Hans Gottschalk
| screenplay = Franz Peter Wirth
| based_on = {{Based on|Hamlet
1599 play|William Shakespeare}}
| starring = Maximilian Schell
| music = Rolf Unkel
| cinematography = Kurt Gewissen
Boris Goriup
Hermann Gruber
Rudolf H. Jakob
| editor = Adolf Schlyssleder
| released = {{Start date|1961|1|1|df=y}}
| runtime = 152 minutes
| country = West Germany
| language = German
}}
Hamlet ({{langx|de|Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark|lit=Hamlet, Prince of Denmark}}) is a 1961 German mystery drama film directed by Franz Peter Wirth. The screenplay by Wirth is adapted from the William Shakespeare tragedy of the same name.
Release
The film was initially broadcast on television on 1 January 1961 in West Germany before being released theatrically in the United States in 1962.
Plot
{{see also|Hamlet#Plot}}
Prince Hamlet of Denmark returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle.[https://mubi.com/films/hamlet-1960 MUBI]
Cast
- Maximilian Schell as Hamlet
- Hans Caninenberg as Claudius
- Wanda Rotha as Gertrude
- {{ill|Dunja Movar|de}} as Ophelia
- Franz Schafheitlin as Polonius
- {{ill|Dieter Kirchlechner|de}} as Laertes
- Karl Michael Vogler as Horatio
- Eckart Dux as Rosencrantz
- {{ill|Herbert Bötticher|de}} as Guildenstern
- Karl Lieffen as Osric
- {{ill|Rolf Boysen|de}} as Bernardo
- {{Ill|Michael Paryla|de|Michael Paryla (Schauspieler)}} as Francisco
- Alexander Engel as Ghost
- {{ill|Adolf Gerstung|de}} as Actor
- Paul Verhoeven as First gravedigger
- Johannes Buzalski as Second gravedigger
Reception
Bill Gibron, writing for DVD Verdict, said that "In the literary life, you either love Shakespeare or you don't, and the Germans definitely do not. This 1960 television version of the Bard's brainchild is so cold and calculated it's like Berlin in February."{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/mst3kcollvol4.php |title=Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Volume 4 |date=18 December 2003 |author=Bill Gibron |work=DVD Verdict |accessdate=22 July 2021 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720005228/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/mst3kcollvol4.php |archivedate=20 July 2016 }} FlickFilosopher wrote that "this is a take on Hamlet that could otherwise be construed as cruel and unusual punishment."{{cite web|url=https://www.flickfilosopher.com/2008/08/to-be-or-not-to-be-maximilian-schell-as-hamlet.html |title=to be or not to be: Maximilian Schell as Hamlet |date=17 August 2008 |author= MaryAnn Johanson |work=FlickFilosopher.com |accessdate=20 March 2022}} Kevin Murphy of Mystery Science Theater 3000 wrote, "Leave it to Germany to turn a bleak brooding play into an even bleaker, broodinger movie-of-the-week for German television. This thing, made in the early '60s, has 'we're still really sorry for the war and feel terrible' all over it."{{cite web|url=http://www.mst3kinfo.com/aceg/10/1009/ep1009.html |title=Episode 1009- Hamlet - The Amazing Colossal Transplanted Sci-Fi Channel Episode Guide |author= Kevin Murphy |work=Satellite News |accessdate=20 March 2022}}
Dub
Hamlet was dubbed into English under the supervision of Edward Dmytryk. Schell provided his own voice: among the other actors used for the dub were Ricardo Montalbán (Claudius) and John Banner (Polonius). This dub was later featured in a season 10[https://www.cbr.com/mst3k-movies-good-without-the-riffing/ 10 MST3K Movies You Should Watch Without The Riffing - CBR] episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000,{{cite web|url=http://www.mst3kinfo.com/?p=6106 |title=Episode guide: 1009- Hamlet |date=8 March 2018 |author= Sampo |work=Satellite News |accessdate=20 March 2022}} its length cut to fit the show's 92-minute runtime.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|tt0053888}}
- [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/hamlet-am49605 Hamlet at AllMovie]
{{Hamlet |collapsed}}
Category:1961 television films
Category:1961 television plays
Category:German films based on plays
Category:German drama television films
Category:German-language television shows
Category:Films based on Hamlet
Category:Films directed by Franz Peter Wirth
Category:Das Erste original programming