{"id":40638,"date":"2023-08-11T20:52:25","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T00:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=40638"},"modified":"2023-08-11T20:54:26","modified_gmt":"2023-08-12T00:54:26","slug":"the-bootleg-files-hamlet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/11\/the-bootleg-files-hamlet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bootleg Files: Hamlet"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 839:<\/strong> \u201cHamlet\u201d (1970 made-for-television film starring Richard Chamberlain). <\/p>\n

LAST SEEN:<\/strong> On YouTube.<\/p>\n

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: <\/strong>None.<\/p>\n

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:<\/strong> There might be a rights issue delaying its release.<\/p>\n

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:<\/strong> Nope.<\/p>\n

In March 1969, Richard Chamberlain traveled to England to play the leading role in a stage production of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” His appearance was heralded as the first time that an American played the role in England since John Barrymore in 1925.
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Chamberlain\u2019s appearance was not at a West End venue in London or with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, a major regional dramatic company. His star power in England was considerable \u2013 his television series \u201cDr. Kildare\u201d was broadcast on British television and he gained praise for his role in the BBC mini-series \u201cPortrait of a Lady\u201d \u2013 and based on that his “Hamlet” was a major commercial success, with the theater selling out within a week of tickets going on sale. <\/p>\n

Buoyed by the success of this endeavor, Chamberlain decided to adapt \u201cHamlet\u201d into a 1970 television film. He formed Chamberlain-LeMaire Productions with producer George LeMaire and arranged for this work to be broadcast in Britain as part of \u201cITV Saturday Night Theatre\u201d and in the U.S. as part of \u201cHallmark Hall of Fame.\u201d <\/p>\n

However, there were two problems that needed to be overcome. First, a theatrical film release of \u201cHamlet\u201d starring Nichol Williamson came out in 1969 and bombed at the box office \u2013 whereas audiences embraced the romantic 1968 \u201cRomeo and Juliet,\u201d they stayed away from this considerably darker and moodier work. Then, there was the decision to telescope \u201cHamlet\u201d into a tight 90-minute running time to fit the \u201cHallmark Hall of Fame\u201d format \u2013 for \u201cITV Saturday Night Theatre,\u201d an extra 15 minutes was allocated, which was slightly generous considering the full theatrical production could run up to four hours.<\/p>\n

To ensure its pedigree, this \u201cHamlet\u201d brought in a few major dramatic talents \u2013 John Gielgud appeared as The Ghost, Michael Redgrave was Polonius and Margaret Leighton was Gertrude. The production updated the setting to the Regency era, thus allowing for more frilly clothing than the Shakespearean era could provide. And the young men in the cast all wore then-contemporary \u201cmod\u201d haircuts, in order to appeal to the youth market.<\/p>\n

In the end, \u201cHamlet\u201d didn\u2019t click, but it is an interesting failure. Much of the problem was due to the reason for the offering \u2013 Chamberlain never truly inhabits the difficult role of the doomed Danish prince. I have no clue how he handled the part on stage, but here he is playing to last row of the balcony rather than the camera. His performance never finds its center \u2013 he bellows Shakespeare\u2019s text in a declamatory manner but his eyes remain in an unblinking stare that fail to register with the words he is saying. Chamberlain\u2019s Hamlet could have been coached by Jon Lovitz\u2019s Master Thespian \u2013 he’s ACTING, and you always know he is acting, but it is a two-dimensional creation. His Hamlet makes it easy to recall another tragic Shakespeare figure\u2019s pronouncement of being full of sound and fury but signifying nothing. <\/p>\n

In comparison, most of the British cast wear their roles like an old shoe. Gielgud, looking ridiculous in chalk-white make-up and costuming as The Ghost, nonetheless possesses a vocal majesty that compensates for the comic element of his appearance. Redgrave\u2019s Polonious captures the unctuous nature of the character in a too-ease manner. The one problem comes with then-newcomer Ciaran Madden\u2019s Ophelia, who never quite taps the character\u2019s emotional fragility \u2013 her breakdown after Hamlet\u2019s violent rejection seems more petulant than pathetic.<\/p>\n

This \u201cHamlet\u201d was clearly made on a low budget and director Peter Wood tries to hide this shortcoming by mostly framing his actors in close-ups and midframe shots. But while this could have created an intimacy absent from previous filmed versions of \u201cHamlet,\u201d instead it magnifies the problems with the production, especially with Chamberlain\u2019s interpretation. The hack-chop text editing that cuts out more than half of the play doesn\u2019t help, resulting in a frenetically-paced \u201cHamlet-Lite.\u201d And for American viewers, the interruptions by commercials only served to dilute the presentation\u2019s attempt at creating a certain vibe.<\/p>\n

Still, \u201cHamlet\u201d had its fans when it first came out. It received 13 Emmy nominations including Outstanding Single Program and won five awards, although Chamberlain\u2019s work was snubbed. When it played on British television, it caught the fancy of a young Kenneth Branagh, who later acknowledged that it fueled his aspirations to become an actor \u2013 he would make his own \u201cHamlet\u201d in 1996 with an all-star cast. And an LP record of the cast reciting the Shakespearean dialogue became a popular spoken-word recording.<\/p>\n

To date, \u201cHamlet\u201d has not been made available in any commercial U.S. home entertainment format. I assume there are problems clearing the rights to this production. This is a shame, because despite its imperfections \u201cHamlet\u201d was a worthy attempt at creating a small-screen Shakespeare. A not-great copy can be found in an unauthorized YouTube posting, for those curious to see how this adaptation played out.<\/p>\n