Silent Shakespeare

 

 

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This is a collection of early Shakespeare films, and at first, it looks like the films may be of interest to the art of filmmaking but not so much Shakespeare.

When it gets to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1909), it slows down and you can almost hear the dialog that you know by heart. However, for us mortals there are plates with words that we can read. The scene where Puck searches for the plant is neatly done. Every generation of actors must play in "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and this is no different.
Walter Ackerman ... Demetrius
Charles Chapman ... Quince
Maurice Costello ... Lysander
Julia Swayne Gordon ... Helena
Gladys Hulette ... Puck (interesting that they picked a female)
Elita Proctor Otis ... Hippolyta
William V. Ranous ... Bottom
William Shea ... Mechanical
Rose Tapley ... Hermia
Florence Turner ... Titania - Viola in Twelfth Night
Clara Kimball Young ... Penelope

*** The violin and piano commitment helps make the film.

King Lear 1910 or (Re Lear) someone colored it be for Ted Turner was born.
King Lear decides to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters.
Love the old left over Viking helmets.
Ermete Novelli ... King Lear
Francesca Bertini ... Cordelia
Olga Giannini Novelli ... King Lear's Daughter
Giannina Chiantoni ... King Lear's Daughter

Twelfth Night 1910
Viola and her twin brother Sebastian are shipwrecked and separated
Julia Swayne Gordon ... Olivia
Charles Kent ... Malvolio
Florence Turner ... Viola - Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream
Edith Storey ... Sebastian
Tefft Johnson ... Orsino
Marin Sais ... Maria
William Humphrey ... Sir Toby Belch
James Young ... Sir Andrew Aguecheek

The Merchant of Venice (IL mercante di Venezia) 1910
A merchant (Bassanio) takes out a loan of three thousand ducats.
Again, this film is hand colored.

Ermete Novelli ... Shylock (now I wonder were the term Shylock came from)
Francesca Bertini ... Jessica
Olga Giannini Novelli ... Portia - King Lear's Daughter in King Lear 1910

Just remember:
The penalty for the shedding of one drop of Christian blood is confiscation of lands and goods.

Richard III 1911
Richard of Gloucester is determined to gain the throne.

James Berry ... King Henry VI
Alfred Brydone ... King Edward IV
Kathleen Yorke ... Edward, Prince of Wales / King Edward V
Hetty Kenyon...Richard, Duke of York
Murray Carrington ... George, Duke of Clarence
Frank R. Benson ... Richard, Duke of Gloucester / Richard III
Eric Maxon ... Henry, Earl of Richmond / King Henry VII
Moffat Johnston ... Duke of Buckingham
James Maclean ... Duke of Norfolk
Victor McClure ... Earl of Surrey, his son
R.I. Connick ... Earl Rivers
George Manship ... Earl of Oxford
Harry Caine ... Lord Hastings
Wilfrid Caithness ... Lord Stanley
L. Rupert ... Sir Richard Ratcliff
H. James ... Sir James Tyrrel
Alfred Wild ... Sir William Catesby
Cecil Dighton ... Sir James Blount
John Howell ... Sir Robert Brackenbury
J. Victor ... Lord Mayor of London
H.O. Nicholson ... First murderer
A. Wild ... Second murderer
Violet Farebrother ... Elizabeth, Queen of King Edward IV
Elinor Aickin ... Duchess of York, mother to King Edward IV, Clarence and Gloucester
Mrs (Constance) Benson ... Lady Anne, widow of Edward Prince of Wales

----------------------------------------------
All I can say are you getting a lot for your money. Just remember watching these films are no substitute for the real thing.

Midsummer Night's Dream (1968) [VHS]

I was hoping that this DVD would include some footage of famous Shakespearean actors and actresses caught on camera. I know that Sarah Bernhardt's Hamlet is available on VHS, for instance. I was hoping there may be some footage of an early John Barrymore in Richard III, or a glimpse of Ellen Terry or Henry Irving in the twilight of their illustrious careers. Maybe there's an early Kinescope of Edwin Booth out there somewhere. Such is not the case here.

This DVD doesn't even include the rather well-known 1913 Cecil Hepworth production of HAMLET, featuring Johnston Forbes-Robertson in the title role. The only actor of any stature featured here is Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree as King John. But the excerpt is so brief (a bit over two minutes) that it really doesn't have any impact. The only thing significant about it is that it's the earliest filmed version of a Shakespeare play (1899) and it gives one a visual understanding of the broad gesturing that was a part of the prevalent acting method of the era. Suffice it to say that this was the mannered school of acting that Stanislavsky reacted against.

The rest of the DVD features nondescript performers in footage that just looks silly and childishly quaint from a modern perspective. There is good reason that the names of the actors or directors involved have dissapeared beneath the sands of time. They were terrible then, and they're terrible now. And the truncation involved calls to mind an antic reworking such as "Twenty Plays in Thirty Minutes," or the very funny "The complete works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) ASIN: B00008US5Q . THE TEMPEST, for instance, takes all of 12 minutes. In KING LEAR, conveniently enough, Edmund, Edgar and Gloucester don't even put in an appearance. There is no plot, much less a subplot. Lear divides up his kingdom and rejects daughter number three. Daughters number one and two reject the old man. Old man goes nuts but is restored to sanity by daughter number 3. Daughter number two kills daughter number three, which KOs the old man. The only highlight of LEAR is the actress who plays Regan (daughter number 2). She looks like Python trooper Terry Jones in full dress up mode. The same actress appears as Portia in the same Italian company's production of THE MERCHANT of VENICE, included later on the DVD. She really doesn't have to do much to disguise herself as a man in the courtroom scene.

None of the scenes in any of the plays make much sense, but some directing choices are downright egregious. For instance, in the famous scene in Richard III when Richard seduces the grieving Lady Anne, a whole host of the court retinue are standing around gawking at the two of them.

The production quality is uniformly poor in all instances. These were low budget movies and it shows. RICHARD III, for instance was simply filmed onstage at the Shakespeare Memorial Theater in Stratford. Fixed camera, no imaginative staging or even blocking, for that matter.

Even Shakespeare scholars and historians would have a difficult time sitting through more than one viewing of this collection. As silent film goes, it's staggeringly dull. Much better off spending your money on NOSFERATAU or some vintage Mileus or Buster Keaton. This is one for the GOLDEN TURKEY Hall of Fame.

BEK

The bard from Stratford-upon-Avon is such a popular writer that his plays are still available to us 365 days a year and in several different formats. There have been hundreds of film adaptations of his work of varying quality. This trust in Shakespeare's work makes for an interesting concept, one where his words are excised. SILENT SHAKESPEARE is a collection of 2 reelers from pre-sound filmmaking days intended to elevate the medium. Film was considered very lowbrow. But, most of the beauty of his work is in the language so these films are mere curiosities now. The production company is to be applauded for making these available to us as most films from this era are destroyed or deteriorated to the point of un-watch able. They have also recoded a nice musical score to support the imagery. Here is a brief description of the pieces presented:

KING JOHN
This British offering was created in 1899, truly the dawn of filmmaking. To date, this is still one of the least produced of Shakespeare's plays but this film clocks in at around 2 minutes. It no way fills the void. The entire piece depicts the death scene from the play.

THE TEMPEST
This 1908 British offering runs about 12 minutes and captures most of the major plot elements of the play minus the language. THE TEMPEST is peppered throughout with visual effects (the sinking of the ship is hysterical in today's CG world.) One of the more cohesive offerings here.

A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT'S DREAM
The USA joins the pack with 1909's faerie tale. Title cards are used here to explain what viewers will see in the next few minutes running the entire 12 minutes of screen time. They aggressively tackled the stories magical moments including flying faeries. One particularly clever effect has the actress fly halfway around the world. In the end, Bottom the tailor has his head restored (It was replaced by a donkey's) and we must guess alls well that ends well.

KING LEAR
This clever 16-minute offering from Italy was created in 1910. It takes the story of King Lear and removes all sub-plots leaving just the false love and betrayal by two of his three daughters. This makes the story told clearer than the others. But it is the meticulous 'coloring' that makes this stand out. Cloaks and clothing were colored frame by frame with bright contrasting tones offering a livelier quality.

TWELFTH NIGHT
Also in 1910, the USA gave us this tale of shipwrecked twins and the lovewrecks that are caused because of it, and in 12 minutes time. Straightforward in its story-telling, this is easy to follow. Using pre-existing settings and costuming would make this one called "low budget".

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
The Italian crew who created KING LEAR also gave the merchant a go in 1910. Running about 9 minutes, most of the plot twists are gone, just the basic setup and resolution remain. This is similar in style to their previous effort but the existing print is extremely choppy (unless it was edited that way...)

RICHARD III
We close out this DVD with the 1911 British re-telling of the deformed King. At 23 minutes this is a virtual epic compared to the others. But, it is also one of the least coherent as Richard's treacheries were always punctuated by dastardly dialogue. Near the end, his sleep is interrupted by the ghosts of all that he had killed in another example of early special effects. This is virtually a filmed stage production as the sets are all painted backdrops with no attempt to mask the borders.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A great resource for the enthusiast
According to the Internet Movie Database, "Bill" Shakespeare is the most prolific cinema contributor of all time, with writing credits in at least 400 known movies. Read more

Published on Jun 7 2000 by Vincent Toolan

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