Le Duel d’Hamlet: The Earliest Filmed Hamlet

Le Duel d’Hamlet. Dir. Clément Maurice. Perf. Sarah Bernhardt, Pierre Magnier, and Suzanne Seylor. 1900. Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre.

---

The earliest extant filmed Shakespeare is an extract from King John. And Bardfilm could hardly call itself a Shakespeare and Film Blog if it hadn’t addressed it (for which, q.v.).

But Bardfilm has never mentioned Le Duel d’Hamlet, the earliest extant footage of Hamlet. But we can rectify that oversight fairly easily.

Here is famed actress Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet in the duel scene from Hamlet.

Yes, I know it looks like they're both fighting the ghost of a giant chicken, but if you can get beyond that, you can see how the possibilities of cinematic Hamlets unspooled from this humble (but not too humble) beginning. 

 

Note: I had a strange sense of deja vu when writing this post. As it turns out, I had written on it thirteen years ago.

---

Links: The Film at IMDB.