Hamlet (Italian: Amleto) is a 1917 Italian silent drama film directed by Eleuterio Rodolfi and starring Ruggero Ruggeri, Helena Makowska and Mercedes Brignone. It is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.The Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare p.476
Plot The film is a cinematic adaptation of Hamlet, based on the 1838 translation by Carlo Rusconi.
Reception Giuseppe Lega in La Cine-fono was harshly critical of the film and the idea of adapting Hamlet. He wrote of it: "It is beyond doubt that Hamlet could never—absolutely never—meet with genuine acclaim on the silver screen... it had no business in the cinema. It is a waste of money and energy. There is a truly oppressive sluggishness and weariness to the scenes. The Shakespearean prince’s tragic inner drama fails to engage or move the audience. Endless intertitles drift by: a book spread out across hundreds of meters of film. Beautiful sets, yet pointless. Beautiful costumes, yet pointless."
Cast Ruggero Ruggeri as Hamlet Helena Makowska as Ophelia Mercedes Brignone as Gertrude Martelli as Claudius Armand Pouget Gerardo Peña
See also List of ghost films
References
Bibliography Burnett, Mark Thornton & Streete, Adrian & Wray, Ramona (ed.) The Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts. Edinburgh University Press, 2011.
External links