Hamlet (John Gielgud) (Classic Drama) by William Shakespeare, John, Sir Gielgud, Marian Spencer, and Celia Johnson

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Hamlet (John Gielgud) (Classic Drama) from Literature & Fiction

Hamlet (John Gielgud) (Classic Drama)
Available from Amazon
Price: $17.24
Updated on 12-28-2008.

Features

Audio CD: 3 pages

Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks; Abridged edition (August 30, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9626344172

ISBN-13: 978-9626344170

Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.9 x 1 inches

Shipping Weight: 4 ounces ()

Product Description
This outstanding historical recording made in 1941 for radio is widely regarded as one of the finest Hamlet performances ever, and one of John Gielgud's greatest moments. Though he went on to record it for commercial release, nothing matched this recording in the BBC studios, made before the days of editing.

From AudioFile
It's hard for any director to make HAMLET sound new, so Naxos has done the opposite: they've made it sound old. This is a remastered version of a 1948 performance with John Gielgud in the title role. Though the sound quality is better than you'd expect, some of the dramaturgy seems outdated now, and the actress playing Ophelia is noticeably weak. But Gielgud overpowers any shortcomings, demonstrating why he owned this role during his career and why all subsequent Hamlets try to measure up to him. In the music of his voice, all the play's famous soliloquies and witty exchanges that you've heard a dozen times before suddenly sound freshâ an ironic pleasure in a sixty-year-old recording. D.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Reader Reviews
After reading the negative and only review of this CD, I decided to see how terrible this recorded performance was for myself. First of all, I was surprised at how clear the sound of the performance actually was, considering the date of the recording. Second, I've seen and heard numerous performances of Shakespeare's Hamlet over the years, (including Mel Gibson, Nicol Williamson, Lawrence Oliver, Richard Burton, and Kenneth Branagh), most of which I have enjoyed, more or less, for different reasons. (I find it is a lot like listening to the many, great violinists who have recorded Beethoven's, one and only, Violin Concerto in D, Op. 61, i.e., some are good and some are great, for different reasons.) At the time of this recording, John Gielgud had played Hamlet over 500 times and this performance in 1948 came late for him to play the role, yet Gielgud was also at the height of his abilities as an actor. I found that beyond the various interpretation's of Hamlet's personality by others, no one can "Speak the speech, I pray you, ...trippingly on the tongue..." in the decisively commanding, poetic, and eloquent manner as John Gielgud. It is the beauty of Shakespeare's language that Gielgud offers here, and that I believe is worth the price of admission, (or in this case, the 3CDs). Of course, the cast is not perfect, but Andrew Cruickshank is the best Claudius, I've ever heard, and Hugh Griffith's monologue as the First Player is just marvelous. Also, memorable is Marian Spencer as Gertrude, Baliol Holloway as Polonius, Sebastian Shaw as Horatio and Hugh Burden as Laertes. If that's not enough to wet your palette, get this CD set for no other reason than it is a historic performance of a John Gielgud with an enchanted voice, like none other.

Hamlet (John Gielgud) (Classic Drama)
List Price: $22.98
Available from Amazon
Price: $17.24
Updated on 12-28-2008.