If she was born in 1844, she was 55 or 56 at the time this film was made, which even in 1900 was late middle age. The photographic technique at the time was to set up the camera and shoot the entire set like a long shot of a stage in a theatre, and this adds to the illusion, but she has all the mannerisms of a young man rather than a middle aged woman. I can't think of anyone who could pull that off today.
Because she wanted to? And it's a more fun role to play than Ophelia? It's hard to tell from this brief clip, but apparently Bernhardt's performance was considered excellent, and received rave reviews at the time.
"Why the heck is a GIRL playing Hamlet? Not that I have anything against her for doing it, but why?" Because she was a legend with an huge ego and she only played leads, dammit. She still pulled it off.
Actually this did have a soundtrack on cylinder at one time; it was part of the Phono-Cinéma-Thèatre program at the Paris Exposition of 1900. PCT produced it, not Pathé, but they discovered these films in the late 1930s and preserved them. It was common in the 19th century/early 1900s for actresses to portray Hamlet. Asta Nielsen made a feature film in the role in 1920.
It was done similarly to the 1895 Edison experimental sound film, but with actual dialog instead of music being played. Too bad it is lost to the ages...
Dan Venning in the Open Culture article on the subject said this : Charlotte Cushman played the role nearly four decades earlier, and Sarah Siddons well over a century earlier, in 1775. These are well-documented performances with many easily accessible sources. And there certainly *may* have been others even before Siddons. So apparently it wasn' t that unnusual for women to play male parts and please don't forget that men played all of Shakespears women for decades if not centuries.
@@44032 Yes. The 1900 version of this film had sound (on a cylinder) archive.org/details/youtube-gyXdHRyPbuk and th-cam.com/video/a5ZXb61-BQw/w-d-xo.html are examples of 1900 sound films and this 1895 film's cylinder was found th-cam.com/video/yiLllxsOuRk/w-d-xo.html
She injured her leg during a scene from Tosca where she leaps from a tower, it was injured and while she tried her best to live with the injury, eventually it worsened to the point where it needed to be amputated.
"Goddammit, we've been stabbing this ghost chicken for hours and it doesn't even notice! I need to have a lie down."
If she was born in 1844, she was 55 or 56 at the time this film was made, which even in 1900 was late middle age. The photographic technique at the time was to set up the camera and shoot the entire set like a long shot of a stage in a theatre, and this adds to the illusion, but she has all the mannerisms of a young man rather than a middle aged woman. I can't think of anyone who could pull that off today.
+MGW Austin She also lost her leg, if I recall, and continued to play physically demanding roles. Nothing could stop her.
According to Wikipedia that happened in 1915, 15 years after this movie was made.
She looked young for her age well into her 50s and 60s and was very fit for a woman of that era, until the leg problems started after an incident.
Because she wanted to? And it's a more fun role to play than Ophelia?
It's hard to tell from this brief clip, but apparently Bernhardt's performance was considered excellent, and received rave reviews at the time.
Sarah is my favorite Hamlet.
"Why the heck is a GIRL playing Hamlet? Not that I have anything against her for doing it, but why?"
Because she was a legend with an huge ego and she only played leads, dammit. She still pulled it off.
Actually this did have a soundtrack on cylinder at one time; it was part of the Phono-Cinéma-Thèatre program at the Paris Exposition of 1900. PCT produced it, not Pathé, but they discovered these films in the late 1930s and preserved them. It was common in the 19th century/early 1900s for actresses to portray Hamlet. Asta Nielsen made a feature film in the role in 1920.
It was done similarly to the 1895 Edison experimental sound film, but with actual dialog instead of music being played. Too bad it is lost to the ages...
The audio I mean.
Everybody in this movie is now very old.
Very good quality in 1899.
Thanks for posting this, Duellist1956.
(The date is 1900, not 1899.)
Que gran diferencia
Dan Venning in the Open Culture article on the subject said this : Charlotte Cushman played the role nearly four decades earlier, and Sarah Siddons well over a century earlier, in 1775. These are well-documented performances with many easily accessible sources. And there certainly *may* have been others even before Siddons.
So apparently it wasn' t that unnusual for women to play male parts and please don't forget that men played all of Shakespears women for decades if not centuries.
bob gottlieb just wrote a book on sarah bernhardt
brainsareus I hear Bob went to the supermarket last week, too!
The whole thing was silence.
@Brains00007 there was sound in an 1899 film? (And of course my reference is to the final line of the play)
@@44032 Yes. The 1900 version of this film had sound (on a cylinder) archive.org/details/youtube-gyXdHRyPbuk and th-cam.com/video/a5ZXb61-BQw/w-d-xo.html are examples of 1900 sound films and this 1895 film's cylinder was found th-cam.com/video/yiLllxsOuRk/w-d-xo.html
I like that Laertes just disappears. They really don’t have the time for two lengthy death sequences.
man she is gooooooooood
@44032 lol also a bit shaky and in black and white.
Which one is she I can’t tell
Where's the sound? Thought this was the first sound film.
This was not a sound film. The sound was on a record that they would sync up. The record has been lost for well over 100 years.
The secrets of Sarah Bernhardt's Villa in Sainte-Adresse : lehavreregards.com/visite.php?lieu=villa-de-sarah-bernhardt
....I’m probably wrong, but I thought , misremember actually. about her missing a leg..or two
She injured her leg during a scene from Tosca where she leaps from a tower, it was injured and while she tried her best to live with the injury, eventually it worsened to the point where it needed to be amputated.
..... & They got PAID for that?!
We'll never know what she had that made her a legend. At least not from this.
We can see that she could move like a young man when she was a middle-aged woman, that's one thing we can tell from this.
lol@ people not getting the joke.
Granny
Why the heck is a GIRL playing Hamlet? Not that I have anything against her for doing it, but why?