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Rediscovered Version Of Hamlet
To Screen At Berlin Fest
By Rich Drees
January 18, 2007- A restored
color version of the 1921 silent version of Hamlet is set to
premier at the Berlin International Film Festival next month.
Although
several black and white copies of the film starring European silent
film star Asta Nielsen as a cross-dressing prince of Denmark exist,
it was only recently that a full color version of the film had been
uncovered. This version has not been seen since its initial release
over 85 years ago. Directed by Sven Gade & Heinz
Schall, the film draws its inspiration from Dr. Edward P. Vining's book
The Mystery of Hamlet, in which Hamlet was born a female
and disguised as a male to protect the royal family’s lineage.
Hamlet
had its original premier on February 4, 1921 in the Mozartsall,
Berlin. The film was produced by the production company Art Film,
which was founded by Nielsen and her husband in Berlin in 1920. A
second version of the film was shot simultaneously with the first by
a second camera placed off to the side of the first. It was this
version that premiered in New York City in November of the same
year.
The restoration
of Hamlet was a joint project between the German Film
Institute and the German public service television channel ZDF in
cooperation with the Franco-German network ARTE. The original color
print of Hamlet is a one-of-a-kind copy of the
German-language distributor’s version. The film was originally shot
in black-and-white and the distribution prints were later colored.
Hamlet
will have its premiere on February 10 and will be accompanied by a
new score from composer and clarinetist Michael Riessler. The
screening is part of the festival’s Retrospective this year, which
focuses on the women of the silent film era. In conjunction with
this theme, the festival will also be screening the
recently
rediscovered silent film Cabiria.
The film will
be broadcast on ARTE in June 2007. There is no word on any American
distribution set for the film. |
