John Gielgud's Hamlet (Dramatized)
Category: Books,Literature & Fiction,Dramas & Plays,Shakespeare
John Gielgud's Hamlet (Dramatized) Details
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.
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.