''Roméo et Juliette'' is a 1900 French film adaptation of the classic and famous

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

''.

Production

This film version was

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Clément Maurice : Clément Maurice (1853–1933) was a French photographer, film director, and producer. Career First employed in the Lumière factories, where he entered in 1894, he became a portrait photographer in Paris, where he settled in Antoine Lumi� ...

and featured Emilio Cossira singing a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

from Charles Gounod's '' Roméo et Juliette''. It is believed to be the earliest film adaptation of the Shakespeare classic. The film was produced by " Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre", which premiered one of the first synchronized sound film systems at the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

exhibition of 1900, with this film being one of the earliest to use the sound technique. The sound was recorded first using a Lioretograph onto a cellophane cylinder. This was then played back, and the actors filmed

lip-syncing Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

to the recording. To view the film, the sound was played back and the projectionist altered the speed of the hand-cranked projector to try to match the playback. Cossira was among 18 celebrities featured in Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre works at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900. Another Shakespearean adaptation was

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including ''La Dame Aux Cameli ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in '' Le Duel d'Hamlet'', the earliest film adaptation of ''

''. Among the better known of these is a film adaptation of

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play '' Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with ...

's play ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'', also directed by Maurice.

References

Sources

* *

External links

* {{Romeo and Juliet 1900 films Films based on Romeo and Juliet Lost French films 1900 drama films French silent short films Films directed by Clément Maurice French black-and-white films French drama films 1900s lost films Lost drama films Silent drama films Silent horror films

Production

See also

References

Sources

External links