''Hamlet'', also known as ''Le Duel d'Hamlet'', is a 1900

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

film adaptation of an excerpt from the

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 ...

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

''. It is believed to have been the earliest film adaptation of the play, and starred actress

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 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 by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

in the lead role. It was directed by

Clément Maurice : Clément Maurice (March 22, 1853 – July 15, 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 sett ...

. The film is two minutes in length; it features the duel scene between Hamlet and

Laertes Laertes may refer to: * Laertes (father of Odysseus), Ionian king and the father of Odysseus in Greek mythology * Laertes (''Hamlet''), son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia in Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'' * Laertes (Cilicia), an ancient town ...

(Act V). ''Hamlet'' was one of the first films to employ the newly discovered art of pre-recording the actors' voices, then playing the recording simultaneous to the playing of the film. The film was synchronized to a wax cylinder recording, providing the sound, which cylinder is now lost. ''Hamlet'' was shown for first time in The Exposition Universelle on October 1, 1900 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Plot

Cast

as Hamlet *

Pierre Magnier Pierre Frédéric Magnier (February 22, 1869 – October 15, 1959) was a French actor who began on the stage in the 1890s and became a prominent silent film actor in France. He was the second actor to portray ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' in any film i ...

as Laertes * Suzanne Seylor as A page

References

External links

* * Early sound films 1900 films French black-and-white films French silent short films 1900s French-language films Films based on Hamlet Films directed by Clément Maurice French films based on plays 1900s French films {{1900s-France-film-stub