Hamlet

Asta Nielsen stars in this grand guignol of murder, revenge, love, friendship – and gender identity. The film is based not on Shakespeare’s tragedy, but on American Edward P. Vining’s 1881 book “The Mystery of Hamlet”. He posited that the Bard’s interpretation was based on a 12th century Norwegian saga – and in it, Hamlet is a woman. The legend says that, in order to ensure family succession, the Danish king presented his daughter as a male heir … Asta Nielsen’s “slim, boyish body in a tight black doublet, the melancholy gaze in her large, dreamy eyes, the occasional primal little gesture – that all works together to make her Hamlet from the first moment a figure of deep human interest. Entirely new opportunities arise now that the Prince is a cross-dressing woman” (Der Film, Feb. 5, 1921). – Restored, tinted version, accompanied by live music by students of the Lübeck Academy of Music under the baton of Prof. Franz Danksagmüller.