Hamlet (1900 film)

Hamlet, also known as Le Duel d'Hamlet, is a 1900 French film adaptation of an excerpt from the William Shakespeare play Hamlet. It is believed to have been the earliest film adaptation of the play, and starred actress Sarah Bernhardt in the lead role. It was directed by Clément Maurice. The film is two minutes in length. It also 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. So, while produced during the silent film era, the film is technically not a silent film. Hamlet was shown for first time in The Exposition Universelle on October 1, 1900 in Paris, France.