Asta Nielsen, born in Denmark in 1881, was the first diva of European silent film. As early as 1913, in Die Filmprimadonna, Asta Nielsen acts the role of a star fighting for increased influence on the entire production process. To realize her artistic vision she founds her own company Art-Film in 1920. Hamlet, produced that same year, survived only in a b&w US export version. In 2005 a coloured vintage print of the lost German original version of 1921 was discovered. The restored film had its premiere at the Berlinale in 2007, with new musical accompaniment composed by Michael Riessler. The 2-disc DVD set also includes documentation of the production history of Hamlet, the restoration process and rare an Asta Nielsen home movie compilation.
Hamlet, Directed by Sven Gade, Heinz Schall, Germany 1920/21 (110')
Score by Michael Riessler & Lisma Project
20-page bilingual booklet with essays by Holger Ziegler, Thomas Worschech and Anke Mebold
Die Filmprimadonna, directed by Urban Gad, Germany 1913 (17')
Score by Trio New Amsterdam
Asta Nielsen Privat ca. 1970 (2')
Asta Nielsen Privatoptagelser, 1912-14 (4')
Hamlet-Fassungsvergleich, 2009 (30')
Der elektronische Hamlet, 2007 (8')
Hamlet con Asta Nielsen, 2007 (7')
Documents about the film production and the restoration as ROM features
Edition Filmmuseum 37 – Double DVD
Language Deutsch | English Subtitels deutsch | english
Screen 1:1.33 – 4/3 | 1:1.78 – 16/9 PAL Sound DD 5.1 | DD 2.0 FSK 14+ Region code All regions
