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Silent Shakespeare

Presenter Andy Akinwolere takes a look at the first ever Shakespeare plays on film, starting with King John in 1899. He explores Shakespeare adaptations made during the silent era and looks at how early film pioneers squeezed a whole play into approximately ten minutes without words; how hand-coloured treatments were used through painstakingly touching up frame-by-frame; and some of the earliest special effects ever seen on the big screen.

Duration:

27 minutes