Harold
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Hamlet
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser, full cast
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
Hamlet, which dates from 1600-1601, is the first in Shakespeare's great series of four tragedies. In writing this extraordinary play, Shakespeare effectively re-invented tragedy after an interval of roughly 2,000 years - you would have to go back to the Greek dramatists of fifth century Athens to find anything of comparable depth and maturity. This production features the voice of Anton Lesser as Hamlet along with a full cast.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Copy
- By Kirby on 11-27-03
- Hamlet
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser, full cast
Great version!
Reviewed: 09-27-13
Where does Hamlet rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This is perhaps the best audiobook I have read so far. The shortcoming of audiobooks are that if they are serious reading, then you would want to read the book, not listen to it. If it is light reading, then it's hard to pay attention and hard to care, as I am listening in the car.
What I have found is that listening to Shakespeare is perfect in audiobook form, as these are dramatic works and so you gain by listening instead of reading. And just listening is in some ways superior to watching the play because your imagination can, in most instances, do a better job of visualizing the scene.
In this particular audiobook, the sound quality is great. But more than anything else, it is very well acted. In particular, Anton Lesser does an excellent job of voicing Hamlet. He brings manic energy to the role and really gives a great personal interpretation of the Danish prince that made me rethink my interpretation of certain scenes.
Excellent.
What about Anton Lesser and full cast ’s performance did you like?
Lesser did a superb job - perhaps THE best Hamlet I have enjoyed. Of course, this is the first audio-only Hamlet I have heard... but that is the point: there is a unique advantage to audio only, especially for the tragedies and histories.
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Antony and Cleopatra (Dramatized)
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 1 hr and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance2.5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 7
Antony and Cleopatra is the tumultuous tragedy and love story played out against a backdrop of war and the vengeance of Octavius Caesar.
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2 out of 5 stars
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this is not unabridged!
- By Harold on 09-27-13
- Antony and Cleopatra (Dramatized)
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: full cast
this is not unabridged!
Reviewed: 09-27-13
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Someone who wants a basic intro to the play would like this. But really not for any afficionado of Shakespeare.
If you’ve listened to books by William Shakespeare before, how does this one compare?
This is the worst of the Shakespeare plays that I have listened to.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
The sound quality is not that great - there is a constant hum in the background. Also, the male actors' voices are quite similar and so you have a difficulty in identifying the speaker.
Any additional comments?
Big problem with this is that it is NOT unabridged. Whole scenes have been deleted or abbreviated. The cover says that it is unabridged, so not sure if that is simply being deceptive or what it is referring to.
For a Shakespeare lover hoping to get a faithful, full version of the play, this is not it.
However, the actress speaking the part of Cleopatra does a great job.
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