PhilPaine.com

Hal Hol­brook’s one-man stage show, in which he repro­duces Mark Twain’s nine­teenth cen­tu­ry stage appear­ances, is per­haps the most exact and sub­tle rep­re­sen­ta­tion of any pre-cin­e­ma era his­toric fig­ure under­tak­en by any actor. It’s not just Hol­brook’s tech­ni­cal vir­tu­os­i­ty, but the taste and intel­li­gence with which he select­ed from Twain’s writ­ings that makes the per­for­mance unfor­get­table. Much of this mate­r­i­al is high­ly rel­e­vant today. Twain was not a sim­ple man. His ambi­gu­i­ties have fas­ci­nat­ed both his­to­ri­ans and lovers of lit­er­a­ture since he left the world’s stage (just as he entered it) with Haley’s comet. Hol­brook cap­tures this. The 1967 CBS broad­cast of the Broad­way show must have been one of the most amaz­ing tele­vi­sion events of its time. It’s avail­able from Kul­tur, a com­pa­ny that spe­cial­izes in pre­serv­ing notable stage per­for­mances on DVD.