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King Lear (1971)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
4 February 1971 (Denmark) morePlot:
The Shakespeare tragedy that gave us the expression "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have... more | add synopsisAwards:
1 win moreUser Comments:
The definition of bleakness moreCast
(Complete credited cast)| Cyril Cusack | ... | Albany | |
| Susan Engel | ... | Regan | |
| Tom Fleming | ... | Kent | |
| Anne-Lise Gabold | ... | Cordelia | |
| Ian Hogg | ... | Edmund | |
| Søren Elung Jensen | ... | Duke of Burgundy | |
| Robert Langdon Lloyd | ... | Edgar (as Robert Lloyd) | |
| Jack MacGowran | ... | Fool | |
| Patrick Magee | ... | Cornwall | |
| Paul Scofield | ... | King Lear | |
| Barry Stanton | ... | Oswald | |
| Alan Webb | ... | Gloucester | |
| Irene Worth | ... | Goneril |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
137 minLanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoFun Stuff
Trivia:
Brook based this production on ideas expressed by Polish theater critic Jan Kott in the book "Shakespeare, Our Contemporary". moreFAQ
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for King Lear (1971)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| DVD ever coming out? | paeap |
| On TCM March 2008 | nebogipfel67 |
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"King Lear" is not one of my favourite Shakespeare plays (sacrilege indeed!) but I must say I find this film version immensely impressive and the best film version of Shakespeare I have seen.
The key to this is the direction of Peter Brook. Unquestionably this is an "arty" avant-garde production that has echoes of Bergman and Beckett as other reviewers have noted. For me this works extremely well. The choice of a barren Danish landscape in winter, the use of black and white, and unusual decision to eschew music all contribute to a very dark and bleak atmosphere. The director keeps viewers on their toes and presents a despairing tragedy.
There is nothing theatrical about this - quite rightly as this is a film version. The performances are restrained and measured. The acting is very strong - Patrick Magee particularly stands out as a very menacing Cornwall while Susan Engel and Irene Worth are fine as the manipulative elder sisters.
My only real reservation is that the climax of the film is rather rushed, with the numerous deaths needing a little more reflection. The suicide of Goneril is though extremely powerful. Lear's death is always poignant but the direction of it doesn't work completely.
Opinions are very mixed on this film but I certainly think it deserves attention. It would especially appeal to followers of Bergman and anyone who is struck by a dark tale.