King Lear (20 Feb. 1974)

King Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly ... See full summary »

Director:

Edwin Sherin

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Stars:

Douglass Watson, Paul Sorvino, Raul Julia

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Douglass Watson	...	Kent
Paul Sorvino	...	Gloucester
Raul Julia	...	Edmund (as Raúl Juliá)
James Earl Jones	...	King Lear
Rosalind Cash	...	Goneril
Lee Chamberlin	...	Cordelia
Ellen Holly	...	Regan
Robert Stattel	...	Albany
Robert Lanchester	...	Cornwall
Lou Quinones	...	Burgundy (as Louis Quinones)
Jean-Pierre Stewart	...	France
Rene Auberjonois	...	Edgar
Frederick Coffin	...	Oswald
Tom Aldredge	...	Fool
George Dzundza	...	Gentleman

Storyline

King Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters. But Goneril and Regan have no love for him and instead plot to take all his power from him. In a parallel, Lear's loyal courtier Gloucester favors his illegitimate son Edmund after being told lies about his faithful son Edgar. Madness and tragedy befall both ill-starred fathers.

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Plot Keywords:

tragedy | filmed play | shakespeare's king lear | based on play | independent film | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 February 1974 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

175 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The longest television production of "King Lear" telecast on American TV up to that time.

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Connections

Version of King Lear (1999)

User Reviews

Viewable because of Jones.

Not an altogether excellent production. Many cast members don't seem 100% suited to their character or particularly invested. The Fool just sort of spouts his lines, which is unfortunate because his character is so integral to the play's message, Raul Julia as Edmund seems bored with his character or striving too hard for deadpan, and the daughters are just bad across the board. But James Earl Jones' Lear is an absolute revelation. It's difficult to believe this is a live performance, because he hits every dramatic note so precisely and throws himself so recklessly into the role that you can scarcely believe it when he's able to do it again in the next scene. He gets totally lost in the character and when watching this performance we forget he is the vigorous, majestic, noble James Earl Jones and totally accept him as the belligerent, feeble, arrogant King Lear.