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IMDb > King Lear (1983) (TV)

King Lear (1983) (TV)

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User Rating: 7.8/10 (270 votes)
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Overview

Director:
Michael Elliott
Writer:
William Shakespeare (play)
Release Date:
26 January 1984 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot:
An aging King invites disaster when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters and rejects his one loving, but honest one. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations more
User Comments:
Olivier is far and away the best Lear I've seen more

Cast

 (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Runtime:
158 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color
MOVIEmeter: ?
^ 11% since last week why?

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Gloucester: As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport. more
Movie Connections:
Version of King Lear (1971) more

FAQ

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10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful:-
Olivier is far and away the best Lear I've seen, 17 November 1999

I've never been that impressed with Olivier's acting. His Hamlet seemed quite boring. That changed after I saw this and his "Merchant of Venice." As Olivier got older, he got better. No more grandstanding, no more showy heroes. Having seen other Lears waste the role with constant shouting or with boringly stone-faced acting, I was impressed with the range of emotion Olivier revealed here. This Lear was the only one I could pity. He seems more hurt than angry by Cordelia's "Nothing." He shifts instantly between self-pity, blind rage, and knowledge, just as Lear does in the text.

The music was awful. Terribly melodramatic. Almost ruined the film.

Diana Rigg is absolutely chilling as Reagan and the Fool is touchingly dependent on Lear. Far less caustic than I imagined him.

This isn't the "definitive" Lear. There isn't one. But this comes close.

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Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits IMDb Drama section
IMDb UK section Add this title to MyMovies

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