Oedipus the King (16 Sep. 1986)

Plagues are ravaging Thebes, and the blind fortune-teller Tieresias tells Oedipus, the King, that the gods are unhappy. The murder of the former king has gone unavenged, and Oedipus sets ... See full summary »

Director:

Don Taylor

Writers:

Sophocles (play), Don Taylor (translation)

Stars:

Michael Pennington, Claire Bloom, John Gielgud

2 nominations.

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Pennington	...	Oedipus Rex
Claire Bloom	...	Jocasta
John Gielgud	...	Teiresias
John Shrapnel	...	Creon
Michael Byrne	...	Chorus
Cyril Cusack	...	Priest
Ernest Clark	...	Chorus
David Collings	...	Chorus
Donald Eccles	...	Chorus
Robert Eddison	...	Chorus
Edward Hardwicke	...	Chorus
Denys Hawthorne	...	Chorus
Noel Johnson	...	Chorus
Clifford Rose	...	Chorus
Alan Rowe	...	Chorus

Storyline

Plagues are ravaging Thebes, and the blind fortune-teller Tieresias tells Oedipus, the King, that the gods are unhappy. The murder of the former king has gone unavenged, and Oedipus sets out to find the killer.

---

Plot Keywords:

king | suicide | son killing father | mother son relationship | regicide | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 1986 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bioscope, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by The Theban Plays by Sophocles: Oedipus at Colonus (1986)

User Reviews

Useful video for college class

I've shown this first of the Theban trilogy, to a college class taking a basic literature course, for over 15 years now. No one, of course, recognizes Claire Bloom, Edward Hardwicke (who also did a turn as Dr. Watson opposite Jeremy Brett's Holmes), or even Sir John Gielgud, which is a shame, but it does tend to keep students from being distracted by more contemporary 'name' actors. (I do tell my students that they might recognize Michael Pennington in a brief appearance on the Death Star in one of the "Star Wars" films.) Yes, the more contemporary costuming can be odd, even irritating, but part of my job as teacher is to indicate why such production changes can add to a play's impact. I like Don Taylor's translation/adaptation here better than any other version I've seen, or read; it tends to make the overall story clearer to the average college-age viewer. Gielgud's turn as the blind Tiresias is spot-on, and even though Pennington, and John Shrapnel as the brother-in-law, sometimes shout a little too often at each other, the video holds up well, even after repeated viewings. I could only wish for a DVD version, at a reasonable price.