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King Lear

  • 19701970
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 17m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
891
YOUR RATING
King Lear (1970)
Drama
The Shakespeare tragedy that gave us the expression "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child." King Lear has not one but two ungrateful children, and it's especial... Read allThe Shakespeare tragedy that gave us the expression "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child." King Lear has not one but two ungrateful children, and it's especially galling because he turned over his entire kingdom to them. Paul Scofield is an ancient,... Read allThe Shakespeare tragedy that gave us the expression "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child." King Lear has not one but two ungrateful children, and it's especially galling because he turned over his entire kingdom to them. Paul Scofield is an ancient, imposing shell of a Lear tormented by his too-long life as well as by daughters he calls ... Read all
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
891
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Peter Brook
  • Writers
    • Peter Brook
    • Geoffrey of Monmouth(source material)
    • William Shakespeare(play)
  • Stars
    • Paul Scofield
    • Irene Worth
    • Cyril Cusack
  • Director
    • Peter Brook
  • Writers
    • Peter Brook
    • Geoffrey of Monmouth(source material)
    • William Shakespeare(play)
  • Stars
    • Paul Scofield
    • Irene Worth
    • Cyril Cusack
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 29User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 1 nomination

    Photos

    King Lear (1970)
    King Lear (1970)
    King Lear (1970)
    King Lear (1970)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Paul Scofield
    Paul Scofield
    • King Lear
    Irene Worth
    Irene Worth
    • Goneril
    Cyril Cusack
    Cyril Cusack
    • Albany
    Susan Engel
    Susan Engel
    • Regan
    Tom Fleming
    • Kent
    Anne-Lise Gabold
    • Cordelia
    Ian Hogg
    Ian Hogg
    • Edmund
    Robert Langdon Lloyd
    • Edgar
    • (as Robert Lloyd)
    Jack MacGowran
    Jack MacGowran
    • Fool
    Patrick Magee
    Patrick Magee
    • Cornwall
    Barry Stanton
    Barry Stanton
    • Oswald
    Alan Webb
    Alan Webb
    • Gloucester
    Søren Elung Jensen
    • Duke of Burgundy
    • Director
      • Peter Brook
    • Writers
      • Peter Brook
      • Geoffrey of Monmouth(source material)
      • William Shakespeare(play)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Brook based this production on ideas expressed by Polish theater critic Jan Kott in the book "Shakespeare, Our Contemporary".
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      King Lear: Know that we have divided In three our kingdom: and 'tis our fast intent To shake all cares and business from our age; Conferring them on younger strengths, while we Unburthen'd crawl toward death.

    • Crazy credits
      Not only is there no music in the film, but there are no "ambient sounds" at all during the opening credits, giving the impression that they were filmed using no soundtrack whatsoever.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Unearthly (1991)

    User reviews29

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    a house in a hurricane
    in a moment of irony that could occur only in cinema, the definitive version of Shakespeare's 'king Lear' is Kurosawa akira's 1985 'ran'. only Kurosawa - at the end of his own career and looking back at at a century of blindness socially and politically, that dragged his culture through the horrors of the Tojo regime and the second world war - could grasp the essential insight of Shakespeare's vision of political perversion arising from simple but fundamental personal mistakes in judgment.

    brook, of course, doesn't go after that. in fact, the issues just noted have been missed just about entirely by every American and British version of the play i've seen, even Laurence Olivier's farewell performance on television just before he died.

    so when we come to brook's film, we have to let go of the hope that this will be the 'ur-Lear' that we seem to have misplaced in the west ever since the Elizabethan era.

    in fact, let's let go of Shakespeare completely, here - this is a peter brook film, and brook is actually after something fundamentally cinematic - but not necessarily Shakespearean.

    brook's film is a relentless portrayal of the world turned upside down. the most memorable quality of the film - and it stuck to me for many years - is the camera work, that gets unsteadier and more rapidly cut as the film goes on, until the audience feels trapped inside a house in a hurricane - and one that's quickly falling apart.

    to find some ground in this visual catastrophe, the audience will desperately grab onto Shakespeare's words or the fine performances by the wonderful cast - but be warned - that's not really going to help much, and it's not supposed to.

    brook, who made his name by approaching theatrical stage performances in a rather daring visual style, clearly wanted to see how far he could push the medium - the audience will have to decide whether he's successful - but the effort itself is worthy of respect.
    helpful•17
    5
    • winner55
    • Aug 4, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 1970 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Denmark
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Kral Lear
    • Filming locations
      • Råbjerg Mile, Jylland, Denmark
    • Production companies
      • Athéna Films
      • Filmways Pictures
      • Filmways
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      2 hours 17 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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