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King Lear

  • 19991999
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 3h 10m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
89
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
King Lear (1999)
Drama
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 fl... Read allKing 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 remain... Read allKing 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... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
89
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Brian Blessed
    • Tony Rotherham(additional segments)
  • Writer
    • William Shakespeare(play)
  • Stars
    • Brian Blessed
    • Hildegard Neil
    • Jason Riddington
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Brian Blessed
    • Tony Rotherham(additional segments)
  • Writer
    • William Shakespeare(play)
  • Stars
    • Brian Blessed
    • Hildegard Neil
    • Jason Riddington
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro

    • Photos6

    King Lear (1999)
    King Lear (1999)
    King Lear (1999)
    King Lear (1999)
    King Lear (1999)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Brian Blessed
    Brian Blessed
    • King Learas King Lear
    Hildegard Neil
    • The Foolas The Fool
    Jason Riddington
    Jason Riddington
    • Edmundas Edmund
    Phillipa Peak
    • Cordeliaas Cordelia
    Peter Balderstone
    • Cornwall's Captainas Cornwall's Captain
    Mark Burgess
    • Edgaras Edgar
    John Corvin
    • Gentlemanas Gentleman
    Paul Curran
    Paul Curran
    • King of Franceas King of France
    Mark Denny
    • Duke of Cornwallas Duke of Cornwall
    David Dexter
    • 2nd Messengeras 2nd Messenger
    Billy Hanna
    • 1st Knightas 1st Knight
    Mark Hayden
    Mark Hayden
    • Oswaldas Oswald
    Claire Laurie
    • Reganas Regan
    Caroline Lennon
    • Gonerilas Goneril
    Graham McTavish
    Graham McTavish
    • Duke of Albanyas Duke of Albany
    Iain Stuart Robertson
    • Earl of Kentas Earl of Kent
    Douglas Verrall
    • 1st Messengeras 1st Messenger
    Lisa Von Hasenberg
    • Musicianas Musician
    • Directors
      • Brian Blessed
      • Tony Rotherham(additional segments)
    • Writer
      • William Shakespeare(play)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    King Lear

    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
    tragedyshakespeare's king learbased on playcharacter name in title
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Goofs
      When Edgar/Poor Tom leads his father Gloucester to the Cliffs of Dover, where Gloucester intends to kill himself, Edgar deceives him and only tells him that they have arrived so that when Gloucester jumps, he may not die. In this version, Gloucester is really led to the cliff. However, when he seems to jump, both he and his son - all of a sudden - are at the bottom of the cliff by the seaside.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1999)

    User reviews4

    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    Disappointing.
    An overly pretentious production, the talents of Brian Blessed were wasted. He is the director of this version of King Lear, and he has chosen to clutter the production with cheesy special effects and out-of-the ordinary camera angles. These unnecessary tricks only distract the viewer away from a complex interplay of characters and dialogue. Brian Blessed plays larger-than-life characters with ease and skill, and he was born to portray the title character. Sadly, this is a less-than-acceptable version of this classic. It is no overstatement to say that this production of King Lear was not Blessed, but cursed!
    helpful•0
    1
    • kaljic
    • Mar 14, 2020

    Details

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    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • リア王
    • Production companies
      • A-Z Russian Services
      • Cromwell Productions Ltd.
      • Lamancha Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      3 hours 10 minutes

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