King Lear (1983) (TV)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Michael Elliott

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Release Date:

26 January 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An aging King invites disaster when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters and rejects his one loving, but honest one.

Plot Keywords:

Daughter Murdered | Shakespeare's King Lear | Resentment Toward Sister | Resentment Toward Father | William Shakespeare

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Laurence Olivier	...	King Lear
Colin Blakely	...	Kent
Anna Calder-Marshall	...	Cordelia
Jeremy Kemp	...	Cornwall
Robert Lang	...	Albany
Robert Lindsay	...	Edmund
Leo McKern	...	Gloucester
David Threlfall	...	Edgar
Dorothy Tutin	...	Goneril
John Hurt	...	The Fool
Diana Rigg	...	Regan
Brian Cox	...	Burgundy
Edward Petherbridge	...	France
Geoffrey Bateman	...	Oswald
John Cording	...	Lear's Knight

Runtime:

158 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G

Company:

Granada Television

Trivia:

The last specifically made-for-television production of a Shakespeare play (to date) to have its American TV premiere on commercial network television, an occurrence that was much more common in the 1950's, '60's, and '70s.

Quotes:

Kent: Fellow, I know thee.
Oswald: What dost thou know me for?
Kent: A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking, whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable, finical rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd in way of good service...

Movie Connections:

Version of Ran (1985)

Throw the textbook away

King Lear is a rough-hewn, majestic work of genius which addresses issues of life and family that we can all identify with, 400 years later. It is a difficult play to get right, on screen or on the stage because it demands the greatest acting from the best available actors.

And this gripping performance manages to do it. The sets are cheap, the video quality is poor and murky but the powerful work of a terrific Laurence Olivier and a faultless cast of Britain's finest Shakespearean actors shines through.

One poor performance can ruin a production like this, but every single actor rises to the occasion, and each character is well-realised and credible. There is not a single weak performance, even from those with the smallest roles.

The poetry flows, the imagery is beautiful and moving and the themes are brought into sharp relief. From the first scene, you will not need a text of the play to understand what is going on.

With Olivier gone and Branagh still several decades from being old enough to take on the role, we can expect this to be the definitive version for years to come.