King Lear
- Synopsis
- The relentlessly cold and unemotional interpretation was heavily influenced by the essay, ‘King Lear or Endgame’, in which the Polish poet/critic/academic Jan Kott argued that Lear should be interpreted in terms of Samuel Beckett’s New Theatre as a play devoid of any consolation, morality or universal justice. Filmed in the winter in Denmark and Jutland, the harsh and bitter landscape informs the violent, unredemptive and existentialist reading.
When Book’s production of Lear opened at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962, it was acclaimed for its Beckettian sense of dispair; the version on screen in even bleaker (The Guardian, 2019). - Language
- English
- Country
- Denmark; Great Britain
- Medium
- Film
- Technical information
- Black-and-white / Sound
- Year of release
- 1971
- Duration
- 137 mins; 12,355 feet
Credits
- Director
- Peter Brook
- Producer
- Michael Birkett
- Cinematographer
- Henning Kristiansen
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Production Design
- Georges Wakhevitch
- Costume
- Adele Angard
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Fiction Films
- Historical period
- Ancient Britain
- Plays
- King Lear
- Subjects
- Drama
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Notes
- Notes
- Budget $1.1m
- General
- Peter Brook had directed the play for the Royal Shakespeare Company with Scofield in the leading role. Many of the roles were re-cast for the film, the much-cut text was re-edited and the costumes and settings re-designed. Michael Anderegg in his book Cinematic Shakespeare notes that Scofield gave a much different interpretation of the role for cinema and had given yet another reading in the Shakespeare Recording Society sound recording in 1965.
- Reviews
- `King Lear: Peter Brook and Grigori Kozintsev’ in Jorgens, Jack J. Shakespeare on Film (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1991) pp. 235-51
Production Company
- Name
Filmways
Distributor (Hire)
- Name
Filmbankmedia
- info@filmbankmedia.com
- Web
- https://www.filmbankmedia.com/ External site opens in new window
- Phone
- +44 (0) 20 3866 6525
- Address
- 1st Floor, 67-74 Saffron Hill
London
EC1N 8QX
UK - Notes
- The main source in the UK for hire of feature films for non-theatrical presentations. The extensive catalogue includes vintage classics, independent films and big blockbusters. Available on 16mm as well as VHS and DVD. Also provides advice on contractual matters.
Distributor (Sale)
- Name
Retail outlets
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "King Lear". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/11838 (Accessed 25 Nov 2024)