King Lear
- Synopsis
- Shortened version of the play adapted for television. Transmitted live in the Omnibus slot, the production was filmed on a circular set with two cameras that travelled around the perimeter. Reviews note innovative camerawork, awkward blocking and over-crowded scenes resulting in a stangely static production, ill-suited to the small screen, which sacrificed key lines of the text to showy visuals. The Gloucester sub-plot was cut. Staged by Peter Brook.
- Series
- Omnibus (Us Series)
- Language
- English
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Television
- Year of release
- 2010
- Transmission details
- 18 Oct 1953 at 19:15 (Channel: CBS)
- Duration
- 90 mins
Credits
- Director
- Andrew McCullough
- Producer
- Fred Rickey
- Cinematographer
- Andrew McCullough
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Music
- Virgil Thomson
- Contributor
- Peter Brook
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Television and Radio Drama
- Plays
- King Lear
- Subjects
- Drama
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
- Related items
- Omnibus [11/10/1953]
Notes
- Notes
- Included in ORSON WELLES COLLECTION (1946) and sold on DVD under that title.
Released as a standalone DVD in January 2010. Extras include an extract from a the Omnibus episode 11/10/1953 in which Alistair Cooke talks to Brook and composer Virgil Thomson, a 16-page booklet which features Brook’s recollections of the production and notes by Welles’ biographer Simon Callow. - General
- Welles’ first television appearance and the first broadcast on American television to be uninterrupted by sponsors. The play was introduced by Alistair Cooke as ‘the noblest item in English dramatic literature’ and Shakespeare presented as a civilising agent in the modern world ‘at least to those of us who’ve been lucky enough to survive the barbarities of the twentieth century’.
- Reviews
- For an assessment of the production and a summary of contemporary critical reaction see Michael Anderegg, Orson Welles: Shakespeare and Popular Culture (New York, Columbia University Press, 1999), pp29-34. Alice Griffin ‘Shakespeare Through the Camera’s Eye’ Shakespeare Quarterly, 6 (1955), pp63-66
Production Company
Archive
- Name
Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division
- Web
- http://catalog.loc.gov/ External site opens in new window
- Phone
- (20) 707-8572
- Fax
- (20) 707-237’1
- Address
- Motion Picture & Television Reading Room
James Madison Building, LM 336
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C.
20540-4690
United States
Online Retailer
- Name
amazon.co.uk
- Web
- http://www.amazon.co.uk External site opens in new window
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "King Lear". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av37195 (Accessed 26 Nov 2024)