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King Lear [DVD]
 
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King Lear [DVD]

DVD ~ Paul Scofield
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.87 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

King Lear [DVD] + Henry V [DVD] [1989] + The Merchant of Venice [DVD] [2004]
Total RRP: £31.97
Price For All Three: £13.73

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

King Lear [DVD]
77% buy the item featured on this page:
King Lear [DVD] 4.0 out of 5 stars (7)
£3.87
King Lear [DVD]
11% buy
King Lear [DVD] 4.2 out of 5 stars (9)
£7.98
King Lear [DVD]
5% buy
King Lear [DVD] 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£6.98
Twelfth Night [DVD] [1996]
5% buy
Twelfth Night [DVD] [1996] 4.4 out of 5 stars (30)
£3.98
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Product details

  • Actors: Paul Scofield, Irene Worth, Cyril Cusack, Susan Engel, Tom Fleming
  • Directors: Peter Brook
  • Writers: Peter Brook, William Shakespeare
  • Producers: Michael Birkett, Mogens Skot-Hansen
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: Greek, Hungarian, Italian
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: Uca
  • DVD Release Date: 6 Jun 2005
  • Run Time: 132 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0009IZR7E
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 5,185 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #51 in  DVD > Drama > Period

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Reviews

Synopsis
Adaptation of Shakespeare's play of a betrayed monarch.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
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 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Lear under a microscope, 3 Mar 2007
At first, I was disppointed. The abdication scene seems lacklustre - Lear seems hardly bothered when Cordelia refuses the love test. He doesn't rage, and doesn't appear to be in pain. It is only as time goes on that you realise he has wielded absolute power for so long that he doesn't need to rage - he commands and it is done. His rage and madness come when he no longer has any power. The film is set in some bleak, northern tundra which is highly appropriate and evocative - it seems to be a permanent twilight. The best aspect of the film is the microscopic attention to the text - unlike many Shakespeare adaptations, there are no incomprehensible passages. Every word strikes home, especially in the second half when Paul Scofield's performance gives Lear tremendous humanity and dignity. His meeting on the beach with Gloucester is worth watching again and again. The fool is the highlight of the first half - again, every word is delivered with precision, like when he says "Does though know why a snail has a shell? Why, to put his head in, not to give it away to his daughters and leave his horns without a case." The fool looks away as if he has said nothing of consequence and Lear stares at him with an expression caught between laughter and cursing. No Shakespeare adaptation is definitive - if the text is important to you, rather than clever re-interpretation and production, then you'll be rewarded by this film. But check out the Olivier and Richard Eyre (Ian Holm as Lear) versions as well.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite film ever, 16 Jun 2001
By philhop1@yahoo.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: King Lear [VHS] [1970] (VHS Tape)
Peter Brook, one of the greatest theatrical directors of all time, directs King Lear, arguably the greatest play of all time, by surely the greatest playwright of all time. But those credentials alone are not always enough to guarantee that a film made with them in combination will succeed. In this case, however, the results are brilliant. Spare, harsh, quivering with life, this film is Beckettian in its imagery, and innovative in its photography, unified in its tone, and demonically vital in its acting. I venture to say that the other reviewer who thought that the camera moved about too quickly is probably jostled by bumpy train rides. This film is true to the essence of Lear as I perceive it. See for yourself, and go see some theater sometime soon, as well.

Another note, I've been searching for a copy of this film in America for eight years. Thanks Amazon UK!

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A bleak and brutal interpretation of a great tragedy., 29 May 2000
This review is from: King Lear [VHS] [1970] (VHS Tape)
Peter Brooke's King Lear, though totally engaging in its own right, is made sublime by Paul Schofield's performance. A stark siberian desert is the backdrop to Shakespeare's epic tale of jealousy, murder and self discovery. This film renders Olivier's version diminuitive and limp in comparison-it is one of the best shakespeare film versions around.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Expect the unexpected.
This is Lear in a completely different light from any other version, I think that much can be guaranteed. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Burlesque

4.0 out of 5 stars A record of a seminal production
Peter Brook used characteristic boldness in transferring his controversial, yet acclaimed stage production to the screen. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Old Wealden

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brechtian production
I've seen many productions of King Lear and hated them all. Except this one. It has been said that Lear is so full of poetic imagery that to stage it is to reduce it. Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2001

1.0 out of 5 stars A film with scarcely no action
I didn't quite like this video for two main reasons.

First, as I think, Shakespeares play is not acted but merely spoken. There is scarcely no action in this film. Read more

Published on 21 April 2001 by Simon Lampart

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