- Actors: Laurence Olivier, Colin Blakely, Anna Calder-Marshall, Jeremy Kemp, Robert Lang
- Directors: Michael Elliott
- Writers: William Shakespeare
- Producers: David Plowright
- Language English
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Vci
- VHS Release Date: 8 April 2002
- Run Time: 158 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004T8SX
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,764 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This adaptation of 'King Lear' is excellent. Possibly the best thing about it is Laurence Olivier's performance. He conveys Lear's spirit and the pathos of the situation in which he finds himself with clarity and an amazing insight into the character's personality, and quite literally grips the viewer's attention from start to finish. Olivier is admirably supported by the rest of the cast, most notably Dorothy Tutin, Diana Rigg, Robert Lindsay and John Hurt as Goneril, Regan, Edmund and the Fool respectively. The costumes are wonderful, as are the sets, the most noteworthy of these being Stonehenge, which is the setting for both the first scene and the final scene of the play. Another feature of this production is that, unlike some other versions, very little of the text has been omitted, making the story somewhat easier to follow. This is especially important for viewers who are unfamilier with the play. Overall, this is a fabulous piece of drama, and is well worth watching, even if you have seen other versions of the play. With the possible exception of the Paul Schofield version, the others just don't compare with this.
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This is a chilling, moving and sometimes funny production of perhaps the greatest play ever written. The well-chosen supporting cast raise their game when in presence of Larry O, and the great man himself produces his last great (greatest?) performance. Lear's pathos, folly, madness and tenderness are nailed so definitively by Olivier that you find yourself forgetting that anyone else has ever done the part. Claustrophobic sets, a decent storm, and clanging metallic music add to the atmosphere of this production. The final emotional wallop really delivers (and this managed to top what happened to Gloucester earlier on - well done Will)and you are left with the feeling that there really is very little hope for the world. Take the video out of the machine and try to forget about it. You won't be able to.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
For a traditional presentation of Shakespeare's classic work, it would be hard to improve on this. Michael Elliott's production boasts a fine cast, notably Laurence Olivier's Lear and John Hurt's Fool, working hand-in-glove in the scenes where the king's daughters reject him in particular. When I say "traditional", I am thinking of the stage-like influences on the video; the relative economy of the sets and costumes, impressive though these still are, are presented in a manner realizable in the space of a stage. This lends an intimate, in-your-face portrait of the characters' thoughts and feelings, possible to a greater extent on video than on film. The Stonehenge sets, positioned at either end of the production like monolithic bookends, are a very effective backdrop to illustrate the antiquity and importance of the setting. If, however, you don't mind reading English subtitles in foreign language films, Grigori Kozinstev's 1971 version is much more "filmic" in its use of scenery and sets, to an extent not achievable on stage. This is a more innovative version, Oleg Dal's Fool surviving the play's action to the end for example. Russian composer Shostakovich's music powerfully accentuates the play's themes in this haunting production. But for a more immediately accessible film of the text, in language terms at least, the Elliott film is well worth buying.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
'I am the king, himself....'
I consider this, with the somewhat updated 'Merchant Of Venice,' to be Olivier at his absolute best--and both with all-round truly outstanding supporting casts. Read more
Published 9 months ago by MVW
king lear/olivier
Laurence Olivier at his best. To this production, he brought all of his vast experience of getting into his character`s mind and re-creating him very convinconhgly. Read more
Published on 15 April 2010 by Mrs. Miriam Wilson
Superb
Excellent reproduction. Sir Laurence Olivier actually waited until he was 80 to play the part to be true to the original. Can't get a better cast.
Published on 23 July 2009 by Seeker of Truth
Utter Shakespeare
As I was studying this book so as you can imagine that I kind of needed all the help I could get, especially as I had to accept a 80 or so year old man being pushed to the brink of... Read more
Published on 6 Sep 2008 by sam hrt
Sir Laurence's Farewell to Shakespeare
This is the first of Olivier's Shakespeare films where the entire production is worthy of its magnificent cast, his own productions having suffered slightly from being made on... Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2008 by Numero Uno
King Lear
I was very impressed with this production, Laurence Olivier does a sterling job portraying King Lear. Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2007 by watty
Absolutely brilliant!
Well, having seen this particular play at home especially made for TV, I had expected it to be fairly poor. Read more
Published on 4 July 2004 by Jorge Manuel L. Jesus
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