JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

chaswe-28402 Scofield is a great actor, and Peter Brook is a great director, but this production lacks moxie. Scofield doesn't seem old enough, weak enough, or mentally decayed enough. He doesn't have enough force in the storm. "Nothing will come of nothing" is not a line to throw away.Also, the narrative was insufficiently clear: it was difficult to understand what anybody's motivation was, other than that the daughters were fed up with their father's demands. Why did the rest of the cast behave in the way that they did ? I don't think it was at all clear, and one would really have to know the play backwards already to get any satisfactory meaning from it.Still, it was an interesting experience to have seen it, which I don't regret. Olivier was better.

professor_groove The above reviewer certainly completely missed the point of this production. Perhaps he needs to do some research into King Lear before he berates this particular interpretation. Certainly it's challenging to watch, but that was entirely Brook's intention. He's taken King Lear and emphasised the absurdist elements of the play to draw out its nihilism. It's supposed to be bleak/non-sensical in some parts/incoherent/challenging for an audience to watch. I suggest you understand it before you berate it. If it just didn't tickle your fancy then that's fine. In the post-modern tradition Brook removes and alters significant chunks of the original Shakespeare text. The film is chaotically edited, reinforcing the theme of Order to Chaos within the play. Brook's interpretation is definitely challenging to watch. Absurdist theatre is intended to be confronting for a viewer. It is totally bleak, but keep an open mind as you watch it.

all-briscoe "King Lear" is not one of my favourite Shakespeare plays (sacrilege indeed!) but I must say I find this film version immensely impressive and the best film version of Shakespeare I have seen.The key to this is the direction of Peter Brook. Unquestionably this is an "arty" avant-garde production that has echoes of Bergman and Beckett as other reviewers have noted. For me this works extremely well. The choice of a barren Danish landscape in winter, the use of black and white, and unusual decision to eschew music all contribute to a very dark and bleak atmosphere. The director keeps viewers on their toes and presents a despairing tragedy.There is nothing theatrical about this - quite rightly as this is a film version. The performances are restrained and measured. The acting is very strong - Patrick Magee particularly stands out as a very menacing Cornwall while Susan Engel and Irene Worth are fine as the manipulative elder sisters.My only real reservation is that the climax of the film is rather rushed, with the numerous deaths needing a little more reflection. The suicide of Goneril is though extremely powerful. Lear's death is always poignant but the direction of it doesn't work completely.Opinions are very mixed on this film but I certainly think it deserves attention. It would especially appeal to followers of Bergman and anyone who is struck by a dark tale.

rufasff Much reviled at the time of it's release, this heavily cut, Danishco-production horrified critics with it's bleak as possible take on whatsome consider the world's greatest play. Obviously influenced by nortic flicks from Dryer to Bergman,Peter Brook shot this as a midevil horror show; and Pauline Kael calledit his "Night Of The Living Dead." While certainly unfair to the scope of the Bard's vision, thefilm is undeniably facinating; though sometimes tedious too. In the bestparts it comes alive with a vivid wickedness, you can certainly see howLear's daughter's came to hate his guts! So, even if it does mutilate a classic, this film is prettyamazing and highly recommendable. A dark product of it's own time, youwill scarcely see a Lear like this again.