Search - King Lear on DVD

Maybe Olivier's best performance

Michael S. Conaway | Union, NJ | 01/06/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have to disagree with the negative reviews posted above. This is possibly Olivier's best recorded performance, and the bulk of the other performances are excellent as well, particularly that of Diana Rigg. The actors speak their lines so casually and easily that, even if you're not used to Shakespearian dialog, it'll soon all seem perfectly natural. The set is minimalist, true, but if your enjoyment of Shakespeare is dependent upon set design then I recommend you never attend a stage performance. If I have one complaint about this production it's that the actors, while individually turning out great performances, don't appear to be relating to each other very well--as if they're each giving their rendition of their characters without letting their performances be informed by the performances of those around them. Still and all, this is an extremely moving production of one of the most powerful plays in the canon."

You WILL cry

K. McDermott | Michigan, USA | 01/05/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is not the best Lear, or the most complete, but it's the one I use in my classroom because Olivier's performance is so accessible and moving. His final scene makes you marvel at the emotional power an actor at the end of his career could muster -- and almost allows you to forget "The Betsy"! The supporting actors are very good, particularly Diana Rigg as Regan and John Hurt as an empathetic Fool. The language is crystal clear and the neolithic-Britain setting gives a better sense of the historical context for this legend than do the many modern-dress updates."

Laurence Olivier's Finest Performance. His Last Major Screen

HAMLET | 02/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The late Sir Laurence Olivier's final major screen role, five years before his death in 1989, is one of his most legendary and best performances. It equals every other Shakespearean role that he did in greatness. He also adapted the play for the screen and produced it (though he took no credit for that). How appropriate that the final major screen role of the greatest Shakespearean actor of all time, Kenneth Branagh close behind, should be a Shakespeare production. A fitting end to a long and illustrious career (see my reviews of his Shakespeare movies). As always, Sir Laurence Olivier is backed up by a strong supporting cast, including Diana Rigg ("On Her Majesty's Secret Service"; see my review of this much-maligned James Bond film) as Regan, John Hurt ("1984") as the Fool, Brian Cox ("Troy"; see my review) as the Duke Of Albany and Esmond Knight (Olivier's collaborator on "Henry V" and "Hamlet"; see my reviews on those films). I highly recommend this version for English classes. I have not seen other versions of this play, but until I see a better one, which I doubt, this version is the DEFINITIVE "King Lear." This final performance by the greatest Shakespearean actor is NOT TO BE MISSED. Not Rated."

Best of the Best of the King Lears on Tape

HAMLET | 08/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Laurence Olivier turns in an incredible performance as King Lear in this 1970s made-for-British-televison version. He can be watched again and again to savor both his acting and the beauty of Shakespeare's poetry (I've watched it dozens of times). An extremely strong supporting cast only helps - Diana Rigg as Reagan, Dorothy Tutin as Goneril, David Threlfall as Edgar (he played Leslie Titmous in the BBC/PBS *Paradise Postponed*), John Hurt as The Fool, Leo McKern as Gloster (better known as Rumpole, but Mckern was a stage actor in Britain for years). The roles of Edmund, Cornwall, Cordelia, and others are also very fine - Edmund especially. This version is particularly suited for savoring the performances and poetry as it is not really a "film" so much as a brilliant recording of a stage performance - the sets are minimal, and this only helps the acting. As in almost all Shakespeare films, some lines are cut, but no matter. When Lear, after all his hardships and disillusionments, gets to the lines "When we are born, we cry that we have come to this great stage of fools," the viewer might just be ready to cry, too. Fantastic performance."