Recommended viewing, Shakespearean versions:

King Lear (1997): Director: Richard Eyre; Masterpiece Theatre; Stars: Ian Holm, Barbara Flynn, Amanda Redman, Timothy West, Paul Rhys, Finbar Lynch, Victoria Hamilton. Film version of the Royal National Theatre production—acclaimed Holm performance with stark dramatic staging.

 

 

 

 

King Lear (1999): Director: Brian Blessed; Stars: Brian Blessed, Hildegarde Neil, Jason Riddington, Philippa Peak, Mark Burgess, Caroline Lennon. Epic interpretation with emphasis on druidic Iron Age/Celtic British setting. 3.5+hrs long. Blessed makes a suitably selfish and unpredictable Lear.

 

 

 

 

King Lear (1983): Director: Stars: Laurence Olivier, John Hurt, Colin Blakely, Anna Calder-Marshall, David Threlfall, Diana Rigg, Leo McKern, Robert Lindsay, Jeremy Kemp. Made-for-BBC version viewed by countless high school student curricula. Performance by Olivier marked by frail, senile but peremptory Lear. Strong supporting cast.

 

 

 

 

King Lear (1971): Director: Peter Brook; Stars: Paul Scofield, Irene Worth, Susan Engel, Anne-lise Gabold, Alan Webb, Cyril Cusack, Patrick Magee, Jack MacGowran. Denmark-filmed b/w version with bleak snowy landscapes, Icelandic ponies and dramatic cinematic techniques.

 

 

 

 

Adaptations/Themes:

A Thousand Acres (1997): Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse; Stars: Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jason Robards, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Colin Firth, Keith Carradine, Kevin Anderson. Adaptation of Jane Smiley novel echoes King Lear themes of family coping with aging father on Iowa farm. Sympathetic view focusing on elder daughters as incest survivors accused of "stealing" land from blameless Daddy.

 

 

 

 

King of Texas (2002): Director: Uli Edel; Stars: Patrick Stewart, Marcia Gay Harden, Lauren Holly, Roy Scheider, David Alan Grier, Colm Meaney, Patrick Bergin, Julie Cox, Matt Lescher, Liam Waite. Original concept setting King Lear as Texas land baron.