King Lear (1971)

Synopsis: The relentlessly cold and unemotional interpretation was heavily influenced by the essay, ‘King Lear or Endgame’, in which the Polish poet/critic/academic Jan Kott argued that Lear should be interpreted in terms of Samuel Beckett’s New Theatre as a play devoid of any consolation, morality or universal justice. Filmed in the winter in Denmark and Jutland, the harsh and bitter landscape informs the violent, unredemptive and existentialist reading.
When Book’s production of Lear opened at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962, it was acclaimed for its Beckettian sense of dispair; the version on screen in even bleaker (The Guardian, 2019).
Language: English
Country: Denmark; Great Britain
Medium: Film
Technical information: Black-and-white / Sound
Year of release: 1971
Year of production: 1970
Notes: Budget $1.1m
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Director

Peter Brook

Producer

Michael Birkett

Cinematographer

Henning Kristiansen

Writer

William Shakespeare

Production Design

Georges Wakhevitch

Costume

Adele Angard

Cast

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British Universities Film & Video Council