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MOVIES / ON DVD / KING LEAR
King Lear

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King Lear (1987)

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Reviews Counted: 6 Fresh: 3  Rotten:3 Average Rating: 4.6/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 17 mins
Synopsis:
Jean-Luc Godard's adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy shows the director at his most irreverent and esoteric. Rather than present the play in a traditional manner, Godard instead thrusts a series of characters into a French seaside hotel and lets them run with their own random thoughts and... [More]
Jean-Luc Godard's adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy shows the director at his most irreverent and esoteric. Rather than present the play in a traditional manner, Godard instead thrusts a series of characters into a French seaside hotel and lets them run with their own random thoughts and ideas. The actors include Norman Mailer playing himself, Molly Ringwald as Cordelia, Woody Allen as a confused director, and Godard portraying an off-the-wall professor. The film meanders throughout, offering endless monologues, plastic dinosaurs, famous paintings, and an array odd subjects who struggle with the father-daughter conflict of the classic play. Thrown into the mix is Godard's now-standard use of jarring inter-titles, including the film's striking opening credit: "A picture shot in the back." What all of this means is up to the individual viewer to decide, which may, in fact, be Godard's point. By distorting and blurring Shakespeare's original text, he has crafted a mysterious statement about art's ability to mirror and alter reality. Pulling together a cast of noteworthy faces, including Allen, Mailer, Julie Delpy, and bad-boy director Leos Carax (LOVERS UNDER THE BRIDGE, POLA X), Godard adds another challenging film to his extensive resume. [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Burgess Meredith, Norman Mailer, Molly Ringwald, Woody Allen, Kate Mailer

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

DVD Info

Release:

Dec 21, 1999

[DVD Details]

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A challenge, as with all Godard, but not quite his most rewarding one.

Full Review | Comment
08/29/06 10:17 PM
TV Guide's Movie Guide
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06/24/06 04:14 AM
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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No review available.

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12/08/04 09:45 PM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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No review available.

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03/17/04 09:15 AM
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
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No review available.

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03/11/04 01:52 PM
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
N/R

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05/24/03 08:11 AM
Channel 4 Film
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05/20/03 05:13 PM
Vincent Canby
New York Times
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Cinematographer Sophie Mantigneux creates crisp, memorable images and Godard masterfully edits them together (whether the final result is worth the effort is subject to question).

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01/01/00 12:00 AM
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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Behind this is Godard's inability to resolve an essential contradiction in his work -- his reverence for ideas and theories and all sorts of philosophical speculation, and his utter disregard for a sustained, coherent presentation of them.

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01/01/00 12:00 AM
Hal Hinson
Washington Post
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