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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

Genre: Dramas

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... 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. [More]

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

Starring: Burgess Meredith, Norman Mailer, Molly Ringwald, Woody Allen, Kate Mailer, Jean-Luc Godard, Peter Sellers

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

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Release:

Dec 21, 1999

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Reviews for King Lear

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1 - 9 (sorted by date)
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A challenge, as with all Godard, but not quite his most rewarding one.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/29/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
12/08/04
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/17/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
03/11/04
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
N/R

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Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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).

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Hal Hinson
Hal Hinson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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