King Lear is a 1999 adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The film stars Brian Blessed (who also co-directed the film, along with Tony Rotherham) in the title role. Apart from Peter Brook's King Lear in 1971, it is the only other feature-length film adaptation to preserve Shakespeare's verse. Yvonne Griggs, in Shakespeare's King Lear: A close study of the relationship between text and film (2009), characterised it as "a very stilted costume drama".[1]

King Lear
Running time
180 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Cast

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  • Brian Blessed as King Lear[2]
  • Hildegarde Neil as the Fool
  • Phillipa Peak as Cordelia - King's good daughter
  • Paul Curran as King of France - Cordelia's husband
  • Claire Laurie as Regan - King's vengeful daughter
  • Graham McTavish as Duke of Albany - Regan's husband
  • Caroline Lennon as Goneril[2] - King's vengeful daughter
  • Mark Denny as Duke of Cornwall - Goneril's husband
  • Robert Whelan as Earl of Glouster - Blinded by Cornwell
  • Jason Riddington as Edmund - Glouster's evil bastard son
  • Mark Burgess as Edgar - Glouster's legitimate son
  • Iain Stuart Robertson as Earl of Kent - King's servant

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Griggs, Yvonne (2009). Shakespeare's King Lear: A close study of the relationship between text and film. Screen Adaptations. A&C Black. ISBN 9781408144015.
  2. ^ a b "Shakespeare's Tragedies: King Lear". Netflix. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
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