King Lear Filmography Since 1909, William Shakespeare's King Lear has been adapted for the screen no less than 15 times. The timeless story of one family's struggle and an aging king's demise resonates through the centuries, inspiring actors, directors and screenwriters to tell and retell it in new and inventive ways -- on the battlefields of feudal Japan, in post-Chernobyl Russia, amid the corn fields of Iowa. According to director Peter Brook, who directed an existential Lear in 1971, there is "... a quality that you find in Greek tragedy, where the worse the events, the truer you know them to be.... And this seems to me present in the whole work of Shakespeare. For instance, take King Lear. Nowhere in King Lear can you find anyone closing their eyes to the cruelty of mankind, and yet the play is not a black existentialist play showing that mankind is a worthless species, nor a naïve expression that all mankind is noble and beautiful. The vertical and the horizontal are there at one and the same time to be grasped if one wants to and one can." Movie versions of this tragic play try to bring these complex truths to a modern audience. Below, from most to least recent, a list films based on King Lear. A Thousand Acres (1997) USA, English, Color Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse Screenplay by Jane Smiley, Laura Jones An adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which transposes the story of King Lear to a farm in Iowa where a father, his daughters and their husbands unravel the secret history of their family and its land. Cast: Harold Clark: Pat Hingle Jess Clark: Colin Firth Caroline Cook: Jennifer Jason Leigh Larry Cook: Jason Robards Rose Cook Lewis: Michelle Pfeiffer Ginny Cook Smith: Jessica Lange Ty Smith: Keith Carradine King Lear (1987) USA, English, Color Directed by Jean-Luc Godard Screenplay by Jean-Luc Godard, Norman Mailer A punk-apocalyptic updating of the Shakespearean classic by a master of the French New Wave. After the explosion at Chernobyl, most of the world's great works are lost, leaving William Shakespeare Junior the Fifth to restore the lost artwork of the human race. While on his quest, he finds strange goings-on at a resort that remind him of lines from King Lear. Film critic Leonard Maltin remarked, "Little to be said about this pretentious mess except... avoid it." Cast: Cordelia: Molly Ringwald Edgar: Leos Carax Don Learo: Burgess Meredith Kate Mailer: Herself Norman Mailer: Himself Mr. Alien: Woody Allen Professor: Jean-Luc Godard Virginia: Julie Delpy William Shakespeare Junior the Fifth: Peter Sellars Ran (1985) Japan, Japanese, Color Directed by Akira Kurosawa Screenplay by Masato Ide, Akira Kurosawa While director Akira Kurosawa moves the setting to Japan and takes considerable liberties with Shakespeare's text, the story of King Lear remains intact in this international award-winning movie, often noted for its lush cinematography and choreographed battle sequences. Kurosawa (Rashomon, The Seven Samurai) worked on the script for over 10 years and spent over $12 million making the film. In Japanese, ran means "chaos." Cast: Jiro Masatora Ichimonji: Jinpachi Nezu Lady Kaede: Mieko Harada Lady Sue: Yoshiko Miyazaki Lord Hidetora Ichimonji: Tatsuya Nakadai Kageyu Ikoma: Kazuo Kato Kyoami: Peter Nobuhiro Fujimaki: Hitoshi Ueki Mondo Naganuma: Toshiya Ito Saburo Naotora Ichimonji: Daisuke Ryu Samon Shirane: Kenji Kodama Seiji Ayabe: Jun Tazaki Shumenosuke Ogura: Norio Matsui Shuri Kurogane: Hisashi Igawa Tango Hirayama: Masayuki Yui Taro Takatora Ichimonji: Akira Terao King Lear (1984) (TV) UK, English, Color Directed by Michael Elliott Screenplay by William Shakespeare Olivier was 75 when he performed as King Lear, his last Shakespearean role, for which he won International and Primetime Emmy awards. The film begins and ends at Stonehenge, and features Diana Rigg as Regan, John Hurt as The Fool, and Robert Lindsay as Edmund. Cast: Cordelia: Anna Calder-Marshall Duke of Albany: Robert Lang Duke of Burgundy: Brian Cox Duke of Cornwall: Jeremy Kemp Earl of Kent: Colin Blakely Edgar: David Threlfall Edmund: Robert Lindsay The Fool: John Hurt Gloucester: Leo McKern Goneril: Dorothy Tutin King of France: Edward Petherbridge King Lear: Laurence Olivier Lear's Knight: John Cording Oswald: Geoffrey Bateman Regan: Diana Rigg King Lear (1982) (TV) UK / USA, English, Color Directed by Jonathan Miller Screenplay by William Shakespeare Filmed as part of the BBC's Shakespeare Plays series, this version of King Lear follows the original text closely. Cast: Cordelia: Brenda Blethyn Duke of Albany: John Bird Duke of Burgundy: David Weston Duke of Cornwall: Julian Curry Earl of Kent: John Shrapnel Edgar: Anton Lesser Edmund: Michael Kitchen The Fool: Frank Middlemass Gloucester: Norman Rodway Goneril: Gillian Barge King of France: Harry Waters King Lear: Michael Hordern Oswald: John Grillo Regan: Penelope Wilton King Lear (1975) (TV) UK, English, Color Directed by Jonathan Miller Screenplay by William Shakespeare Cast: Cordelia: Angela Down Edgar: Ronald Pickup Edmund: Michael Jayston The Fool: Frank Middlemass Goneril: Sarah Badel King Lear: Michael Hordern Regan: Penelope Wilton King Lear (1974) (TV) USA, English, Color Directed by Edwin Sherin Screenplay by William Shakespeare Cast: Cordelia: Lee Chamberlain Earl of Kent: Douglas Warson Edgar: Rene Auberjonois Edmund: Raul Julia The Fool: Tom Aldredge Gloucester: Paul Sorvino Goneril: Rosalind Cash King Lear: James Earl Jones Regan: Ellen Holley King Lear (1976) UK, English, Color Directed by Steve Rumbelow Screenplay by William Shakespeare Cast: Chris Aurache Monica Buford Helena Paul Genzig Saner King Lear (1971) UK / Denmark, English, Black and White Directed by Peter Brook Screenplay by Peter Brook Director Peter Brook's version of King Lear is based on the essay "King Lear or Endgame" by Polish critic Jan Kott, who argues that Lear should be interpreted in terms of Samuel Beckett's New Theatre as a play devoid of any consolation, morality or universal justice. Brook shot the film in Denmark, and the hazy, black and white photography adds to the film's desolate atmosphere. Cast: Cordelia: Anne-Lise Gabold Duke of Albany: Cyril Cusack Duke of Burgundy: Søren Elung Jensen Duke of Cornwall: Patrick Magee Earl of Kent: Tom Fleming Edgar: Robert Lloyd Edmund: Ian Hogg The Fool: Jack MacGowran Gloucester: Alan Webb Goneril: Irene Worth King Lear: Paul Scofield Oswald: Barry Stanton Regan: Susan Engel Korol Lir (1969) Soviet Union, Russian, Black and White Directed by Grigori Kozintsev Screenplay by Grigori Kozintsev Filled with the sweeping outdoor scenes, this adaptation was translated into Russian, then translated back to English by Boris Pasternak. As a result, the subtitles are eloquent, but they're not Shakespeare. Cast: Cordelia: Valentina Shendrikova Edmund: Regimantas Adomaitis The Fool: Oleg Dal Goneril: Elze Radzinya King Lear: Jüri Järvet Regan: Galina Volchek King Lear (1953) (TV) USA, English, Black and White Directed by Andrew McCullough Screenplay by William Shakespeare Orson Welles stars as King Lear in this adaptation that eliminates the subplot of Gloucester and his sons and makes Poor Tom a character in his own right. Cast: Cordelia: Natasha Parry Duke of Albany: Arnold Moss Goneril: Beatrice Straight King Lear: Orson Welles Regan: Margaret Phillips King Lear (1948) (TV) UK, English, Black and White Directed by Royston Morley Screenplay by William Shakespeare Cast: Cordelia: Ursula Howells Earl of Kent: Robert Sansom Edgar: Robert Harris Edmund: Patrick Troughton Gloucester: Henry Oscar Goneril: Rosalie Crutchley King Lear: William Devlin Regan: Nicolette Bernard Der Yidisher Kenig Lir (The Yiddish King Lear) (1934) USA, Yiddish with English subtitles, Black and White Directed by Harry Thomashefsky Screenplay by Abraham Armband This film adaptation of Jacob Gordin's play transposes King Lear to turn-of-the-century Jewish Vilna, Lithuania. At a family seder, a father announces that he is dividing his fortune among his three daughters and retiring to Jerusalem. He refuses to listen to his virtuous but defiant daughter's warnings, and the scheming of one son-in-law and the self-righteousness of another soon result in his poverty and disgrace Cast: Esther Adler Jacob Bergreen Miriam Grossman Maurice Kroner Fannie Levenstein Eddie Pascal Jeannette Paskewich Harold Schutzman Rose Schwartzberg Morris Tarlowsky Morris Weisman King Lear (1916) USA, Silent, Black and White Directed by Ernest C. Warde Screenplay by Philip Lonergan Cast: Cordelia: Lorraine Huling Duke of Albany: Wayne Arey Duke of Cornwall: Charles Brook Earl of Kent: J.H. Gilmour Edmund: Hector Dion Edgar: Edwin Stanley The Fool: Ernest C. Warde Goneril: Ina Hammer King of France: Boyd Marshall King Lear: Frederick Warde Oswald: Robert Whittier Regan: Edith Diestel King Lear (1909) USA, Silent, Black and White Directed by J. Stuart Blackton and William V. Ranous Screenplay by Eugene Mullin Cast: Cordelia: Julia Swayne Gordon Goneril: Florence Turner King Lear: William V. Ranous Regan: Florence Auer About the Film | Who's Who | A Talk with Ian Holm Filmography | The Forum | Links and Bibliography Home | About The Series | The American Collection | The Archive Schedule & Season | Feature Library | eNewsletter | Book Club Learning Resources | Forum | Search | Shop | Feedback ©