After an almost 60 year acting career, this was Laurence Olivier's final performance in a Shakespearean play. Produced by his brother-in- law David Plowright, it is an excellent adaptation of a classic tale of misplaced trust, filial ingratitude, blindness and the folly of mistaking appearances for reality. I think that it may be the saddest and darkest of all Shakespearean tragedies. It has been quite some time since I read it last but I don't think that there are any major omissions from the play.
In one of his last major roles and one of his greatest, the 75-year-old Olivier is never less than absolutely compelling, in turn perfectly capturing Lear's vanity, anger, madness and finally humility when he is reunited with Cordelia. He dominates an extremely strong cast which includes Leo McKern, Dorothy Tutin, Diana Rigg, Jeremy Kemp, Robert Lindsay, John Hurt, David Threlfall and Anna Calder-Marshall. It's basically an acting masterclass.
The scene in which Gloucester's eyes are plucked out by Cornwall is perhaps the most disturbing scene that I have ever come across any of the Bard's plays. Rather appropriately, however, Gloucester was played by McKern, who did not have a left eye in real life. The same, oddly enough, was true of Olivier's frequent collaborator Esmond Knight who makes a cameo appearance as the old man who helps Gloucester after he is blinded.
Overall, this is second only to Kenneth Branagh's version of "Hamlet" as my favourite of the 14 Shakespearean adaptations that I have watched since January. It is brilliantly directed by Michael Elliot and the score adds a great deal to the proceedings while never underwhelming them. I'm delighted that Olivier ended his career as a Shakespearean actor on such a high.
In one of his last major roles and one of his greatest, the 75-year-old Olivier is never less than absolutely compelling, in turn perfectly capturing Lear's vanity, anger, madness and finally humility when he is reunited with Cordelia. He dominates an extremely strong cast which includes Leo McKern, Dorothy Tutin, Diana Rigg, Jeremy Kemp, Robert Lindsay, John Hurt, David Threlfall and Anna Calder-Marshall. It's basically an acting masterclass.
The scene in which Gloucester's eyes are plucked out by Cornwall is perhaps the most disturbing scene that I have ever come across any of the Bard's plays. Rather appropriately, however, Gloucester was played by McKern, who did not have a left eye in real life. The same, oddly enough, was true of Olivier's frequent collaborator Esmond Knight who makes a cameo appearance as the old man who helps Gloucester after he is blinded.
Overall, this is second only to Kenneth Branagh's version of "Hamlet" as my favourite of the 14 Shakespearean adaptations that I have watched since January. It is brilliantly directed by Michael Elliot and the score adds a great deal to the proceedings while never underwhelming them. I'm delighted that Olivier ended his career as a Shakespearean actor on such a high.