King Lear [Blu-ray]

This is the first time I have seen a production of "King Lear", and I had high expectations for the performance by Ian McKellen, who has the reputation of being the finest Shakespearean actor of this generation. McKellen did not disappoint. I was also delighted by the performance of Sylvester McCoy (McKellen's costar wizard in "The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey") who played Lear's fool to a tee (in the absence of seeing any other performance. The down side, as many reviewers have noted, is that the ambiance of the space, lighting, stage dressing, and props, and even the costumes, simply did not contribute to a positive overall impression. Shakespeare's Lear is based on a pre-Roman Celtic king, whose story was transplanted to the world of the Plantagenet. This production's set, props and costumes speak of the early 19th century, with Napoleonic era firearms, artillery, and uniforms. This may not have been discordant, except that the set decoration and lighting put the actors in "no place in particular". They were either "indoors" or "outdoors", in a barn or in a castle, but that was it. The lighting may have been the least pleasant aspect, as most of the time, half the stage seemed to be in shadow. It was filmed on a large sound stage. I think it would have been more effective to film it on a proper stage with a fixed audience point of view.Aside from McKellen and McCoy, the actors were competent with William Gaunt as a good Earl of Gloucester and Ben Meyjes in the demanding role of Edgar. Philip Winchester as Edmund was good for the part, but not "great". None of the other major roles seemed to escape a certain woodenness, except for Romola Garai as Cordelia in the last scene.To be fair, I really need to see another production to make a fair appraisal, but this one did not meet expectations, except for McKellen and McCoy.

First, I know this is ridiculously expensive and out of stock virtually everywhere. I paid the high price for this and am very gratified to report it was worth EVERY DOLLAR. Try this auto-persuasion by posing to your own ears the following hypothetical question, namely, "How much would I pay for a TICKET to a theatre to see Ian McKellen perform King Lear live?" I'm guessing you would easily pay $200 or more--it would be a once in a lifetime chance and therein lies the rub: You'd only get to see McKellen's Lear performance ONCE. So, you know, this DVD is selling for upwards of $90-$120...applying the hypothetical to this price does it not now appear to be a trifling little price? McKellen performing Lear for a lifetime for just a piddly $100? Indeed, upon new consideration it is no so much too expensive but perhaps too cheap!I have seen every performance of King Lear available on Amazon and THIS ONE, the McKellen one, is *BY FAR AND AWAY* the best. You know, I listen to a lot of audiobooks--especially Homer--his epics accompany me on my cross-country drives. Ian McKellen narrated (shall I say performed?) an audio recording of Fagles' Odyssey. It was like slipping into a tailored Italian suit; it was PERFECT. I always recommend the audiobook to people by saying, "Listen man, Ian McKellen doesn't just read Homer, McKellen *IS* Homer."McKellen is also Lear, in all the same ways, and in ways all McKellen's own. Having read and watched and listened to, I dunno, something like 15 different Lear productions, both audio and video, and over time I have developed a kind of "meta-Lear", that is, a deep understanding of his character and many examples of Lear competing against each other but then came McKellen. From the first frame, he riveted my attention to the screen; I did not ever look away.The supporting characters are equally well cast. Many of the actors and actresses played their same roles in the BBC version of the play. Kent and the Fool are especially great and also Cordelia--she is lithe and stately and sensual and virginal and intelligent and innocent all at the same time. She has that first scene with Lear: "Nothing, sir..." It's got to be a daunting task for a young actress to go toe-to-toe with a guy like McKellen but she absolutely succeeded and indeed, whenever she was in frame your eyes are drawn to her.The sets, the directing, the overall production quality--all very well done. It's just the best Shakespeare performance I own.

Exquisite! King Lear has always been my favourite of Shakespeare's works and Ian McKellen is one of my favourite actors of stage or screen so to see him in this role was magical. £30 is a lot of money for someone like me but it was a birthday present to myself and I am so, so happy with my purchase.

Because of an unfortunate foot injury I wasn't able to see this play live on stage in London. But this DVD gives the chance to see this fantastic performance 'nearly live'.It is an amazing play with amazing actors, especially Ian McKellen as Lear. And it is definitely worth to watch.As extra there is a 30 minutes interview with Ian McKellen on the DVD. He talks about King Lear and it is very interesting.

Dare I admit that this is my first introduction to King Lear: it was not one of the Shakespeare plays I studied at school. Anyway, with the help of an aid to the written work, I was able to view the DVD more fruitfully and very good it was too. It was passionate, atmospheric and conveyed the depths of human behaviour, both noble and heinous very well. It was finely acted by all parties but here is my one gripe: Ian McKellan gave his all to the character but his diction was unintelligible - couldn't understand a word!

I went to see this production in Stratford and it had everyone gripped despite being a long play and I'd taken novice theatre goers! They were engrossed, despite not understanding all of the language! If you are teaching it for A-Level, like me to a less able group, this provides a well edited, stage-like performance with fabulous dramatic acting. Their responses included "I thought Shakespeare would be boring", "That made it make sense" and "Although I couldn't understand the language I now understand what's going on". Can't ask much more than that.

Thanks to the RSC for this and the Tennant hamlet on Blu ray, such higher quality than DVD. Desperate for them to extend the range of blu ray across there incredible back catalogue of amazing production and interpretations.