Lear Olivier Intro

[@tomthx5804]

People today do not understand what a terribly odd thing King Lear does when he splits the Kingdom among the three daughters. It was always a terrible idea to divide up a kingdom among several heirs. By doing so, he would almost certainly guarantee war between them in the future. For this reason primogeniture was developed, which usually gave the whole thing to the first born son, or lacking a son, daughter. So Goneril should have had the whole thing by right. She is getting screwed, basically. So of course she then has reason to screw Lear back. I think in Shakespeare's day people would have been thinking "What, is he nuts?" as soon as they heard of his plan to divide the kingdom. Today, it seems relatively fair when heirs divide an inheritance. Not so with Kings.

[@syourke3]

Tom thx Good point! Even estates were not divided up among the children. Only the eldest son could inherit the estate and he got it all. Primogeniture was the rule. It kept estates intact over many generations. King Lear is more like a fairy tale or a fable than an historically based account. It should begin “Once upon a time, there was an elderly king who had three fair daughters.”

[@YortOK]

"Meantime we shall attend our darker purpose", that's all you need to know.

[@petehill7280]

@@syourke3 The play IS based on a myth recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his History of the Kings of Britain, so you're not far off. Cymbeline is also based on one of the stories recorded by Geoffrey.

[@brcx3001]

The point is that Lear is expecting universal salutation from his heirs due to their absolute duty to the crown, which was the basis of Jacobean rule. Cordelia allowed private virtue to trump public obligation, which could not be allowed, regardless of tragic implications. The whole point of the play is the concealed limitation of absolute monarchy as a form of government since inheritance always beget royal familial conflict, which is the entire narrative of Shakespeare's histories. This is Shakespeare's pre-historic assessment of monarchy in Britain, whereby Lear at the beginning of this scene represents the golden age perfection of British royal power in the fog of primordial folkore. The potential ongoing chaos of British crown politics metaphorically begins in this scene.

[@jacksoyson4713]

Partitioning the realm happened often, just look at the Franks after Clovis or Charlemagne, or Germany under Louis I, or Gavelkind.

[@ljclark2177]

It's so nice to read comments under a youtube video with no bitterness or vitriol in any of them! I suppose the tone of the comments reflects the calibre of the video, so you get a better class of people coming here ;) I came here because this evening I saw Ian McKellen as King Lear at the Chichester Festival Theatre. He was remarkable. I've never seen such an electric theatre production! He is most certainly a master of his craft. Seeing just ten minutes of Olivier here. I can see that he was also a bloody good actor! I will look for more things with him in.

[@gasaholic47]

If you haven't already, check out his BBC production of The Merchant of Venice. It's here on KZbin in full.

[@antonymscalia3924]

Olivier truly understood this role. He said Lear was just a "stupid old fart." Watch his performance with that in mind and you'll understand why his Lear is more doltish than insane.

[@iniohos2]

yes, a stupid old fart understood very well another stupid old fart

[@DrJones20]

@@iniohos2 ?

[@mckavitt13]

Antonym Scalia He is a dolt! From the start, long before he is driven mad.

[@Hotspur657]

Hmmm, Lear's 'stupidity' is every man's stupidity when it comes to the affairs of the heart - who does not look stupid when ones whom we love deeply turn out to be creatures of the deep?

[@lwasson2335]

I had the pleasure of watching this on PBS back in the day. He's the best Lear.

[@MisterBlue50]

Good Lord! That is so awesome! Even at his age then, he exudes elegance beyond compare. :-)

[@robinghosh8891]

Magnificent Performance by Laurence Olivier... Truly Great Flashes of Lightening. . Will be affectionately remembered for All Time

[@eddardstark805]

Does anyone know where one can download/torrent the whole miniseries? We need torrents of lesser-known gems like this.

[@carolynargabright8132]

Lear and Richard III was Olivier's best performances, in my humble opinion.

[@iniohos2]

in my humble opinion is an expression of humblelessness

[@isoldejaneholland8370]

I own both films on dvd.

[@pagurotraduzioni202]

that's the real of life ppl prefer tender lies to true rough honesty and they actually get angry like so so there must be a lesson in it for however sad and hypocrite

[@jameswbell7084]

"TrUtH's A DoG MuSt tO KeNNeL"

[@alcd6333]

Great to see Olivier performing any of Shakespeare's works. This was one of his final roles and he's complemented by a superb supporting ensemble, including John Hurt, Diana Rigg, Leo McKern, and Jeremy Kemp. But this is clearly Olivier's turn to showcase what he does best.

[@tomnorton4277]

I remember seeing this when I was studying for my English A Level. This is the only role I've seen Laurence Olivier play because he died 5 years before I was born. We also watched the beginning of Paul Scofield's performance in the same role. Good God, Scofield was dull. I couldn't even finish the first scene because he showed so little emotion. Even when Lear was angry, all he did was lower his voice from a deep rumble to a deeper rumble. Apparently he had more natural talent than Laurence Olivier but when I saw him in both King Lear and The Crucible, I thought he was incredibly bland. Compare that to Olivier's arrogant but playful presence in this scene and then how he loses his shit moments later while also clearly conveying that Cordelia's words had wounded him and it's pretty damn clear who's the superior Lear. I rather wish John Hurt had been given a chance to play King Lear. I know he was the Fool in this adaptation but in his later years, it would have been cool to see what he'd bring to the lead character. He had the look, the voice and the talent but he died before he got a chance to show how he would handle the role.

[@YortOK]

Schofield's later recording was subdued but his earlier one from the sixties is one of the greatest.

[@kennethwayne6857]

Quite a few former Fools have 'graduated' to Lear. Ian Holm and Alec Guinness come to mind.

[@garrison6863]

I saw this once before and I have to say its not bad considering it simply a TV version of the play. In that respect its better than Olivier's Othello since that really was just a bunch of theater sets in front of a camera. This tries a bit to be a picture. Olivier was really old here and had lost a bit of his mastery of technique and control, also I think he went overboard in his lack of poetic reading. But Anna Calder Marshall, Dorothy Tutin, Diana Rigg and John Hurt were all good. Marshall was surprisingly affecting. The best King Lear is the Russian film by Kozinstev. Second would be the spectacular, freely adapted version by Kurosawa, renamed Ran.

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

This is the classic, most effective production. But I sure wish they had shot it on film instead of the low res video of the day.

[@thegreatestman851]

Diana Rigg was a masterpiece. So alluring and talented beyond belief! She lights up the screen. I miss her

[@alanchisholm5039]

I first saw this on ITV in 1984. Despite the poor video quality, It has lost none of it's power. A truly majestic performance from Laurence Olivier, with a brilliant supporting cast. Many capable productions have followed, but this remains easily the best Lear ever committed to film.

[@imperiousrex966]

Diana Rigg as Regan! 1983.

[@MatthewHenderson1]

Virtuoso performance. Olivier's acting style in his Hamlet seems dated nowadays but this is just fantastic.

[@chazbrennan9632]

His diction is idiosyncratically crisp but that's all. the rest is just verse-speaking plus a but of nationalism.

[@tomnorton4277]

Laurence Olivier was renowned for his attention to detail. Little things like the gesture for Goneril and Regan to kiss the map and his playfully shocked look when Regan claimed that Goneril's proclamations of love fell short are what made him such an amazing actor. He brought a playful, arrogant energy to Lear whom he cheerfully described as "a stupid old fart" but when Cordelia hurt Lear's feelings, you can hear the pain in his voice and see it in his expressions and body language before he resorts to his defence mechanism, which is anger. Heck, you get everything you need to know about Lear's character from just this one scene. Olivier was also an exceedingly hard worker and a perfectionist. Hamlet was in his younger years but Lear was near the end of his career, after he had fully mastered his craft.

[@brandonburrell8517]

@@tomnorton4277 Like a great Bourdeaux

[@artmoss6889]

I swear, in the 1980s seemingly all costumers working on Shakespeare included headbands in their designs. Not a diadem, tiara, circlet or chaplet, but a fabric headband. I guess it was written into their contracts.

[@ivancervi1825]

What a cast....but Diana Rigg is simply gorgeous!!

[@zufgh]

Having trouble deciding whether his best performance was as Lear or Richard III.

[@kennethwayne6857]

My favorite of his outside of Shakespeare is in 'Long Day's Journey', which unfortunately I can't find on KZbin.

[@antster1983]

Produced by Granada Television in Manchester, UK for the then fledgling Channel 4. The producer was David Plowright, who was high up in the ranks of Granada, and was also the brother of Olivier's third wife Joan Plowright. First UK TX: 3rd April 1983.

[@tykiedog]

Hello Anthony. I was one of the sound engineers that worked on this production. It was brilliant to work on. It was all studio based believe it or not! (studio 12). We even had rain bars, lightning, animals roaming about, you name it we had it, cost a fortune! The cast was wonderful. These were the golden years of Granada TV before the cursed bean counters stepped in and killed the company. I truly hate those morons. It chokes me up watching this clip, we were at the top of our game for sure. Happy days my friend, happy days.

[@antster1983]

tykiedog That's good to know, must have been a thrill to work on a production with someone of the high caliber of Sir Laurence Olivier :o) What else did you work on while you were at Granada?

[@mediocremaiden8883]

Joan P,lowright was married to Olivier ?! Wow...I did not know that. Thank you.,.. learn something new every day 😄

[@jameswbell7084]

Best version of this have seen on TV/Cinema. Good solid cast, hard to replicate in terms of quality, indeed cannot see it has been so as yet.

[@PabloAlto]

Olivier was beginning to suffer his own trials with the onset of advanced age, and played Lear using that, perfectly showing the terror and confusion of oncoming dementia in the King betrayed by his own daughters. Diana Rigg was pure evil, and I'd completely forgotten John Hurt in this production!

[@ChicagoSouthDan]

Only 411 views. I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan but I looked this up because I remembered seeing it in 1984 and how good it was.

[@comprehensiveboycomprehens8786]

Daniel Nolan Tragic ..... innit?

[@barryschwarz]

Lear, you fool. You poor, vain fool.

[@katyalacrua6793]

So beautiful and wonderful in age Sir Olivier 💜

[@syourke3]

In the very opening of this play, we learn that Lear had already divided up the kingdom among his daughters, in equal parts. So why does he command them to profess their love to him in order to get a larger portion of the kingdom. It makes no sense unless Lear is just playing a game with them.

[@tomnorton4277]

He is playing a game. It's called "Suck up to me and I'll give you what you want". Lear is, in the words of Laurence Olivier himself, "a stupid old fart" who wants people to literally kiss the ground he walks on.

[@stu2257]

Well … that escalated quickly

[@Nibelungenherr1876]

Do you have scene where Lear is reunited with Cordelia?

[@mckavitt13]

Olivier & the actresses playing his daughters are all favourites of mine. Cannot we see this version in its entirety? 😕 Diana Rigg, Anna Calder Marshall... as Regan & Cordelia. But who is the actress playing Goneril? Her name?

[@rareimer]

Dorothy Tutin. Also in this scene: Colin Blakeley (Kent), Robert Lang (Albany), Jeremy Kemp (Cornwall), and--glimpsed only briefly--Leo McKern (Gloucester).

[@mckavitt13]

@@rareimer Righto. Thanks!

[@chazbrennan9632]

He's still incredibly skilled but he was so old, and so very ill when he made this is that it cannot be compared to the best work he made in the peak of his health and skill. This late film is just a shadow of the man he was. In his prime, he was capable of incredible physical feats of sound and motion.

[@pippipster6767]

Chaz Brennan Be that as it may. In my opinion he was absolutely perfect as Lear here. He had all the requirements necessary for the role and then played it beautifully to perfection with all the reality in Shakespeare that all his life he wished to bring to it.

[@tomnorton4277]

Let's not forget that Lear himself is old and feeble. If anything, Olivier's deteriorating health worked to his advantage in this role.

[@mik9napkin598]

Hey why didn't that sword make a loud SHRRRKKKK sound when it exited its sheath??

[@leeknights5540]

Olivier is like Santa Claus off his wonky trolley with a finger forever trembling over the nuclear button

[@jaxsoncruz3272]

🔥🔥🔥 A good film should deepen one’s experience 1:21 ❤🔥💙 👇 👇 👇 👇 👇💓

[@lulamidgeable]

How old was he here? Still utterly compelling.

[@zakfisher741]

Brilliant. Excellent. Outstanding. I was weeping by the half way mark.

[@militaryandemergencyservic3286]

not as good as Michael Horton...

[@syourke3]

Lear is a narcissist. Flatter his vanity and he thinks you're wonderful. Offend his vanity and he will fly into a rage. Lear is not stupid; he is just extremely vain and childish, in a word, a classic case of narcissism. My own father is a narcissist. He is 91 years old. He cut me out of his will many years ago. I know the type. Childish, vain and utterly lacking in self-knowledge. Very susceptible to flattery.

[@jackiefriedrich3109]

One only has to think of Donald Trump.

[@lulamidgeable]

I find that almost everyone is susceptible to flattery these days. But yes, this Lear comes across as someone who has never grown up, just basked in power. Fantastic performance.

[@kennethwayne6857]

Our friend Mr. Shakespeare knew human nature. There are quite a few Lears in the world.

[@paulobellan9702]

where can we find the full movie?

[@mariahcarey9470]

Do i see Michael Gambon (Dumbledore)?

[@kennethwayne6857]

He is an extra in Olivier's 'Othello' but I haven't been able to pick him out.

[@mohamedlbarnici8146]

I want the original film of this scene?

[@puzzlechu]

i like shakes spear but its so hard to understand whats going on if i dont read it. so the girl loved the king too much? or her father too much? and th eking wasnt okay with that so he had their family banished out the kigndom? ugh idk

[@gasaholic47]

A bit late here, but to sum it up, Cordelia (the youngest) loved her father only to that extent that she needed to, as a daughter should to a father. The other daughters were professing an over-the-top love of their father to gain advantage in what they will receive of his kingdom. Lear was expecting Cordelia to profess the most amount of love, over that of her sisters. When she didn't he felt betrayed by her, even though hers was the most honest, the most true feeling of love towards her father.

[@mrJohnDesiderio]

Dated

[@mohamedlbarnici8146]

could you give me the full film?

[@swastikausa]

its so funny that brian cox today looks so much like leo mckern did in those days.

[@pippipster6767]

Exceptional

[@syourke3]

I prefer Gielgud to Olivier. Olivier ignores the iambic pentameter and speaks Shakespeare as if it was just prose. There's no music in Olivier. Listen to Gielgud if you want to really hear what Shakespeare should sound like.

[@lulamidgeable]

That's what I've always like about Olivier! He doesn't give recitations within plays.

[@kennethwayne6857]

I can't say you're not right but I do cherish them both.

[@syourke3]

Olivier is much too low key in addressing Kent . Lear is enraged at being crossed by Kent, he sends him into exile and threatens him with death. The exchange is passionate, heated. "Peace, Kent, no more!" "Away, this shall not be revoked", should be screamed not spoken in a calm, gentle manner. I don't buy Olivier here at all. And tossing his crown on the ground as though it was a trifle? No, I don't buy this Lear.

[@dracher]

This is theatre, in theatre, nothing is ever real, people do not die or become offended or injured. Anger in emotional depiction can be so overwhelming that the need to shout and rage is either overlooked or not even possible. The casting off of the triple crown is a symbolic gesture, he throws it on the map, because the symbol of power and the symbol of the land indicate the very sources of kingly potency. Lear believes that he is "every inch a king," that divested of crown and lands, he will maintain the persona of the king and all the respect that goes with it. He is WRONG, but he discovers this too late in the day.

[@kennethwayne6857]

According to what I've read, the throwing of the crown was a piece of business retained from his stage production of 'Lear' 36 years previously when he was 39. I rather like it because it's a childish gesture that suits Olivier's conception. Otherwise, the whole performance is said to be very different. Wish I could have seen the earlier one.