King Lear Backdrop Blur
King Lear Poster

King Lear

James Earl Jones delivers a riveting performance as paranoid patriarch King Lear, an aging monarch who insists that his three daughters prove their love for him, only to learn he's exalted the two who seek to destroy him. This live performance recording of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival production deftly envisions the bard's haunting tragedy with a fine supporting cast, including Raul Julia, Paul Sorvino and Rene Auberjonois.

Top Cast

  • James Earl Jones

    James Earl Jones

    King Lear

  • Douglass Watson

    Douglass Watson

    Kent

  • Paul Sorvino

    Paul Sorvino

    Gloucester

  • Raúl Juliá

    Raúl Juliá

    Edmund

  • Rosalind Cash

    Rosalind Cash

    Goneril

  • Lee Chamberlin

    Lee Chamberlin

    Cordelia

  • Ellen Holly

    Ellen Holly

    Regan

  • Robert Stattel

    Robert Stattel

    Albany

  • Robert Lanchester

    Robert Lanchester

    Cornwall

Overview

James Earl Jones delivers a riveting performance as paranoid patriarch King Lear, an aging monarch who insists that his three daughters prove their love for him, only to learn he's exalted the two who seek to destroy him. This live performance recording of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival production deftly envisions the bard's haunting tragedy with a fine supporting cast, including Raul Julia, Paul Sorvino and Rene Auberjonois.

Rating

9.0 / 10
1 Reviews
1 Popular

Recommendations

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge

An acclaimed stage performer, Dorothy still struggled with the challenge of her color, in a time that wouldn't let some stars in by the front door. Yet against the odds she beat out many more famous rivals for the role of "Carmen Jones", becoming the first black woman ever nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Marriages and affairs would break her heart, but her heart was strong. Seductive and easily seduced, she was born to be a star - with all the glory and all the pain of being loved, abused, cheated, glorified, undermined and undefeated. Here was a woman who wouldn't wait in the wings. Halle Berry stars as Dorothy Dandrige.

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge

6.5 1999