Jamie123 Posted June 4, 2018 Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 We watched this yesterday afternoon, and the echoes are still reverberating. Not everyone's going to agree with me (my father for one - he hates seeing Shakespeare in a modern setting) but I found it totally marvelous. I loved the way they set it in a kind of "alternate modern Britain" - modern costumes and cars - the modern London skyline with The Shard, Edgar surrounded by computers analyzing solar eclipses, jet fighters, tanks and machine guns in the battle scene, the mad Lear as a homeless beggar pushing a shopping cart. Some people hate that kind of thing but I've never had a problem with it. Shakespeare works in many different settings; it doesn't need doublets and codpieces - and anyway, if you want to be totally authentic you'd need to have all the women played by boys. Admittedly this was the first time I've actually seen Lear performed (though I read the play many years ago) so I've little to compare it with. I've always liked Anthony Hopkins - I take my hat off to anyone who can play both Hannibal Lecter and C.S. Lewis! Emma Thompson is wonderfully creepy as Goneril. Very realistic eye-gouging of Gloucester (Jim Broadbent) - it totally made my wife squirm. Cordelia (played by an actress I'd not heard of - Florence Pugh) is adorable - which really pulls the heart-strings, especially in the scene where she and her father are reunited. The down-side: the story is compressed into less than 2 hours, so the twists and turns come at you hard and fast. I'd defy anyone unfamiliar with the story to fully understand the ending just from watching this version. (Though I think you could probably say that of any adaptation.) Sunday21 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted June 4, 2018 Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 Even if you don't like the change in setting, it's pretty much impossible to go wrong with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MormonGator Posted June 4, 2018 Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, Jamie123 said: We watched this yesterday afternoon, and the echoes are still reverberating. Not everyone's going to agree with me (my father for one - he hates seeing Shakespeare in a modern setting) but I found it totally marvelous. What does he think of the Ian McKellen Richard III? And thank you for sharing. Edmund in Lear has always been among my favorite Shakespeare antagonists! Edited June 4, 2018 by MormonGator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 4, 2018 Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, Jamie123 said: We watched this yesterday afternoon, and the echoes are still reverberating. Not everyone's going to agree with me (my father for one - he hates seeing Shakespeare in a modern setting) but I found it totally marvelous. Like any type of adaptation, it depends on how it is done. I can appreciate changing to modern wardrobe and so forth when it helps the audience feel a change in setting. It is difficult for modern viewers to notice when something is a formal or casual occasion, for instance. Using modern wardrobe and set design can help the viewers without having to be versed in 16th century fashion and architecture. I liked the DiCaprio version of Romeo and Juliet because it used these conventions to advantage. I loved what they did with the priest and the Fedex envelope being left at the door. That totally conveyed the message more than I'd ever seen it in other adaptations. However, I HATED the "thumb my nose" scene. That was just plain weird. It seemed like it was a mix of slapstick, drama, and Tim Burton. Did...not... do it for me. The Ethan Hawke version of Hamlet... meh... I appreciated little drops of modern culture to hammer a message home. But overall, there were too many departures from the original play that... it wasn't bad, but it made me kinda...meh... Branaugh's Much Ado... was masterful. I loved Micheal Keaton and his troupe. The way they portrayed them and dressed them... That had to be the right way to play it. It just made so much more sense. Edited June 4, 2018 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie123 Posted June 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2018 18 hours ago, MormonGator said: What does he think of the Ian McKellen Richard III? I don't believe I've seen that myself yet - though I'll definitely give it a try sometime. The Richard III I remember best is Lawrence Olivier. I love doing impressions of him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunday21 Posted June 26, 2018 Report Share Posted June 26, 2018 On 6/4/2018 at 10:01 AM, MormonGator said: What does he think of the Ian McKellen Richard III? I loved this version! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bytebear Posted June 29, 2018 Report Share Posted June 29, 2018 (edited) By the way, the movie RAN, is King Lear set in Japan with samurai. So, adaptations can be pretty interesting. Brilliant movie by the way. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089881/?ref_=nv_sr_1 Edited June 29, 2018 by bytebear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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