King Lear
Director: Grigori Kozintsev and Iosif Shapiro
Year Released: 1971
Rating: 3.0
Literally - and figuratively - frigid screen adaptation of the Bard's brutal story about how much of a bastard it is being the father of three venomous broads. Kozintsev's use of crisp black and white images combined with the incredibly foggy and muddy Lithuanian landscapes accurately reflect the play's inherent dreariness, and the cast is more than sufficient at their respective roles. I'd be lying, however, if I found this 'vision' of the play nearly as memorable or creative as Kurosawa's ultraviolent and vibrant Ran, which changes particulars but doesn't lose the brutality of the original.
