About

The final film of Soviet auteur Grigori Kozintsev, King Lear is a brilliant, potent rendering of Shakespeare's tale of an elderly King whose arrogance sows the seeds of familial destruction. Working from Boris Pasternak's translation of the original text, Kozintsev brings the action to life with his remarkable cinematographic skill. The film is further harnessed by a striking score from Dmitri Shostakovich and an immense lead performance from Estonian actor Jüri Järvet. This is a lean, pointed interpretation of King Lear; austere without being minimal, brimming with pathos while still barbed with ferocity, and all driven by a master filmmaker at his peak.

Ages 15+