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Best movie of this year hands down!

As Good As It Gets

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The foremost Shakespearean actor of the 20th century took on what he considered his most challenging role when he did a television production of King Lear in 1983. Laurence Olivier said that because Lear is on stage so much of the time as the title character and is an old man, that it's an impossible role to play when you're young and starting out. And by the time you have the acting chops for the job you might just be too old to endure the rigors of playing it on stage. Olivier had retired from the stage in the early Seventies and he would not take on the rigors of a play. But this televised production is his swansong to the immortal Bard. It's a tribute to Olivier's skill as an actor that he gets all the emotions going with Lear at once, pride, vanity, sorrow, and a bit of stupidity thrown in.The story of the old king dividing his realm of Britain comes from the early days post the Roman occupation of Britain. Lear is a mythical king much as Arthur is from that period. His greatest sin is that he stayed around too long, he's in his eighties and his daughters have been waiting for their inheritance. The Eighties is a decent lifespan for any human, but in those days it was nothing less than remarkable someone would live that long.Shakespeare also had a more recent example of a monarch giving up his power and dividing his realm. The great Emperor Charles V in 1555 gave up the Hapsburg empire which included both the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Spain and all the lands in the old and new worlds it possessed. Spain went to his son and the Holy Roman Empire went to his brother. They had their problems, but it was sure more peaceful than how it went with daughters Regan and Goneril played by Diana Rigg and Dorothy Tutin. As for Charles V, he lived the rest of his life peacefully in a monastery away from the cares of running a huge chunk of the world's real estate, dying in 1557.There's a third daughter Cordelia played by Anne-Calder Marshall. When Lear the old fool asks each daughter how much they love him, the other two throw the flattery on with a shovel. Cordelia hesitates with her answer and gets banished in an arbitrary act. Absolute monarchs like Lear tend to act arbitrarily. That's part of the plot.The secondary storyline concerns the Duke of Gloucester played by Leo McKern and his sons, one legitimate and the other out of wedlock. The legitimate one Edgar is played by David Threlfell and Edmund the illegitimate son is played by Robert Lindsay. Edmund is a calculating villain much like Iago in Othello. He manages to turn the Duke against Edgar, but he's after much bigger stakes than that, wooing Regan and Goneril behind their husband's back. It leads to war and a wholesale slaughter of the cast much like Hamlet.Lear is a fool and has a fool played by John Hurt. Next to Olivier, he's the one you'll remember in the cast. Back in those days nobility were the only ones who could afford professional entertainment and the fool came on in his Harlequin outfit, say a few amusing things, but listen real close. Hurt sees an observes a lot and he's trying a few subtle suggestions to his master about the errors he made.Set in ancient times King Lear's story is one repeated over and over again about staying in power too long, the resentments will build and the intrigues will follow. Shakespeare saw enough of that in his time both with his two monarchs Elizabeth I and James I. But he couldn't write about them lest his head be parted from his shoulders. I do wonder if some of the court politicians in those reigns saw a bit of themselves in King Lear.

Me and my English Lit class watched this as part of our course and everyone thought it was fantastic, but me. It was an enjoyable film to watch, Sir Olivier gives a stunning performance as King Lear as does Dinana Rigg as Regan. But the whole programme seemed too much like a stage production for my liking. The storm in the middle of the programme is supposed to be the most dramatic sequences in the story, however when you are expected to believe that he is in the middle of a storm when not even a leaf moves, the sequence becomes almost laughable. On the other hand, there are some very powerful sequences such as the one where Glouester is blinded. If you take away all the bad scenery, you are left with great performances from everyone. This really made the programme worth watching, well that and the presents of Diana Rigg who is a legend!

Actually, this is a tough review to write, because the main problem is that Laurence Olivier is just too old to play this part. King Lear the character is old, but the actor playing him has to have the energy and power of a younger man. Otherwise, how can he stand a chance against the evil characters, especially when the two evil daughters join forces? Some of the best parts of this production actually are the evil daughters, Goneril and Regan. Diana Rigg is great!Overall, this one is definitely worth seeing because it's such a great play and there are some really wonderful performances like Rigg, Dorothy Tutin and John Hurt. Just don't expect it to be the best possible King Lear.

I got lost through the first half of Olivier's Richard III. But his Lear some twenty years later sucked me in by absolute force. It may have been a bit difficult for me to ever have seen his King Lear storming across the battlefield, his sentimental age was disarming and effective. Particularly in the first scene with his dividing of the kingdom. He and Cordelia shared some intensely effective moments. His final moments are also moving and quite worthwhile. He gets a bit lost in the melodramatics of the middle, and more whines and rants "Reason not the need" than may have been necessary, but on the whole his performance shows the craft of his decades as a respected Shakespearean performer. The supporting cast is also very strong with all the daughters with the possible exception of Cordelia coming off very well. Hurt seems a bit jumbled as the fool, but that may have been the idea, and the parting shot of him tries to answer the old question of what happens to the fool after he fades out of the text. Edmund and Edgar could really be brothers, and work well in opposing roles. Both actors seem to love to show off their teeth through bushy beards, but despite moments of scenery chewing, they get the job done well. Leo McKern shines out of the supporting cast as Glouster. He is by turns jovial, tormented, lost, pained and thoughtful. An excellent interpretation of that role makes the work engaging for the stretch of time when Lear is taking his "forth act break". The sets and music may be a little crude, but the idea was that the acting be the focus, and fortunately it is. Very very nice and effective theatrical work.