Kiss Me Kate (Broadway Revival - PBS Great Performances) (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)`Kiss Me Kate', Winner of 5 Tony Awards, 6 Drama Desk Awards and 4 Outer Critics Awards including Best Musical Revival, is a wonderful production with breathtaking performances from a stellar cast including Brent Barrett and Rachel York. What I want to clear up is the criticism of the DVD. I have to disagree with everything negative said - the sound is fine and a pleasant balance of orchestra and vocal with a crisp clarity.
Secondly, the DVD is widescreen and captures a lot of the onstage `business'. Indeed the cameras do follow the main action, but never misses anything. It has been filmed by people who both appreciate the performance, the art and the intention of Michael Blakemore. Since he directed it and then adapted `Kiss Me Kate' for television, surely he of all people knows what needs to be filmed?
Always, the performance has an `on stage' feel and I urge you to ignore the exaggerated views of others here. Sound is good, video is good, DVD menu is good and I guarantee that you'll be as enthusiastic about the DVD as I was today after watching it. Maybe the others need to appreciate that this is a stage `adaptation' as stated on the DVD case.

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The first Broadway revival in nearly 50 years of the musical comedymasterpiece by composer Cole Porter and book writers Sam and Bella Spewack not onlyenchanted critics and delighted audiences, but went on to triumph as one of the biggestprize winners of the 2000 season. Taking its inspiration from Shakespeare, this hilarious romp recounts the backstage and on-stage antics of two feuding romances during an out-of-town tryout for a musical adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. Sparkling with 18 classic Cole Porter songs including "Another Op'nin', Another Show," "Wunderbar," "So in Love," "Always True to You in My Fashion," "Too Darn Hot," and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" this is Broadway musical comedy at its irresistible best. Directed by Michael Blakemore, this Tony winner for "Best Revival" stars Brent Barrett, Rachel York (Victor/Victoria), Nancy Anderson and Michael Berresse as the squabbling couples whose offstage disputes entangle them with a pair of song-and-dance gangsters and a pompous U.S. army general.

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Richard III (1956) Review

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(More customer reviews)Those who criticize Laurence Olivier and Alan Dent -- co-authors of the screenplay -- for taking certain liberties with Shakespeare's play should also criticize Shakespeare for taking certain liberties with the historical material on which he often relied so heavily. In this instance, Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, Vol. 6, and various Tudor Historians. In my opinion, such quibbling is a fool's errand. This much we do know about the historical Richard III. He was born in 1452 in Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire, the youngest son of Richard, Duke of York. He was created Duke of Gloucester by his brother, Edward IV, in 1461, accompanied him into exile (1470), and played a key role in his restoration (1471). Rewarded with part of the Neville inheritance, he exercised vice regal powers, and in 1482 re-captured Berwick-upon-Tweed from the Scots. When Edward died (1483) and was succeeded by his under-age son, Edward V, Richard acted first as protector, but within three months, he had overthrown the Woodvilles (relations of Edward IV's queen), arranged for the execution of Lord Hastings (c.1430-83), and had himself proclaimed and crowned as the rightful king. Young Edward and his brother were probably murdered in the Tower on Richard's orders, although not all historians agree. He tried to stabilize his position but failed to win broad-based support. His rival Henry Tudor (later Henry VII), confronted him in battle at Bosworth Field (August 22, 1485), when Richard died fighting bravely against heavy odds. Though ruthless, he was not the absolute monster Tudor historians portrayed him to be, nor is there proof he was a hunchback.
Cleverly, this film begins with the final scene of Henry IV, Part III, the coronation of Edward IV (Cedric Hardwicke). Locating himself at a strategic distance from the throne, the Duke of Gloucester (Olivier) carefully observes those around him. He shares with those who see this film or read the play his most private thoughts and feelings, many of which are as deformed as his body. Gloucester's "winter of discontent" will soon end. With a systematic tenacity unsurpassed by any other of Shakespeare's villains, Gloucester's coronation as Richard III (his own "glorious summer") will be the fulfillment of his royal ambition. The acting throughout the cast is outstanding. I do not recall another film in which Olivier, John Gielgud (George. Duke of Clarence), and Ralph Richardson (Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham) all appeared together, joined by Claire Bloom (Lady Anne Neville) and Stanley Baker (Henry Tudor). Special note should also be made of Otto Heller's cinematography which is integrated seamlessly with their performances. It is a pleasure to have this film now available in a DVD format, one which offers much sharper images and much clearer sound. Other special features of this DVD version include high-definition digital transfer; newly discovered footage; a commentary by playwright and stage director Russell Lees and John Wilder, former Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company; 1966 BBC interview with Olivier hosted by Kenneth Tynan; a 12-minute television trailer; a theatrical trailer; and an essay by film historian Bruce Eder.

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Widely acclaimed as his crowning Shakespearean film performance, Laurence Olivier's Richard III is the notorious tale of Richard of Gloucester.This deformed king connives, backstabs, and woos his way to the top of the royal heap, but his treachery eventually lands him on the fields of Bosworth, dying and screaming "A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!" Olivier, who loved the role for "its bloodcurdling spurts of malevolence" and "smoldering sexuality," gives a performance that will define Richard III for years to come.A cast replete with Britain's acting royalty give a command performance of the highest order.Restored to its original widescreen version, the film blazes with vivid color, while William Walton's musical score stirs and rouses the emotions.

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The Taming of the Shrew (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1976) Review

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(More customer reviews)Riveting high energy interpretation of one of Shakespeare's more problematic comedies. The director's decision to present this somewhat sexist comedy as an over-the-top commedia dell'ate production was brilliant. Patruchio's use of physical violence to tame his headstrong finacee is somehow made tolerable because all the relationships in this play are embued with violence. And like characters in a Roadrunner cartoon, victims bounce back with vigor and always manage to give as good as they get. The troupe is incredibly in sync with one another, highly athletic, and incredibly gifted at reciting their iambic pentameter flawlessly while being twirled overhead or kicked in the groin. It really has to be seen to be believed. And who knew Marc Singer, the Beastmaster, could act?! In the end, he brings a subtlety to his part that leaves you wondering who's taming whom?
Harold Clurmann's interview with the director is a nice DVD extra.

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The Reduced Shakespeare Company - The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) Review

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(More customer reviews)When the Reduced Shakespeare Company performs , it is a case of three apparently indefatigable actors (Adam Long, Reed Martin, Austin Tichenor) whirlwinding through the plays, some of which are barely mentioned, some of which are treated at greater length--all in 90 minutes. Well, the Good News is that the show is now available from Acorn Media on a VHS. (Note: this video contains material not shown on PBS.)
To cut to the chase, you really have to know your Bard to get all the jokes. Treating "Titus Andronicus" as a cooking class works if you are familiar enough with the plot (the recent movie might help here); and unless you know your English kings from Richard II to Richard III (with all the Henrys in the middle), the football game with a crown as ball will have little meaning. ( I thought the line about cutting Henry VI into three parts was the best in this sketch.)
Possibly the bit that calls for the audience's greatest degree of knowledge and concentration is the resume of a plot that combines all the Shakespearean comedies into a single play (with a very long title). There are plenty of in-jokes and bad puns throughout Act I to demand your fullest attention--and again, few of them work if you do not know the originals.
The first act ends with a little situation in which one of the troupe refuses to do "Hamlet" and flees from the theater. When Act II begins, he has not been brought back and the remaining actor must fill the time with Monty Python-like bad routines. Once back on track, the audience is enlisted to help one of their number (I assume she is not a plant) "feel" the part of Ophelia. The trio's versatility is put to the test at the very end when they repeat the entire Hamlet production quickly, then very quickly, and finally very quickly and backwards!
So all in all, this is a joyous romp for those "in the know" and one that might seem pretty pointless for those who have avoided Shakespeare once school was over. Therefore I must give it 4 stars out of 5 in general, although it deserves 5-plus for those who have stuck with the iambics all these years.
A perfect gift for your English teacher, by the way. Unless you are an English teacher, in which case buy one for yourself.

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Julius Caesar Review

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(More customer reviews)Much better than the earlier Julius Caesar, which starred Marlon Brando as Mark Antony and James Mason as Brutus. In this version, Jason Robards as Brutus is admittedly an embarrassment, but the rest of the cast is quite strong. The delivery of Antony's funeral oration by Charlton Heston is brilliant, powerful, well-paced, the dramatic high point of the movie. Richard Johnson as Cassius, John Gielgud as Caesar, Robert Vaughn as Casca and Diana Rigg as Portia are fine actors, with full dramatic presence, at home in Shakespeare's language. Brief parts, like the soothsayer's and the cobbler's, are memorably played. The screenplay omits two short passages that are important to the plot: (1) Cassius' avowal in the first act, after his attempt to persuade Brutus to oppose Caesar, that if their positions were reversed and he, Cassius, stood as well with Caesar as Brutus does and Brutus made a comparable appeal to him, he would certainly not listen. (2) Immediately after the assassination, a promise by Brutus to Antony's servant of safe conduct for Antony, who thus knows when he comes to the Capitol and weeps over Caesar's body, challenging the conspirators to kill him also, that he is in no danger of their doing so.

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King Lear (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Now a celebrity, courtesy of Bilbo Baggins (the keepcase to this King Lear DVD bills him as "of the Lord of the Rings"), Ian Holm was a great actor long before he was Bilbo. On this DVD he delivers a Lear on a par with the twentieth century's greatest, including Olivier's. But the excellence of this version results not just from one bravura performance, but from an intelligently conceived approach to the play, seamlessly executed by a competent, superbly chosen cast. Of innovative productions there is no end, but what a rarity, and what a joy, when innovation comes across as deeply authentic, rooted in the text and the humanity of the play, as if the new take had always been there, concealed in the text, waiting for centuries to be discovered. One can argue whether Lear should be presented as a "psychological" drama of broken family relationships, and I have mixed feelings about the approach; but if, as our leading Shakespeare critic maintains, Shakespeare "invented" our understanding of human nature, then surely this approach should be tried. And it works to perfection here. Goneril and Regan, the "bad daughters," evolve into monsters of pure evil, but along the way we see, via some remarkable facial expressions that play particularly well on the small screen, flashes of the agonizing pain and hurt that their overbearing father has inflicted on them. This is true also of Cordelia, the "good" daughter; all these daughters are visibly tormented in the presence of their father, though Cordelia overcomes her past through love and forgiveness. What keeps this from being the greatest Lear on video is that the text is heavily abridged. Those who know the play will have trouble escaping the occasional feeling that they are trapped in a "60 Second Lear" from Tom Stoppard or the Reduced Shakespeare Company. The greatest of Shakespeare's lines remain, but how much greater they are when they emerge from his larger linguistic context. At points the cutting even confuses the plot. One gets no hint from this version that the "bedlam" Edgar is only feigning madness; for awhile you would think he's actually gone bonkers.

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Verdi - Otello / Domingo, Fleming, Morris, Croft, Levine, Moshinsky, Metropolitan Opera (1996) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've seen Domingo perform Otello live about 24 times including being in the audience the night this was filmed as well as opening night. This was the most magical night in all my years of going to opera. The electric energy flying around the stage between the principals and the audience was almost unbearable. While waiting in line to see Renee backstage, the prompter (she has been with the Met some 40 years) asked if we had seen the opening night performance and we answered in the affirmative and she said "Well, I think tonight was better, in fact, I think it is the best performance of Otello I've ever seen!" And, I figure she's seen a few including those of Domingo. His acting in this performance is superb! He is Otello! James Morris was manipulative, evil and charming at the same time. Renee was a wonder! In fact the reviewer at the time for the L. A. Times said it should have been called "Desdemona" so enchanted with her performance was he. She had just given birth to her second daughter 3 weeks earlier and apologized to us for greeting us in her dressing room sitting down! After she falls on the floor, sings on the floor, runs and puts her entire heart and soul into her performance! The lady was forgiven! Domingo was in an extremely good mood after an opera that usually totally exhausts him! He knew that this was a very special performance. Thank you Met for broadcasting this as I watch it frequently and my tape is almost worn out! I've been waiting for this opera to be released as one of the most outstanding productions and casts ever of my favorite opera and now they have done it! If you can only buy one DVD this year, make it this one! Also, it's history, as you'll never see him again, or anyone else, I wager, that can come close to capturing the character and singing it as well as he does. This is opera magic!!!

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Romeo and Juliet (Royal Ballet)- Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn (1966) Review

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(More customer reviews)Sometimes, first impressions are misleading. When I saw Fonteyn and Nureyev in Swan Lake, I was appalled by the weird ending, Nureyev's interjected solos, the reshuffling of Tchaikovsky's score, and the radical reworking of the Petipa/Ivanov choreography. I didn't see any of the famed Fonteyn/Nureyev chemistry.
But don't make the same mistake I did. Avoid the muddled Swan Lake, and order their Romeo and Juliet today! It's Kenneth MacMillan's production, and the romantic score by Prokofiev is of course beautiful. The corps, unlike the underreheased, cramped Swan Lake corps, have it together. The costumes are lovely.
Most of all, you finally see the Fonteyn/Nureyev magic. Fonteyn is much more suited to Juliet than Odette/Odile, which requires almost superhuman athleticism from the ballerina. As Juliet, Fonteyn's grace and charm more than make up for the fact that at age 46, her leaps aren't as high and her turns aren't the fastest. Except for a few unflattering closeups, she still exudes a remarkable girlishness and wide-eyed innocence. Nureyev is also excellent -- unlike Fonteyn, he was at his peak and his turns and leaps are a sight to behold. He got a late start in ballet (17!) and was often criticized for his "unfinished technique" and sometimes in the film you can see why. For one, he can't seem to control his pirouettes very well -- he can start them, spin, but can't neatly end them turned out in 4th position (a la Baryshnikov). Rudolf sometimes overrotates and "cheats" by quickly putting down his free leg. Nevertheless, the warmth and ardency he exudes more than compensate for technical defects.
But when Margot and Rudi dance together, they are greater than the sum of their parts. For those used to the idealized aloofness of classical ballet, you will be stunned by the intimacy and physicality of Fonteyn and Nureyev. When Nureyev recalled that the two danced with "one body, one soul" it wasnt an exaggeration. It seems like we're peeping in on a private relationship, not a performance. One particularly beautiful moment is when Fonteyn and Nureyev at the very beginning of the balcony scene run around onstage and bump into each other. Their hands touch, and both shake visibly, as if jolted by electricity. Later on, Nureyev lightly brushes his face in Fonteyn's nightgown. I dare say it's hotter than any porn film.
The *only* drawback is the visual quality of the film. There doesnt seem to have been any remastering, and a lot of the film has a grainy look.


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ROMEO AND JULIET - DVD Movie

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Twelfth Night (ATV British television production) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been waiting for years for a DVD release of this fine staging of Shakespeare's gender-bending comedy. I first saw this production on A&E cable in the 1980s and enjoyed it tremendously.
Joan Plowright is, by far, my favorite Viola/Cesario. She's convincing in both roles (and, compared to many other Violas, you can believe she might pass as a teenage boy). Plowright is equally impressive in the final act, which requires her to add still more subtleties to her performance.
In the broader comedy roles, it's hard to beat a production that includes Alec Guinness, Ralph Richardson and Tommy Steele. (Steele's manic persona, which is not for all tastes, serves him very well here as Feste.)
The outstanding script adaptation abridges the play to about 100 minutes. The decision to reverse the order of scenes 1 and 2 was ingenious: it makes for a more dramatic opening and allows a type of exposition that television can do well but which could not have been done easily on Shakespeare's stage.
The video itself is slightly grainy (presumably a function of its age), and some minor glitches in the quad tape were not corrected. But these are trifles, and the DVD is very enjoyable.
Be aware that this is a stage-like television production: a play produced on videotape. If you want something more cinematic, Trevor Nunn's 1996 film version is very good.

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Sanford Meisner Master Class Review

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(More customer reviews)FULL DISCLOSURE:
28 years ago, I was one of the young student actors asked to participate in this documentary. And, to provide some idea about how important I think this program is, most of "my" work in this documentary is almost all total failure; and frankly this embarrasses me.

That said:
Until now, I had been very proud of my participation in the documentary about Sanford Meisner, "The Theater's Best Kept Secret." However, with this program, I've just learned: the secret is out!
"The Sanford Meisner Master Class," is astounding in its power to not only convey Mr. Meisner's genius for teaching the craft of acting, but as a student participant in this Master Class it is like witnessing the re-incarnation of a most important figure in my life, and of the 20th Century. It is like the great Sanford Meisner has come back to life, and with his teaching powers fully intact.
Though it has been years since I left the acting profession, and a few years since I also stopped teaching The Meisner Technique, Mr. Meisner's influence on all of my adult work has been profound. His most important influence on me, which this documentary expresses so eloquently, is perhaps Mr. Meisner's most precious gift: his uncompromising devotion to helping students develop their own "sense of truth." This 8 hour documentary shows how Mr. Meisner shared his gift of such a highly developed "sense of truth" as a standard for his students to strive toward attaining. He is the perfect model and embodiment of "a sense of truth."
"A sense of truth," that in the art of theater plays out from present moment-to-unanticipated-moment, between human beings, under the imaginary circumstances of a writer's work. And thus, provides humankind with a model for authentic, meaningful, and truthful human relationship.
Did I say, that Mr. Meisner's great contribution that exists in every frame of this 8 hour documentary is the cultivation and great value for a "sense of truth?"
:)
If you care about any of these things: the model of a magnificent teacher; the great value of learning by trial and error; creating an environment where students feel freedom to fail while striving to achieve excellence measured by the highest artistic standards; theater; the craft of acting; a "sense of truth"; seeing genius at work; a model for authentic human relationship, you will enjoy this program immensely and learn a great deal.
In a world so consumed with the artificial, it is no wonder that the legacy of this most genuine of teachers and his approach to art endures so. Right now, as I view it, this program serves as a potent reality check for me.
"Sanford Meisner Master Class" is a great credit to the vision of Mr. Kent Paul, Mr. Jimmy Carville, and the people at Open Road Films for creating, preserving and sharing this extraordinary work with the world.
If you've ever wondered what all the "brouhaha" is about "The Meisner Technique" . . . behold. This is like watching Piccaso paint.
Word.
José Angel Santana, PhD
Founder/Youand:The Art of Mutual Understanading
"The final frontier may be human relationships, one person to another."
-- Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut

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Great Performances: King Lear Review

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(More customer reviews)Ian McKellan totters into a circle of light and raises his palsied hands to command his court into prostrate submission. McKellan's Lear has a despot's easy authority that effortlessly requires obedience. Aged, infirm and bright-eyed, Lear enjoys humiliating those who doubtless wish him dead so that they may inherit. McKellan's Lear is a sly-suave tyrant - reminiscent of Olivier. There are other fine Lears - the brutally hostile Ian Holm (the boss from hell), James Earl Jones' as a cranky African tribal chief, or Orson Welles' nightmare fury. All are excellent. Welles, Olivier, and McKellan are more cinematic whereas Jones and Holm are filmed versions of stage productions. Welles and Holm provide a strong dose of Sturm und Drang melodrama - the volume is turned up so high, it is hard to tell when catharsis hits. Olivier and McKellan are beautifully acted and nuanced. Jones has an amazing voice and his presence overwhelms the cast - except perhaps Raul Julia's wonderful plotting, evil Edmund.
Of the directors, Trevor Nunn is the best and most experienced interpreter of Shakespeare to cinema. He is faithful to the text, (cuts are logical and keep the action moving) but with contemporary Hollywood fit and finish. It helps that Nunn takes care of details that Shakespeare neglects. For example, he shows us exactly how Goneril poisons Regan. When Lear complains that "my poor fool is hang'd," - it refers to an earlier scene where the Fool is actually strung up.
The part of Lear demands a strong actor who can easily dominate a production. Only Olivier and Nunn balance the King with a strong supporting cast. Appearing opposite Olivier are John Hurt as the brilliantly sarcastic Fool, Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey) as a pompously lecherous Glouster, and Diana Rigg as the blindingly beautiful Regan.
Trevor Nunn's outstanding cast boasts Romola Gerai as a sensual Cordelia - upswept hair, wearing a strapless, white satin, wedding gown, and a simple gold chain necklace, that accents her flawless profile, neck, shoulders, and decolletage. Nunn's inspiration for Cordelia is a mystery, but to me she looks like Sargent's sensational painting of Madame X, with the black dress changed to white. She speaks from the heart, clear-eyed, like a child, rejecting Lear's incestuous demand that his daughters love only him - and pays a price for her honesty. Sylvester McCoy's amazing performance as the bitter fool -who alone speaks truth to power without punishment - rivals John Hurt's. Where Hurt practices wicked satire as a sport, McCoy is a disappointed romantic, his cynicism mixed with sadness.
Once again, Trevor Nunn has created an excellent film version of Shakespeare. If only more of his works were available for north american viewers.

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William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night DVD: Performed in American Sign Language and English Review

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(More customer reviews)William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a DVD theater production of Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy especially for deaf and hearing-impaired viewers. Featuring an American Sign Language performance with a stellar cast including deaf actors Adrian Blue, Peter Cook, Robert DeMayo, Monique Holt, and Jackie Roth, optional captions, and a lively English voice-over track for accessability to hearing audiences, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a singularly expressive and vivacious presentation. A "must-see" Shakespeare experience for ASL users everywhere. 131 minutes, color.

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Shakespeare - The Winter's Tale / Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre Review

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(More customer reviews)This filmed stage recording is indeed magical. I believe a former critic's particular critique in this regard should be regarded in the light of two distinguishing characteristics of Shakespeare on film: whether the production is a film interpretation or a filmed stage production. This DVD is the latter: over-the-top FX, panoramic view and the like don't necessarily apply. Here one has the magic of being in the audience at a grand performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company, with the added pleasure of being granted close-ups! The acting is all-around sublime, especially Ian Hugh's Autolycus; I've yet to see a rogue interpreted better.
For a contrast of what can be accomplished with Shakespeare as film interpretation versus filmed stage production, compare Orson Welles' Othello with Richard Burton's Hamlet (both available through Amazon); both, I believe, are the ideal of each venue.

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King Lear (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have to disagree with the negative reviews posted above. This is possibly Olivier's best recorded performance, and the bulk of the other performances are excellent as well, particularly that of Diana Rigg. The actors speak their lines so casually and easily that, even if you're not used to Shakespearian dialog, it'll soon all seem perfectly natural. The set is minimalist, true, but if your enjoyment of Shakespeare is dependent upon set design then I recommend you never attend a stage performance. If I have one complaint about this production it's that the actors, while individually turning out great performances, don't appear to be relating to each other very well--as if they're each giving their rendition of their characters without letting their performances be informed by the performances of those around them. Still and all, this is an extremely moving production of one of the most powerful plays in the canon.

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Macbeth / McKellen, Dench, Royal Shakespeare Company (1978) Review

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(More customer reviews)This production highlights the Christian v. pagan elements, and in other ways deals in opposites (men's v. women's perceptions, solid v. spirit worlds, etc.), but without beating you over the head with it. The witch scenes are amazing--the production borrows from Irish "bog people" imagery with the witches' stick puppets representing Macbeth's visions, with a little borrowing from Carlos Castaneda's peyote trips, and maybe the minimal "circle" staging of Equus. Minimal props and furniture; the actors carry it all the way, brilliantly. I can't imagine anyone doing a better, visceral, more committed job with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth than McKellan and Dench. It could sell huge--for a Shakespeare film--if only it wasn't probably too obviously a taped stage production (it doesn't try to be otherwise). A couple of turtlenecks among the costumes betray the 70's-era staging, but otherwise the costuming is great and doesn't date the production. If you a) are a fan of Ian McKellan and/or Judi Dench and b) appreciate great Shakespeare performances and want to be "in the know" on what's considered the definitive Macbeth staging of the past couple decades, this is the one.

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The Shakespeare Collection: The Taming of the Shrew Review

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(More customer reviews)If this was just about the Stratford production, I'd have put 5 stars, no hesitation--it's a joy to watch. But the box doesn't even tell you it's Len Cariou as Petruchio. On top of that, the tapes are reproduced at EP/SLP, and they *still* use two tapes for a roughly three hour presentation!! If you can't stand not owning this, go ahead and blow the money, but otherwise wait until a better quality tape or DVD comes out. Same goes for the other tapes in the collection.

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King Lear / Jones, New York Shakespeare Festival (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1974) Review

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(More customer reviews)This live performance of The Public Theater's 1974 production of "King Lear" is refreshingly straight-forward and offers abundant proof that the play -- one of Shakespeare's very greatest -- cries out to be acted, not just read. By any standard, the acting (with a few surprising exceptions) is well above average; compared to more recent Shakespeare productions at The Public Theater, the acting is astonishingly fine.
James Earl Jones gives a performance of awesome power and ferocity -- perhaps the greatest of his career. The sophistication and subtlety of his reading may surprise audiences unfamiliar with his work prior to his ubiquitous telephone company commercials. For the rest of us, this superb performance of a great artist at the height of his powers is cause for celebration, even as it is cause for sorrow: for here, too, is a stinging reminder of the scarcity of suitable roles for actors of Mr. Jones' refinement, technical mastery and colossal intensity. Are there no authors besides Shakespeare worthy of this extraordinary actor?
Of course, no one but a churl would begrudge Mr. Jones the comfort and pleasure his commercial success apparently brings him -- long may he prosper! Then again, who but a churl could fail to grieve at the waste of an artistic life of such immensity and grandeur?

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The formidable James Earl Jones reprises his critically-acclaimed King Lear in this television adaptation of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival production. Of Jones's performance, The Washington Post wrote, "Jones has the qualities of mind, body, voice and movement which enable him to make us care deeply about the spectacle of an old man brought to grief by his folly. The magnitude Jones project is not a matter of mere physical size, but of largeness of soul."

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Click here for more information about King Lear / Jones, New York Shakespeare Festival (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1974)

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