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Shakespeare's worst descendant decodes King Lear in Chernobyl's shadow. Absurd? Obviously. It's Godard.
TMDB
65
Rotten Tomatoes
69
Audience Score
57

King Lear (1988)

deliberately brokenintellectually chaoticvisually punishing

Overview

ComedyDrama

A descendant of Shakespeare tries to restore his plays in a world rebuilding itself after the Chernobyl catastrophe obliterates most of human civilization.

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Content warning
post-apocalyptic futureplaywrightchernobylpostmodernism

Standout Aspects

Direction

Godard at his most self-indulgent — which is saying EVERYTHING.

Cinematography

Deliberately ugly 80s video aesthetic as post-apocalyptic statement.

Writing

Puns, fragments, and academic jokes that despise you for laughing.

Best for:Solo: Nobody else deserves to witness your pretentious meltdown.·Rewatch: Third viewing: suddenly the puns make sense. Or do they?·Streaming: Pause frequently. Scream into pillow. Resume.
Heads up:Disturbing: Sustained intellectual aggression. Brain cells will file complaints.
Jean-Luc Godard

Director

Jean-Luc Godard

ReleasedJan 22, 1988
Runtime1h 31m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Paceslow
Intensitymedium
Tonedark
Feelheavy
Budget$1M·Revenue$61.8K
Golan-Globus Productions
The Cannon Group

Top Cast

Peter Sellars

Peter Sellars

William Shakespeare Junior the Fifth

Burgess Meredith

Burgess Meredith

Don Learo

Julie Delpy

Julie Delpy

Virginia

Leos Carax

Leos Carax

Edgar

Molly Ringwald

Molly Ringwald

Cordelia

Jean-Luc Godard

Jean-Luc Godard

Professor Pluggy

Woody Allen

Woody Allen

Mr. Alien (uncredited)

Freddy Buache

Freddy Buache

Professor Quentin Kozintsev (uncredited)

Menahem Golan

Menahem Golan

Self (voice) (uncredited)

Suzanne Lanza

Suzanne Lanza

(uncredited)

Norman Mailer

Norman Mailer

Self (uncredited)

Michèle Pétin

Michèle Pétin

Journalist (uncredited)

Ask about King Lear

Opens AI chat

Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Godard originally wanted Clint Eastwood and Woody Allen for leads. They declined. Obviously.

Cultural

Made during Godard's 'late period'—when critics divided between 'uncompromising genius' and 'trolling us on purpose.' Both correct.

YouTube

King Lear - Woody Allen - Peter Sellars - Jean-Luc Godard - 1987 - Trailer - 4K

King Lear - Woody Allen - Peter Sellars - Jean-Luc Godard - 1987 - Trailer - 4K

Gallery(15 images)

Reviews

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Discussion

Reactions from the web

Please consider subscribing to our channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/ShakespeareNetwork?sub_confirmation=1 New Film adaptation - MISANTHROPOS – https://www.misanthropos.net - Timon of Athens - Shakespeare on Film! Adapted by Maximianno Cobra, from Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens", the film exposes the timeless challenge of social hypocrisy, disillusion and annihilation against the poetics of friendship, love, and beauty.

@ShakespeareNetwork 2

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