King Lear (2008 film)

British TV series or programme

King Lear

Written by| William Shakespeare
Directed by| Trevor Nunn
Starring| Ian McKellen
Romola Garai
Frances Barber
Jonathan Hyde
Sylvester McCoy
Country of origin| United Kingdom
Original language| English
Production
Producer| Paul Wheeler
Cinematography| Paul Wheeler
Running time| 181 minutes
Original release
Release| 26 December 2008 (2008-12-26)

King Lear is a 2008 television film based on the William Shakespeare play of the same name, directed by Trevor Nunn. It was broadcast on More4 in the UK on Christmas Day, and shown on PBS' Great Performances in the United States in March 2009. The production was filmed mainly at Pinewood Studios in England.

It features the same cast and director as the 2007 RSC production, and started filming only a few days after the final performance at the New London Theatre, at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. The film was released on DVD in the UK[1] and then in the US on 21 April 2009. It was shown on Channel 4 on 26 December 2008, as well as being broadcast on PBS in 2009 and a number of other TV stations internationally, including NHK Japan.[2]

## Cast and crew[edit]

### Cast[edit]

* Ian McKellen – King Lear
* Romola Garai – Cordelia
* William Gaunt – Earl of Gloucester
* Jonathan Hyde – Earl of Kent
* Philip Winchester – Edmund
* Sylvester McCoy – The Fool

* Frances Barber – Goneril
* Monica Dolan – Regan
* David Weston – A Gentleman
* Guy Williams – Duke of Cornwall
* Seymour Matthews – Curan
* John Heffernan – Oswald

* Ben Meyjes – Edgar
* Julian Harries – Duke of Albany
* Naomi Capron – Maid
* Kieran Bew – Soldier
* Peter Hinton\- Duke of Burgundy
* Ben Addis – King of France

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### Crew[edit]

* Director – Trevor Nunn
* Producer – Richard Price

* Line Producer – Andy Picheta
* Cinematographer – Paul Wheeler

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## Production history[edit]

King Lear started filming only a few days after the final stage performance on 12 January 2008. Filming at Pinewood Studios lasted for around a month.

Whilst McKellen appeared fully nude in the original production, PBS would not allow this on screen, so he appeared only partially nude in the televised production.[3]

## See also[edit]

* King Lear – Original Production History

## References[edit]

1. ^ "King Lear". 6 October 2008 - via Amazon.
2. ^ ""Great Performances" King Lear (TV Episode 2008)". IMDb.
3. ^ King, Susan (25 March 2009). "Ian McKellen and the evolution of his 'Lear'" - via LA Times.

## External links[edit]

* Interview with Sir Ian McKellen on playing King Lear
* King Lear at IMDb
* King Lear at AllMovie
* Watch the Play

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William Shakespeare's King Lear

Characters|

* King Lear
* Cordelia
* Goneril
* Regan
* Edmund
* The Fool

Sources|

* Historia Regum Britanniae (1136)
* The Mirror for Magistrates (1555)
* Holinshed's Chronicles (1577)
* King Leir (1594)
* "Water and Salt"

Related|

* Llŷr
* Leir of Britain
* Cordelia of Britain

Adaptations|

| Plays|

* The History of King Lear (1681)
* The Yiddish King Lear (1892)
* Safed Khoon (1907)
* Lear (1971)
* King Lear (1978)

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Novels|

* La Terre (1887)
* A Thousand Acres (1991)
* Fool (2009)

Operas|

* Re Lear (Libretto only) (1896)
* Lear (1978)
* Vision of Lear (1998)
* Kuningas Lear (2000)

Films|

* King Lear (1910)
* King Lear (1916)
* Gunasundari Katha (1949)
* King Lear (1971 USSR)
* King Lear (1971 UK)
* Ran (1985)
* King Lear (1987)
* A Thousand Acres (1997)
* Gypsy Lore (1997)
* King Lear (1999)
* My Kingdom (2001)

Television|

* King Lear (1953)
* BBC Television Shakespeare (1982)
* King Lear (1983)
* King of Texas (2002)
* Second Generation (2003)
* King Lear (2008)
* King Lear (2018)

Story within a story|

* The Dresser (1980 play)
* The Dresser (1983 film)
* The Dresser (2015 film)

Other|

* Tiriel (1789, poem)
* The Prince of the Pagodas (1957, ballet)
* The Tragedy of King Lear (screenplay)

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