Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Godard's Best..., July 24, 2006
This review is from: Jean Luc-Godard's King Lear [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Godard's King Lear is an extended meditation on the possibilty or impossibility of capital-A "Art" in the postmodern age. It engages inconsistently at best with Lear--if you're looking for an interesting, coherent interpretation of Shakespeare's play, you'll probably want to look somewhere else--but as a working-through of what it means to create Art or what counts as Art, it is incomparable.
Ironically, but unsurprisingly, this is one of Godard's most "Modernist" works, engaging in self-conscious formal experimentation in order to engage with the "essence" of the cinematic medium. Gone is the overt political aspect of his work of the 1960's, as he has come to be concerned here with aesthetic issues alone. (Arguably, this was a necessary step leading into his religious works of the 1990's.)
And all that highfalutin' interpretation aside, who doesn't want to see Burgess Meredith (and Norman Mailer) "playing King Lear" to Molly Ringwald (and Mailer's daughter's) Cordelia?
Note to Woody Allen fans: His cameo is about two seconds long. If he's your only interest, don't bother.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
'Lear' is MollyRingwald's Best Picture Post-"Pretty in Pink", July 22, 1999
This review is from: Jean Luc-Godard's King Lear [VHS] (VHS Tape)
"King Lear" is a fascinating film experience. Godard expresses passionate views of power vs. virtue, as appears on one of his many taglines, but what is most remarkable about this masterful picture is its sheer ability to inspire provocative thoughts of American society today. Released to video October 9, 1992 and classified PG by CARA, "King Lear" also features optimal sound (c/o of Dolby), as is appropriate and necessary for Godard's cinematic scope. Set against the backdrop of a Swiss resort, "King Lear," indeed unfolds in "post-apocalyptic"(Leonard Maltin), post-Chernobyl time, revealing a surreal picture of the world as we may come to see it. Misunderstood and underappreciated, "King Lear" is not to be missed, if only to see Brat Packer Molly Ringwald in her best picture since 1986's "Pretty in Pink."
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
12 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most pretentious, unintelligible films ever made., March 10, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Jean Luc-Godard's King Lear [VHS] (VHS Tape)
--and please keep in mind I am a fan of Jean-Luc Godard and of Shakespeare. This painfully dull and self-important film is a waste of time and talent. Instead, check out Godard at his peak in Vivre Sa Vie (My Life to Live), Breathless, or Un Femme Et Un Femme or try Laurience Olivier's late 1980's BBC version of King Lear or Orson Welles' version. This is perhaps my "most unfavorite" movie ever.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
