King Lear

Jean-Luc Godard directed this strange Sci-Fi re-imagining of "Don Learo" and his daughter, Cordelia (played by Molly Ringwald).

King Lear, directed by Peter Brook, stars Paul Scofield as King Lear. This bleak, existentialist interpretation is one of the most influential modern productions of the play.

A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley’s 1991 novel based on King Lear, won the Pulitzer Prize and was later made into a movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Lange. The story is set in rural Iowa and tells the story of a farmer who tries to divide his land among his three daughters.

Ran, Kurosawa’s epic Japanese film, mixes King Lear with stories of the samurai. The film won a 1985 Academy Award and was nominated for four more.

The Dresser, Ronald Harwood’s play, also made into a film, follows the struggles of an aging British actor who is playing the title role in a production of King Lear.

In The King of Texas, Patrick Stewart plays the Lear figure in this television adaptation of the play set in, you guessed it, Texas.

Images of King Lear from past Royal Shakespeare Company performances.

This website presents famous paintings of the play’s scenes and characters.

This article chronicles doctors’ attempts to figure out what mental illness Lear might have had.

The New York Times bashes Kevin Kline’s 2007 theater production of King Lear.

Variety magazine reviews Ian McKellen’s 2007 production of King Lear.

The Royal Shakespeare Company prepared a guide to its 2004 King Lear that includes discussions of the themes and motifs of the play and interviews with the actors.