King Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters. But Goneril and Regan have no love for him and instead plot to take all his power from him. In a parallel, Lear's loyal courtier Gloucester favors his illegitimate son Edmund after being told lies about his faithful son Edgar. Madness and tragedy befall both ill-starred fathers.
Released: Dec 15, 1970
Runtime: 132 minutes
Genre: Drama
Stars: Jüri Järvet, Galina Volchek, Elza Radziņa, Valentina Shendrikova, Oleg Dal, Donatas Banionis
Crew: Grigori Kozintsev (Director), Simon Virsaladze (Costume Design), Yevgeniya Makhankova (Editor), Iosif Shapiro (Co-Director), Dmitri Shostakovich (Original Music Composer), Jonas Gricius (Director of Photography)