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.


King Lear (1982)
Overview
Director
Top Billed Cast
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Michael Hordern
King Lear

Brenda Blethyn
Cordelia

John Shrapnel
Earl of Kent

Norman Rodway
Earl of Gloucester

Michael Kitchen
Edmund
GB
Gillian Barge
Goneril

Penelope Wilton
Regan

John Bird
Duke of Albany
JC
Julian Curry
Duke of Cornwall