Oedipus The King -- Part 2/12

Part of "Oedipus the King" from 1984 TV production with Michael Pennington, Claire Bloom and John Shrapnel. Translated and directed by the late
Don Taylor.

for part 1, go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtMHltBFqlo

here's a playlist with all these Oedipus videos in order:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=422B4AD5E82BE89A

go here to view documentary on Tragedy in Ancient Greek Theatre:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkaMaeHNSR8


from John O'Connor's review in New York Times (1988):

Mr. Marks [producer] has explained: ''What we wanted was to find a way for authentic Sophocles to speak directly to viewers in such a way that the two and a half millennia dividing us would melt away. They should be able to see into his mind as he uncannily still seems to see into ours.''

Rather than attempting authentic recreations with masks and so forth, this series aims for an ''indeterminate feel'' in setting and costuming. David Myercough-Jones has designed a spare, misty arena outside the gates to the king's palace. June Hudson's costumes are plucked from different historical periods, elegant empire gowns for Jocasta, barrister robes for the chorus, a white silk suit for Oedipus.

The concept works. ''Oedipus the King,'' unfolding like some eternal mystery, is powerful. Its characters are archetypes embedded in our psyches, filling us with wonder even as we shudder. And the cast is about as good as you'll get nowadays: Michael Pennington as Oedipus, Claire Bloom as Jocasta, Sir John Gielgud as Tiresias, John Shrapnel as Creon, Cyril Cusack as a Theban citizen.

..... Television, it seems, is offering the best theater in town at the moment.

Directed by
Don Taylor

Writing credits:

Sophocles play
Don Taylor translation

Cast:

Michael Pennington ... Oedipus Rex
John Shrapnel ... Creon
Michael Byrne ... Chorus
Cyril Cusack ... Priest

Ernest Clark ... Chorus
David Collings ... Chorus
Donald Eccles ... Chorus
Robert Eddison ... Chorus
Edward Hardwicke... Chorus
Denys Hawthorne ... Chorus
Noel Johnson ... Chorus
Clifford Rose ... Chorus
Alan Rowe ... Chorus
Nigel Stock ... Chorus
John Woodnutt ... Chorus



Produced by
Louis Marks

Original Music by
Derek Bourgeois

Film Editing by
Dave Hambelton

Production Design by
David Myerscough-Jones

Costume Design by
Jane Hudson

Other crew
Geoffrey Lewis .... classical advisor

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Oedipus
• MichaelPennington
• Oidípous
• Sophocles
• JohnShrapnel

[UnklRudi]

Is there a part 1?

You might consider putting these all into a playlist so viewers can watch in sequence. Just a suggestion. Thanks for posting.

[ShakespeareAndMore]

in the "info" section, upper right-hand corner, click on "more info" and you will find the link to a playlist of all 12 parts.

[BabyBlue75090]

its a link right bacc to this page..

[ShakespeareAndMore]

I tried link and it went to some strange page, because YouTube put a space between two letters that shouldn't have one.

I then went to try and correct it, and it was fine and worked! So it seems a typical YouTube fickle affair....if link doesn't work, just look it up in my playlists.

[iamjustinsameman]

they didn't have suits and hair salons back then!

[meaninglessmovies]

Thanks for posting this! Saved me the trouble of reading it for college. They'll never know! ha. Thanks again

[koenan1]

Looks like the 6th Doctor

[M3lvin101]

@TheMasterSlasher lmao ! , nah i did this for my teacher, she said if i write a comment on the vid ill get extra credit .

[bensaysthis]

this is where someone needs to step in and say whoa whoa whoa calm down, calm down, lets not all get a big dick here.

[TheMasterSlasher]

@M3lvin101, why not both?

[YuukiNicole99]

Why is he wearing a suit? :|

[M3lvin101]

id rather watch gay homosexual animal porn then this

[lemon1668]

why is Creon away from Thebes when the story opens?

[uranis30]

@JDawg65A

subjectivity, Given that the symbolic phallus exists always, his penis couldn't longer fulfill this task of being it, (he has 4 children with his M/Other). So, to get his masculinity (and the symbolic level of the phallus) back he had to lose his eyesight, because that action confirms that he is a masculine. He could longer face anyone because he did what no man should have ever done. But he still is a man and he needs to response to this situation. I.e. Ettinger's responsability.

[uranis30]

@JDawg65A

The most common interpretation of his action is that he had to pay the prize for knowledge, for messing with the Gods laws that prohibit the murder of the parents and incest. In Lacanian terms, however, we say the "gaze"'s reconfirmation, it's those things that he saw and shouldn't have seen (his mother as a wife) that make him want to pull his eyes out because he didn't see -the truth- when he was supposed to. In gender/sex studies terms it's the relocation of his malformed

[dimalex8]

because he didnt wanna see what he have done, it was an action to redeem himself from this hybreis he done.