Oedipus The King -- Part 12/12

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.

clip ends with a preview of the next play: Oedipus at Colonus.


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

from Richard Y Hathorn's "The Existential Oedipus" (1958):

Sophocles does not waste his time and the reader's patience by making Oedipus lament at the last that he could not help doing what he did or being what he is. To look upon oneself as the mere product of external causes is to make oneself a thing instead of a person, as the existentialist philosophers never tire of pointing out. Oedipus is horrified at having been his own self-accuser, but he does not therefore retract the accusation. He realizes that he is a scapegoat; he does not complain that he is a goat. Determinism, theories of heredity and environment, fatalism: all are devices, not for expailining guilt and evil, but for explaining them away, away from ourselves, at all costs; Oedipus disdains to avail himself of these devices. Rather, he reaches his true moral stature at the end of the play.

For a man is never more conscious of being a person and less conscious of being a thing than when the self is accusing itself and accepting its own guilt. The willingness to accept guilt is an indispensable step toward the goal of self-knowledge; an animal, a savage, or a child cannot fully grasp the concept of guilt; similarly an adult who falls into deteministic excuses for his behavior shuts the door on the possibilty of self-development. But a person reaches his greatest intensity of self-consciousness when he simultaneously plays the part both of the accuser and the accused. To such intensity the individual will not rise as long as his external fortunes are in a condition of prosperity; herein lies the necessity of tragedy.


Directed by
Don Taylor

Writing credits:

Sophocles play
Don Taylor translation

Cast:

Michael Pennington ... Oedipus Rex
John Shrapnel ... Creon
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


Cassie Shilling ... Antigone
Kelly Huntley ... Ismene

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
• Sophocles
• JohnShrapnel

[CharlieLionHeart]

Oedipus.... The Original Mother Fucker...

[wittywhitmarla]

thanks for all the videos i really needed this for class!!

[BryonAWitHonors]

pretty crazy how Creon promises him to take care of Antigone.

[mrcementero101]

YOU GOOD SIR, SAVED MY ARSE!! I really needed this for my college drama class :p THANKS!!!

[ohitsdaniella]

@CharlieLionHeart Omg! We watched this exactly clip in English and when someone in my class pointed out your comment, my teacher flipped out! It was hilarious!

[aabceacba]

@wittywhitmarla Me too.

[therrydicule]

@abyy1992 The thing is the oracle say to Laius that any of his child will kill him and marry his wife, Jocasta. To avoid that, he get rid of his child, giving it to a shepherd. That child became adopted by king of Corinth and took the name Oedipus. All would have stay like that until a drunk idiot tell him he was adopted, that he go to an oracle, decide to go to theban, kill his genetic father (Laius) by accident and married his genetic mom (Jocasta). So, Oedipus is an adopted mother-f'er.

[Coorsgood10]

It is hereby proven. Weed makes everything better.

[GlassDarkly]

@MagicRain505 .. I was Teiresias' Boy. Only an extra of course, but it was great experience for a 14 year old :)

[MagicRain505]

@GlassDarkly Really, now? Who were you?

[dota48]

OEDIPUS killed his daddy and fucked his mommy, OEDIPUS put his penis into his mama;s anus