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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 960

King Lear

191014 minItaly
Drama

Synopsis

An aging king divides his realm according to the declarations of love made by his daughters. He rejects the one who will not flatter him, then discovers how little security his remaining authority provides. Betrayal within the family turns the transfer of power into a movement toward exile, suffering and the recognition of an irreversible mistake.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: Italian.
This copy runs
14:15
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: Italian. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Gerolamo Lo Savio · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsGerolamo Lo Savio

Inspirations

This early Italian adaptation condenses Shakespeare's tragedy into a short sequence of decisive episodes. Ermete Novelli plays Lear, bringing a major theatrical actor into a film that relies on recognizable dramatic situations and expressive gesture.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

  • Francesca Bertini — Author/source credit not supplied in Commons metadata; file page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francesca_bertini,_1915,_assunta_spina.png · Public domain

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