Oedipus the King (1968) User Reviews

"Count no man happy in this life......"

[brogmiller · 6/10 · 12 January 2021]

'Oedipus Rex', the first of Sophocles' Theban trilogy, is rightly regarded as one of the masterworks of the human mind in terms of its construction and well-drawn characters.

Bringing Greek drama to the screen is fraught with difficulties not least of which is whether one makes it declamatory thereby alienating a modern audience or keeping it conversational and risking the loss of its grandeur. In this regard I think this version has achieved the perfect balance. The other problem is how to employ the Greek chorus and here alas director Philip Saville has been found wanting. The chorus of Theban elders has been dubbed by English thesps which is totally incongruous and the spectacle of Donald Sutherland speaking with the voice of Patrick Allen is utterly absurd.

There is no faulting the performances of the principals however. Ironically Christopher Plummer had recently worked with Saville on a television film of Hamlet, a character whose behaviour has often been linked to his having an 'Oedipus complex'. The role of Oedipus is extremely demanding and Plummer is splendid as a seemingly confident, self-satisfied ruler whose life begins to unravel when a prophecy made years before by a drunken guest becomes a horrifying reality. His physique and delivery puts one in mind of a younger Olivier. The part of Jocasta is difficult to cast as she has to look young enough to have borne Oedipus two young children but old enough to be his mother! Lili Palmer, still looking great in her late fifties, is ideal in every respect. Incest should definitely be kept in the family! Richard Johnson never disappoints and is excellent as Creon who assumes kingship following Oedipus' fall from grace. In the third play of the trilogy Creon's proud, implacable nature will bring him into conflict with Oedipus' rebellious daughter Antigone. Further gravitas is supplied by Orson Welles who does his thing as Tiresias the blind prophet and Cyril Cusack quietly steals his scenes as the Messenger who brings tidings which aren't altogether welcome. Nice to see Roger Livesey in one of his last film roles as the Shepherd.

The cinematography is by Walter Lassally, certainly no stranger to Greek terrain as he had previously shot 'Electra' and 'Zorba' for Michael Cacoyannis. One cannot but wonder how Cacoyannis himself would have handled this material. Mr. Saville's direction is capable but not particularly inspired and as mentioned earlier, the misjudged use of the chorus is not only aggravating but weakens the film immeasurably.

05/02/2021: Farewell Christopher Plummer. May flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest."

Heavy-handed Anglicised Greek Tragedy

[genet-1 · 5/10 · 17 February 2009]

A mixed cast of British and Canadian performers pose picturesquely on authentic Greek locations for this labored version of Sophocles' tragedy about the unlucky young man who is cast out at birth by Laius, his father, king of Thebes, encounters him in adulthood and, not knowing his identity, kills him, then marries - again by chance - his own mother, and takes over the kingdom to which - ironically - he is entitled by reason of birth. After that, it's all downhill, with the god Apollo cursing the whole of Thebes until Oedipus accepts the terrible punishments he himself has called down on the killer of Laius.

Walter Lassally's camera is the star of the film. The killing of Laius, used over the credits and reprised a number of times later, is a barrage of swooping overhead and hand-held shots, intercut with freeze-frames, that captures the frenzy and confusion of the attack. He also makes the most of the locations, treating us to stylish skyline shots of the blind prophet Tiresias and attractively spacing the black-clad elders of Thebes around the weathered stones of an ancient amphitheater.

Christopher Plummer, however, is no tragic hero, and in his uncreased white off-the-shoulder gown flounces like a debutante at his coming-out ball. Richard Johnson, ferociously bearded as Creon, seems intentionally made ugly so as not to threaten Plummer's place at the center of events.Donald Sutherland leads the chorus, but has been unaccountably re-voiced, probably by British actor Patrick Allen. Orson Welles, who in those days specialized in cameos that required booming pronouncements of doom, (eg, Father Mapple in MOBY DICK), is customarily ominous as Tiresias. Other than for the locations and the photography, this is a failure, if an honorable one.

Superb entertainment

[JuguAbraham · 8/10 · 1 December 2002]

Sophocles on cinema is a delight; but with a dream cast that includes the lovely, talented Lili Palmer, the great Orson Welles, the charming Cyril Cusack, the arresting Donald Sutherland in a most unusual role, and of course stalwarts Christopher Plummer and Richard Johnson, the effect can be heady.

I recommend the film to anyone who cares for drama and acting. I am amused that the film has not been marketed intelligently by the studios and remains unseen by many who would have loved to see the film.

The scenes where Oedipus unknowingly kills his own father is captured on film in a truly remarkable way, suggesting the fleeting moment where recognition between father and son is totally implausible.

Jocasta's (Lili Palmer) performance is top notch--probably her best role ever. Cyril Cusack, Orson Welles, and Donald Sutherland add additional flavour to this remarkable effort.

I have always wondered why the famous cinematographer Walter Lassally did not choose to film the movie in the letterbox or cinemascope format, which would have given the subject an epic sweep it deserved. The format used by Lassally restricted the film to the level of a play on film rather than cinema capturing the great play on celluloid. Even with this fault, the film will remain one of my favourites. I commend Phillip Saville for his casting--bringing together great actors on both sides of the Atlantic.

I doubt if the ancient Greeks could have enjoyed the play any better than on a technicolor screen with special effects.

admirable

[Kirpianuscus · 29 August 2023]

An adaptation gifted with so many and precious virtues, from Christopher Plummer as powerful and , in same measure, so vulnerable Oedip, to monumental Tiresias proposed by Orson Welles and a Donald Sutherland as leader of choir , being a profound pleasant surprise.

But the top of film is the performance of trully inspired Lilli Pamer as impressive Jocasta.

It is a play known from childhood, who, starting with sophocles and the work of George Enescu, was one of sources of questions, doubts and games of perspectives about life from my early ages.

This play, including for location and for admirabe scenes of death of Laius, is just a gem.

Odd Film Adaptation

[neilacts · 3/10 · 23 November 2012]

While it seems a little strange to begin with a spoiler for a 2,600 year old story (one would assume many people already know the tragic tale of the downfall of the Theban king), for those rare few who do not I must give a word of warning: director Philip Saville begins the film, under the opening credits, by revealing (in unfortunately dated slow-motion camera technique, using weird hallucinogenic camera angles) the central mystery of the play.

This move, though, is merely a foreshadowing of Saville's additional odd directorial choices (intercutting flashbacks to the regicide at some more inappropriate moments, for example; suddenly having the king and his advisors sitting among the ruins of a Greek amphitheatre which, one would think, would not have been in RUINS when they were originally built; or even something as obvious as knowing that when Oedipus calls his citizens "children of Cadmus" that he doesn't literally mean children, but of the bloodline of Cadmus -- so there is no need to have a handful of waifish, pre-pubescent boys kneeling at the king's first entrance so that he can admonish the "children" to arise.)

You will rarely see a hammier performance than that of Christopher Plummer as Oedipus. His interminably long pauses as he tries to work through his emotions bring to mind a lower- echelon drama school's production of Hamlet while, on the other end of the spectrum, his shouting, scenery-chewing antics in scenes opposite Orson Welles as Tiresias and Richard Johnson as Creon merely show how he is outclassed by his scene partners.

The final bit of icing on this baklava, as it were, must be reserved for the performance of a young Donald Sutherland as the Chorus leader. Almost totally unrecognizable under a hideous black pageboy wig, with a voice that has been re-dubbed, he sounds like and resembles a tunic-wearing Prince Valiant in an old Steve Reeves Hercules movie. Since there is already a mash-up of accents (Plummer is Canadian, Lilli Palmer is German and the rest British), one can only think that Sutherland's dubbing is less because his accent doesn't quite fit in with his fellow Thebans, but that the poor young actor simply couldn't speak the lines with any acting chops. I'd love to hear the original.

Sophocles' ancient drama successfully transferred on film

[clanciai · 9/10 · 30 October 2019]

The most rewarding quality of this film is the fact that Sophocles is left untouched - there has been no cuts in the text, as the film follows the drama closely with meticulous fidelity. Another great asset is the stylishness, which is just perfect - bringing the spectator back to very ancient times of Greece, with a rugged landscape and no spectacular additions to the basics of Greek drama.

The actors are all outstanding. Lilli Palmer as the only woman makes perhaps the greatest impression, but all the others are perfect also, like Christopher Plummmer as Oidipus, Donald Sutherland as the chorus leader, Orson Welles as the blind prophet Teiresias and several others. It is very seldom you get the chance to see a Greek drama on film so perfectly genuine and faithful to the ancient genre of Greek tragedy.

for connoisseurs only

[MrDeWinter · 3/10 · 27 July 2021]

Understandably they wanted big names but movie actors aren't necessarily able to play ancient drama. Plummer and Palmer are struggling here, Welles on the other hand is surprisingly good.

"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy"

[boblipton · 8/10 · 18 September 2023]

Christopher Plummer is Oedipus in this English-language version of Sophocles' play about fate fate and the cruelty of the Gods.

Plummer gives an intense performance as the man who murdered his father in what may be the earliest recorded instance of road rage, then married his mother unawares and thus became king of Thebes, carrying out willy-nilly the prophecy made at his birth. For more than two millennia this has been considered the greatest tragedy ever written, and under the direction of Philip Savile, with a cast that includes Lili Palmer, Cyril Cusack, Orson Welles, Roger Livesey, and Donald Sutherland, it remains a warning that we cannot evade our fate. DP Walter Lassally photographs Epirus as the plague-stricken city with a slow camera speed that bleaches the landscape near the limits of endurance.