"Paradoxically, the two most powerful films of Shakespeare plays were made not in Great Britain but in the Soviet Union" (Richard Dyer, Boston Globe). Three of Russia's legendary artists bring Shakespeare's greatest works to the screen. As directed by Grigori Kozintsev, scripted by Boris Pasternak (Dr. Zhivago), and scored by Dmitri Shostakovich, Hamlet (1964, 140 mins.) and King Lear (1971, 140 mins.) are nothing short of triumphant masterpieces. Kozintsev's spare, haunting style is a perfect visual interpretation of Pasternak's stripped-down translations and Shostakovich's dark, dramatic scores. In Russian with English subtitles.

Grigori Kozintsev---USSR---1964/1971---280 mins.