Oedipus Rex

I had a positive experience with my 8th graders because I took the time to introduce them to what they'd be seeing. I asked them to consider the differences between the plays of today and of 2000 years ago...and to think about the WHY of those differences. This is very well done, just very different!

Here's why I like this edition of Oedipus Rex. I'm an adjunct professor at a local college, and before I read through the work with my students, we discuss original Greek theater. Their concept of theater were completely different from our own. When performing, Greek actors wore elaborate masks to appear more like the gods, heroes, and kings they were portraying. While students typically skip over songs sung by choir, the ancient Greeks considered the choir to be the most important part of a performance. The choir was a group of twelve men, wore elaborate costumes, danced, sung, and could win rewards at events such as the Theater of Dionysus. Usually, they represented the audience's reaction the the events that took place on the stage.Some films may be somewhat accurate to the script, such as the 1968 edition with Christopher Plummer, but they lack some of these Greek aspects. This 1957 edition uses the masks, keeps to the script, and includes the choir, which is composed of twelve people, just as the ancient Greek choirs had twelve people. There is added commentary at the beginning about light, sight, and blindness, but students will not care too much about such liberties because the actors express a well-informed opinion regarding the text. That said, comparing the sun to the cameras and lights that surround the stage is completely cheesy.Of course, this film is not exactly what a Greek play would feel like. The ancient Greeks had few if any props and only three speaking actors in any performance. Here, multiple actors play on elaborate sets, but all these features only enhance the Greek experience for modern viewers, who may not be able to sit through a film that shows what Greek theater was actually like. It's a nice mix of ancient and modern and great for students.The only true downside is the acting. I feel the acting is overly poetic and flowery and does not convey any real emotion. I wish the acting had been more sincere; I'm sure there were good actors in ancient Greece who conveyed emotion without an overly poetic voice. Still, this film is excellent for showing the mechanics of Greek theater and can easily lighten the class's mood after reading a text that many consider difficult to read.

I first saw this film (in a movie theater) in 1962 and had no idea what I was watching. Years later, as a high school and college English instructor, I knew lots about Greek tragedy and this version of Oedipus the King remains one of my favorite dramatic experiences. You can't find William Butler Yeats' translation in print anymore because the (ahem) "scholars" have decided it's not totally accurate. Ever read any of the "scholarly" translations of Greek tragedy? Those professors can't write poetry to save their lives. They make tragedy boring and stuffy. Yeats makes it breathe. And Tyrone Guthrie made tragedy "pop" in this thrilling 1957 production. In tune with Aristotelean requirements, there is a bare stage with a representation of Oedipus' palace. The actors and chorus members wear masks (very close to the spirit of original masks found by archaeologists), and they chant and move in dance-like cadences. At first, it may seem bizarre, but when you understand that you are being transported 2000 years into the past and watching drama being born out of religious ritual, you can sense the raw power of watching arrogant Oedipus fall into ruin. The performances are visceral and dangerous, the colors beautiful, the effect shattering. And you also get to see a boyish William Shatner before he became Captain Kirk (you'll see him in the brief introduction; once he puts on a mask you'll have no idea which one he is). Unlike the pretentious film auteurs of today who meander on and on, Sophocles packed his cautionary tale of human frailty into 90 taut minutes. I used this video for years in my Advanced Placement English classes, but I've also watched it many times just for entertainment.

I bought this movie to show my students what traditional Greek theater, with masks and a chorus might be like. However, the masks and music were really creepy. The lighting was dark with no modern special effects. The words were difficult to understand because of the background music and strange accents. It did not interest my students, who found it old-fashioned and creepy

Yes, as some have pointed out, it's the Yeats adaptation (clearly identified as such on cover, though it is there called a "translation" which maybe stretches the point), but there's no such thing as an "authentic" modern performance of a Greek tragedy, since we have lost the music (which was perhaps as important a part of the performance as the music in an opera). Judged as a theatrical experience in its own right, it is gripping; I have probably shown excerpts to my students at least a dozen times and tears still come to my eyes during parts of it (when Oedipus interrogates the old shepherd, for instance). (The students also seem to be impressed; try impressing undergraduates with ANYTHING!) Cacoyannis' "Trojan Women" is maybe on the same level but other than those two I have seen no film of a Greek tragedy that comes near it.

This was a fascinating production. The actors were superb but the intonation and the cadence of the characters voices seemed to come from the fifties or even earlier. My ear has become used to more modern speech. The masks were superb.

Great production. Don't expect to see a film with high production values. I use this video to demonstrate Ancient Greek acting styles for my drama students (I teach at a performing arts high school). Great performances with amazing vocal work.

I love this version

As a teacher of literature, I've been at my wits end trying to find a classically authentic version of a Greek tragedy: for me, that meant the use of masks, a proper chorus with stylised acting and chant.This is it. Tyrone Guthrie's acclaimed 1957 version of Oedipus Rex uses W.B. Yeats's translation (not perhaps the most accurate translation, but one of the more poetic ones - which, I think, faithfully captures the spirit of the original Greek). This is certainly a filmed play rather than a film based on a play: the company are the Stratford Ontario Shakespearean Festival Players, and it is their staged performance that is filmed here.The focus of the play is King Oedipus's harmatia, his belief that he is the hero who has saved Thebes once, and will do so again when it is threatened by the pollution of an unpunished foul act that throws into doubt the very survival of the state. His metaphorical blindness is highlighted by the Director's use of levels, and as the tragedy inexorably unwinds, Oedipus's peripetia and shattering anagnorisis evokes Aristotle's "pity and fear".My class loved it, once they realised that it was not to be a "naturalistic" performance.A warning: this is a Region 1 DVD, which means that it won't play on many European machines. You'll need a multi region DVD, or to play it on a computer (most will read Region 1 DVDs, but check before you buy.The DVD comes from America: for me, it took a week, and there were no taxes or custom dues to pay.

I enjoyed this DVD. IT was as near an experience of an ancient Greek production as I could find ( and I am looking for more). Powerful, poetic and almost surreal. Thought provoking .

Useful for comparative interpretations and presentations of Greek Drama. As a Classical Studies student I found it interesting and affordable.

A must for all interested in psychoanalysis. I see it also as a tribute to Sigmund Freud. Thank you from mrs. Bjerg, psychologist, from Denmark