i watched the 1971 movie version of the play, directed by grigori kozintsev, and based on an adaptation by boris pasternak, the novelist.
it was a bleak, grey, almost brutal interpretation, using images of extreme poverty and showing the suffering of ordinary people, and an equally thin and painful king lear.
i should imagine eastenders would be a lot more cheerful and happy go lucky than this ,,,

critics regard it as one of the best adaptations of the play, but i felt it was too full of cliches and a bit overdone.

some of the imagery was amazing, and some of the music (by shostakovich) was great.

i can understand the influences and history of russia that made this film the way it was.

i was looking for something a bit more operatic and dramatic, if that makes sense.
this was just highly realistic and very depressing!

but it was certainly an experience, and i would want to watch it again to see what else i could get from it.

(dvd produced by facets video ...  www.facets.org)