Oedipus the King (film)

Oedipus the King
Directed byPhilip Saville
Written byMichael Luke
Philip Saville
Paul Roche
Based onOedipus Rex
by Sophocles
Produced byMichael Luke
StarringChristopher Plummer
Orson Welles
Lilli Palmer
Richard Johnson
CinematographyWalter Lassally
Edited byPaul Davies
Music byJani Christou
Production
companies
Crossroads World Film Services
Universal Pictures
Distributed byRank Film Distributors
Release date
  • June 1968 (1968-06)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Oedipus the King is a 1968 British film adaptation of the Sophoclean tragedy Oedipus Rex, directed and co-written by Philip Saville. It stars Christopher Plummer as the title character, Orson Welles as Tiresias, Lilli Palmer as Jocasta, Richard Johnson as Creon and Donald Sutherland as the leading member of the Chorus, though the latter's voice was dubbed by Valentine Dyall. Saville's first theatrical film effort, the film remained highly theatrical in nature, and is known for its intensive dialogue typical of an ancient play.