Oedipus the King is Greek tragedy initially performed in 429 BC and was written by Sophocles. Oedipus was the King of Thebes after he had to kill his father who was the King at the time Laius. After his father’s death, he took the queen of Thebes, Jocasta, and his mother as his wife after solving the Sphinx’s riddle. In the play as per Sophocles, Oedipus sees searching for the person who killed his father so that he can bring an end to the plague ravaging Thebes. However, at the end of the play, Oedipus comes to realize that it is he who killed his own father and following his realization that he committed incest, he ends up gorging out his two eyes as a sign of despair. Jocasta, his wife also hangs herself after learning of the actions she has committed (Bloom, 2006).
In the film Oedipus the King 1967 version, it was directed by Phillip Saville. The film has various characters such as Oedipus played by Christopher Plummer, Lill Plamer as Jocasta and other main characters. The play was filmed at Dodonia village found in Greece which an ancient city. However, despite the movie being shot in 1967, it did not receive much viewership at the time until the 70s and 80s after it was granted legal distribution and release rights. The film by Saville and the play by Sophocles have various similarities and differences in relation to different factors such as characterization, plot, theme, setting and many others (Hérode, 2016).
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In the film Oedipus the king by Saville, it went a step further to include more scenes in the play as compared to the actual Sophocles version (Hérode, 2016). At the beginning of the film, a viewer can see flashbacks presented in the form of pictures showing Oedipus attacking his father Laius inside a wagon and killing him. The film used images as an alternative form of language to bring forward a much detailed account of what Oedipus did (Tashiro, 2010). The film also goes ahead to show Oedipus and Jocasta in bed making love which is not part of the original play. This increased characterization brings about an addition of different themes in the film. Through this act of making love, it introduces the theme of love and loyalty. Through engaging in the sexual act, Oedipus and Jocasta show the audience that they are indeed in love and are already ready to stay together as husband and wife. This brings insight to the incest that was committed by the two which in Sophocles play; it just mentioned that Oedipus engaged in the act of incest with his mother who he took in as his "wife."
The costumes used by the characters in the film are time appropriate except for the main character Oedipus (Tashiro, 2010). He is seen wearing a white suit while the other characters are dressed in time appropriate costumes. By clothing Oedipus with a white suit, it does not reflect the time frame at the time. However, according to the directors; they might have wanted to differentiate Oedipus from the other factors. Despite this, it was still a mistake made for the costume should match the period in which Oedipus existed.
The film by Saville and the play by Sophocles have a similarity in the plot. According to the two, they revolve around Oedipus’s actions and why the Thebes state was undergoing so much suffering from the plague. Sophocles and Saville introduce the use of choruses in their works so as to help tell the audiences the given circumstance of a particular scene. The state of Thebes is undergoing ravaging plague, and through the use of the chorus, Sophocles uses a chorus to tell Oedipus to maintain his calm after he is trying to figure out who killed Laius "Why Oedipus, why stung with passionate grief hath the queen thus departed? Much I fear from this dead calm will burst a story of woes." Saville similar use chorus in the plot of the film to show Oedipus’s fate through Tiresias who states “But that a mortal she knows more than I know where. Hath this been proven? Or how without sign assured, can I blame (Hérode, 2016). Him who saved our State when the winged songstress came, Tested and tried in the light of us all like gold assayed.” Saville and Socopholes introduce the use of choruses in their works so as to help in stopping Oedipus from continuing to engage in more catastrophic acts that will anger the gods.
From the Play by Saville, Oedipus is portrayed as being a strong-willed and arrogant character. This is similar to the Oedipus represented by Sophocles in his play. At one point from the scene in the play, Oedipus is seen stating that “You pray to gods, let me grant you your prayers” (Bloom, line 245). From this quote, it is an indication of just how Oedipus is arrogant similar to the character by Saville (Hérode, 2016). Oedipus puts himself on the same level of a god. The power and his position as King have infiltrated his mind. He wants his people to worship him, and through this, he grant all the wishes of the people from another scene that show his arrogance according to Sophocles. This is when he sends for Tiresias a blind prophet who states "So you mock my blindness? Let me tell you this, you with your precious eyes; you are blind to the corruption of your life” (Bloom, line 468). From here, it is an indication that Oedipus cannot see the corruption he involves himself in due to his arrogance and prideful nature.
From the play and the film, I would prefer the film much more. This is because, through the film, one will watch the entire play in a period of one to three hours, unlike the play which one will take time reading through. The film introduces much more techniques such as the sound, lighting and other aesthetic elements that make it much more interesting to watch (Buhler et al., 2010). As such, this will capture the attention of the viewer due to all the effects that are introduced allowing one to understand it fully.
References
Bloom, H. (Ed). (2006). Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex . Unidentified location: InfoBase Publishing
Buhler, J., Niemeyer. D & Deemer, R. (2010). Hearing the movies: music and sounds in film history . New York: Oxford University Press
Hérode A. (2016, February 1). Oedipus the King by Philip Saville 1967. [Video File]. Retrieved 21 August 2017 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lSMs3CSyNQ&t=124s.
Tashiro, C. S. (2010). Pretty pictures: Production design and history film . University of Texas Press.
