Effect of Numbers

   The largest difference I noticed between the two movies is that Brooks' version of King Lear is a much more privatized confrontation scene, while Kozintsev's is in the middle of an army. This difference gives the audience a better idea of the consequences at stake with battle between Edgar and Edmund, its not just a battle between the two brothers and a battle between good and evil, but also a battle for the Earlship of Gloucester as well as other military and political implications. This motif of focusing on the implications of the nobilities actions towards their subjects is something that is very apparent throughout Kosintsev's adaptation, and it improves Shakespeare's play because the emphasis is more on familial relations in the play, which makes it is easy to lose sight of the fact that these people are meant to rule England.  So while the privatized manner of the confrontation shown by Brooks may be more true to Shakespeare's form, Kosintzev's adaptation brings more depth to the scene.
   Another difference is how short the duel is. Brooks gives the audience a glimpse of sunlight on Edgar, and then Edmund is defeated. Its as if the glimpse of sunlight is meant to suggest that the heavens are back on Edgar's side, and and there is nothing Edmund can do about it. This is further enhanced as the next part of the scene is Edmund saying "The wheel has come full circle" (3:19). So Brooks' adaptation seems to suggest that the difference in the brothers plight was merely a natural cycle, or fate, and has less emphasis on Edmund actively affecting his circumstance. Meanwhile, Kosintsev's duel between the brothers is longer, and although Edmund loses, he shows himself to be a valiant, or at least competent, warrior, which we have seen throughout the film and playa s Edmund is a very crafty and strategic person. The downside to portraying Edmund as having more control over his actions as opposed to just being a pawn of fate, is that Edmund is much more responsible for his evil actions and seems like a more evil character, which makes his sudden change of heart and attempted rescue of Cordelia before his death seem extremely out of place. But then in Brooks' version, Edmund doesn't even say anything about Cordelia, when it could possibly make sense since Edmund seems like a less evil person.