There is an exceptional sound recording from 1974 of the opera-oratorio adaptation of Oedipus Rex by Igor Stravinsky and Jean Cocteau, with the text translated by e. e. cummings. This recording is available from Columbia Music.

Oedipus Rex was also adapted into a film by Tyrone Guthrie in 1957, featuring Douglas Campbell, Donald Davis, Eleanor Stuart, and Douglas Rain. The translation for this adaptation was done by poet William Butler Yeats.

Another notable film adaptation was directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini in 1967, starring Franco Citti, Silvano Mangano, Julian Beck, and Pasolini himself as the High Priest. This epic film, produced by Euro International Films, was shot in Morocco and presents a bleak, emotionally intense, and self-reflective take on the Oedipus story.

In the 1960s, Philip Saville directed a film version featuring Christopher Plummer, Lilli Palmer, Orson Welles, and Donald Sutherland. This adaptation was released by Universal in 1968.

German filmmaker Rainer Simon directed Der Fall Dipus (The Oedipus Case) in 1990. This film, set in summertime Greece where a foreign military detachment camps near Thebes to film the Oedipus story, stars Sebastian Hartmann, Tatiana Lygari, and Jan-Josef Liefers. It was produced by Toro Film.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) created a film adaptation in 1991 featuring Michael Pennington, Claire Bloom, and John Gielgud. Released by Films for the Humanities, this version showcases excellent performances from the main actors and the chorus, with minimal yet effective staging.

In 1994, Oedipus Rex was adapted into a film for the Living Literature: The Classics and You series, Lesson No. 5, available from RMI Media Productions.

Two half-hour, made-for-video stage performances of the play are available from Children's Television International (The Play Series, volume 2) and Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation (The EBE Humanities Program, Drama Series).

Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks offers a humorous, non-literal take on the play. This short comedy revolves around Sheldon Mills, a Jewish New York attorney constantly nagged and publicly embarrassed by his overbearing mother, Sadie Millstein. The film stars Woody Allen, Julie Kavner, Mia Farrow, and Mae Questel. Released in 1989 by Touchstone Pictures, it is the third segment in the anthology film New York Stories.

Sources

Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Birth of Tragedy. Macmillan, 1907.

Further Reading

Aristotle. The Poetics. Translated by W. Hamilton Fyfe. London: Heinemann, 1927. Aristotle's critical examination of effective tragic form extensively references Sophocles's work, offering valuable insights into classical poetic theory.

Bates, William Nickerson. Sophocles, Poet and Dramatist. London: Oxford University Press, 1940. In a chapter on Oedipus, Bates outlines the plot and provides general praise for Sophoclean tragedy, followed by discussions on the main character and Jocasta.

Bowra, C. M. Sophoclean Tragedy. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1944. Bowra delves into the role of Apollo and the gods in the play, presenting a historical perspective that situates the oracle within Athenian society.

Bushnell, Rebecca W. Prophesying Tragedy: Sight and Voice in Sophocles's Theban Plays. Cornell University Press, 1988. Bushnell persuasively argues that Oedipus's urge to speak and his aversion to silence create a character who places faith in human words, ultimately failing to challenge oracular wisdom.

Davies, M. "The End of Sophocles's O.T." Hermes, Vol. 110, 1982, pp. 268-77. Davies contends that the final scene, where Creon leads Oedipus into the palace without exiling him, indicates that neither character has undergone psychological change despite their fortunes. Oedipus still views himself as a majestic king, while Creon remains cautious and concerned.

Dawe, R. D., ed. Sophocles: The Classical Heritage. New York: Garland, 1996. This anthology of criticism includes excerpts from Aristotle, Corneille, Voltaire, and modern theorists, as well as discussions on the play's performances from the Italian Renaissance to contemporary times.

Dodds, E. R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Greece and Rome, Vol. 13, 1966, pp. 37-49. Dodds's renowned account of three common but misguided undergraduate interpretations of the play is invaluable for clarifying the play's stance on oracular knowledge and human responsibility.

O'Brien, Michael J., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex. Prentice-Hall, 1968. O'Brien's essential collection of essays features notable excerpts from Francis Fergusson, Bernard Knox, Richard Lattimore, and Victor Ehrenberg, along with quotations from Plutarch, Longinus, Freud, and Marshall McLuhan.

Fry, Paul H. Homer to Brecht: The European Epic and Dramatic Traditions. Edited by Michael Seidel and Edward Mendelson. Yale University Press, 1977, pp. 171-90. Fry's introductory lecture for undergraduates centers on the riddle of the Sphinx, Oedipus, the problem of knowledge, and the pathos arising from divine punishment.

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. [New York], 1949. This volume also includes Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone; all three translations are widely regarded as standard.

Waldock, A. J. A. Sophocles the Dramatist. Cambridge University Press, 1951. Waldock challenges Bowra's interpretation of the play, arguing that its plot focuses not on the gods' role in human affairs but on the profound pain caused by ambitious quests for knowledge.

Whitman, C. H. Sophocles: A Study of Heroic Humanism. Harvard University Press, 1951. Whitman draws a comparison between Oedipus and Pericles, the Athenian leader and general, while also offering a general discussion of the play. This work serves as a balanced, albeit somewhat dry, counterpoint to the polemical tones found in the writings of Bowra and Waldock.

Wilder, Thornton. American Characteristics and Other Essays. New York: Harper and Row, 1979. Wilder provides scholarly reflections on the play's treatment of the oracle and explores the allure of myth-making for Western writers.

Winnington-Ingram, W. P. Sophocles: An Interpretation. Cambridge University Press, 1980.

This work offers a detailed analysis of the second choral ode, or second "stasimon," to illustrate the value of closely examining often overlooked elements of the play.