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Is there a more rotten to the core aberration of humanity than Richard? Audiences love to hate him. I could watch Richard all day. He is brutally honest, telling the audience in his opening soliloquy that he is fit for nothing but war and his soul is more misshapen than his body. He is the height that every ambitious and evil character created in the last 400 years must top.
In Looking for Richard, Al Pacino states that Richard III is the most performed of all of Shakespeare's plays. Al Pacino's Richard is an interesting blend of documentary and Richard film. I first saw it at the Chicago Film Festival and the entire audience enjoyed it. Pacino has a great sense of humor, too. He often cuts away to Shakespeare, sitting in the back of the theater, shaking his head in dismay. The film features interviews with many actors, directors, and scholars. They visit a historical Shakespeare house and their film lights make the fire bells go off and the fire department comes. This one is strictly fun -- and features the absolute worst slaying of Richard at the end. Al Pacino spent 10 years putting the money and resources together for this film. His labor of love is not lost. Go to Al Pacino Page
Ian McKellen has made the most entertaining and fast-paced (and campy) Richard III. This is one wonderful movie. He sets Richard down in pre-war England, emphasizing the period by using jazz for most of the soundtrack. The costumes are elegant, and the imagery of a fascist king (images that echo German W.W.II) are frightening. You will be riveted. He omits Queen Margaret, but incorporates most of her prophetic curses into the dialogue of other characters. The way Queen Elizabeth's brother (Earl Rivers -- played superbly by Robert Downey) meets his end is unique. There are many wonderful touches in this film. McKellen's film uses the medium to its greatest benefit to move the drama along and explain the events. You'll have to see this one and judge for yourself. Enthusiastically recommended for mature audiences. More McKellen.
Laurence Olivier's Richard III is another wonderful production. Olivier plays Richard who not only has a hunch back but an over-sized Cyrano-nose as well. The sets in this movie dwarf the actors. As Richard's distance from everyone grows; as the list of murders he commits grows; it seems the very rooms in the castle are growing and dwarfing his humanity. This one is done in color and features Claire Bloom, Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud. Directed by Olivier. |
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