Richard III - Criterion Collection

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Starring: Stewart Allen
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Type: DVD
Studio: Criterion
Release Date: 2004-02-24
Running Time: 158 minutes
Number of Items: 2
The third and final entry in Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare triptych, Richard III (1954) is an audacious portrait of a man determined to prove himself a villain. As the personification of evil impudence, Olivier portrays the Duke of Gloucester with such aplomb that he brings the audience onto his side. This is true even as Richard engineers plots to murder his brother Clarence (John Gielgud), betray his cousin Buckingham (Ralph Richardson), and seduce his niece Lady Anne (Claire Bloom). From the play's famous opening lines ("Now is the winter of our discontent"), Olivier delivers every speech with truly Machiavellian splendor, and his superb staging of the climactic battle rivals his work on Henry V. Regrettably, this would be Olivier's last Shakespeare film, as a planned adaptation of Macbeth was abandoned for financial reasons. Olivier justly received an Oscar® nomination for his performance; and believe it or not, this film was the inspiration for the original Blackadder! --Kevin Mulhall

Mesemerizing, frightening and memorable


One of the greatest movies of the 1950s and in fact of all time, Laurence Olivier took Shakespeare's historic classic and turned it into a stunning masterpiece.
As for those who criticize the movie for it's slight departures from the written play, they obviously do not understand the versatility inherent in Shakespeare which allows for rich adaptation.
The movie begins with the last scene of Henry VI, with a fawning Richard, Earl of Gloucester (Laurence Olivier) ingratiating himself with the new King Edward IV (Cedric Hardwicke).
It is in the next scene where we view Richard's famous soliloquy: "Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York, And all the clouds that glower'd upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried".
Olivier is both frightening in his superb theatrical portrayal of the total evil of Richard, and blends Richard's wickedness with such wit that his plotting becomes a delight to watch.

His speeches to the audience about his own wickedness born of the resentments from his deformity, and the focus of the camera on his clawed hand are memorable.
What stands out are the scene where he tries to woo the grieving Queen Anne (Claire Bloom) by the coffin of her husband, and she unleashes her contempt. Later after being forced to be Richard's bride we can see Anne's sadness that she knows she will die at Richard's hands. Richard's rage at a childish remark by one of the child-princes, his nephews, referring to Richard's shoulder (his frightening reaction accompanied by the child look of pure terror) where we know that the fate of the young princes has now been sealed. And who can forget the beautiful performances by Paul Huson and Andy Shine as the handsome little princes, so clearly born to one day be leaders (dying tragically at the hand of a tyrant reminding one of the later cruel murder by the Jacobins of the ten year old Louis XVII of France and by the Bolsheviks of the children of Tsar Nicholas II).
Richard III's quips about his own villainy:
"Shine out, fair sun, till I have bought a glass; that I may see my shadow as I pass".
The banner of Gloucester's Boar give background to the comments by The Lord Hastings that "The cat, the rat, and Lovell the dog / Rule all England under the hog".
And then there are the chilling visits on the night before the Battle of Bosworth of a few Richard's victims: The young princes, the Duke Of Clarence, King Edward and Queen Anne.
The last battle sequence pits the forces of the Duke of Richmond's dragon against Richard's boar, and the final scene of Richard's killing by Richmond's forces, where Richard writhes like a rattlesnake before dying.

A splendid and sterling masterpiece, full of majesty and colour.

Hand in Hand --- to Hell
Indelible is the word for Olivier's personification of Richard III. The door swings gently open, and the monster takes you into his confidence. You become the co-conspirator and malevolent confederate. The character enters your mind and etches itself permanently into the memory. It's impossible to erase, and any later interpretations will always fight a losing battle. There are the usual customary petty complaints about the sets and the settings --- like Bosworth Field doesn't look like England. Who cares? Shakespeare's plays are about words and their delivery. Olivier delivers. Call it hammy, call it over-the-top, it's the way Will wrote it. It was good enough for Garrick, and Olivier was Garrick's heir. Makes your hair stand on end. Richard's deformities (sorry, disabilities) are absolutely central to the psychology of the part: you've got to feel a little sympathy for the man. He has a sense of humour, and finds his incredible success as a wooer both funny peculiar and funny ha-ha. He's also got guts: in for a penny, in for a pound. Devils just happen to be more fascinating than angels. That's the way of things. I'm looking forward to getting this edition, as my present one has poor colours and no extras. P.S. The manner in which the production is filmed may be theatrical (and why not?), but it is also highly cinematic. The lighting, the shadows, the camera movements and the closeups all work perfectly.

If the Devil will reign...
Every time I see this movie have the same feeling: if the Devil will reign, it will be this way!
Opera lovers knows that one of the worst things ever is the fact that Maria Callas never recorded a full version of Verdi's Macbeth; luckyly, the olympic talent of Laurence Olivier created this jewel.
For me, it goes ahead even before Olivier's Hamlet: this very personal approach of the Duke of Gloucester goes surrealistic enough to be modern. I saw it first when I was a child and I will never forget the impression that Olivier's eyes caused.
Cast, with Gielgud, Richardson, Bloom and Hardwicke among others, supports Olivier's experiment transforming the text of Shakespeare almost in a modern thriller about the corruption of a soul obsessed with power beyond all limits.
It was necessary the maturity of another great stage and cinema actor (Al Pacino) to almost reach Olivier, but this one is still a landmark.

Olivier's Richard
I have noticed that it is fashionable in some circles (particularly in the 'acting community') to be highly critical of Laurence Olivier and his interpretation of Shakespeare... While I have no credentials to speak of myself, I find these sorts of criticisms to be misplaced and they tend to unfairly take on Olivier without considering his times - Olivier was something of an outsider in his approach to Shakespeare - and the task of transfering his ideas of shakespeare into a rigid studio film (which nevertheless Olivier brilliantly succeeded in doing) would put Olivier right into a very vulerable place for an actor/director to be in.. Olivier was a believer in the human aspects of Shakespeare - he radically saw the possibility of a modern shakespeare - a shakespeare one could consider alongside the advent of modern psycohology and literature.. a sort of Freudian Shakespeare.. Now that Freud is also out of fashion it is easy to judge.. But the most important thing Olivier did had nothing to do with theories - he brought shakespeare to a larger audience - he made shakespeare more accessible.. He also did something only the best actors can do - he put his own personal stamp on the character of Richard III..His Richard is a serpentine feminine richard.. You clearly see a man who suffers within his body and mirrors this malace on to the world he confronts.. Olivier's Direction is also something remarkable - he combines the stage with celluloid in a way few have been able to manage... Criterion's transfer of this classic film is brilliantly crisp -you can't help but think of walt disney when you see this (or maybe powell and pressburger) - this is a perfectly legitimate portrayal of richard III and one that people will watch for years to come - what more could an actor achieve?

One dimensional Richard
I know I'm going to come off as a bit of a heretic here. I already know that people generally LOVE Larry's,well, anything Shakespeare,BUT, as a Shakespearean actor myself,(and one whose favorite role is the Hunchback King),I must say that Richard's character has much more potential than Olivier's rendition reveals. Also,the play is abridged by about 30 min. of cut material,(in order to cement Richard's one-dimensional cast). I didn't particularly like Olivier's Shylock either. To be fair,his Hamlet is brilliant,but unfortunately,it too is abridged,like, where are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern anyway? Apparently this is done for the shorter attention span of the American audience?