It depicts the machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of king richard iii of england. Laurence olivier directs himself in this portion of his stirring delivery of richardgloucesters famous speech in shakespeares richard iii, 1955. Richard iii 1995 stream and watch online moviefone. Always a controversial figure who is great for a few lessons of study, this discovery reopened the debate about whether his reputation as the most evil king in british history is justly deserved. Gandalf as richard, a world war ii military leader. The richard iii society congratulates philippa langley and dr john. Ralph richardson and john geilgud and claire bloom. Richard iii, also called 146183 richard plantagenet, duke of gloucester, born october 2, 1452, fotheringhay castle, northamptonshire, englanddied august 22, 1485, near market bosworth, leicestershire, the last plantagenet and yorkist king of england. For the first time in weeks, ive made it all the way through a shakespeare film. The discs boot up directly to the menu screen without any promotional advertisements. That war, a prolonged, intermittent conflict between the two noble houses of lancaster and york which began in 1455, was closer to shakespeare and his. Laurence olivier was the director, coscreenwriter with alan dent, and star of this robust adaptation of shakespeares drama, which, as bruce eder has written.
Queen elizabeth but she, your subject, loathes such sovereignty. Featuring many noted shakespearean actors, including a quartet of actors who were later knighted, the film depicts richard plotting and. Trailer for laurence oliviers 1955 adaptation of richard iii, which also includes scenes from. With richard iii, laurence olivieras director, producer, and star transfigures shakespeares great historical drama into a.
Richard iii is an early history play probably written and performed around 159293. The audience and the text richard loncraine, the director of the new film richard iii has said that he wanted to make a film that he would want to see, as a person who was not into shakespeare, in fact someone who had been put off by shakespeare at school. The bestknown fictional representation of richard is that by william shakespeare, in king richard iii. He usurped the throne of his nephew edward v in 1483 and perished in defeat to henry tudor thereafter henry vii at the battle of. In 1955 sir laurence olivier played the title role in a more traditional film adaptation, setting the bar pretty high for modern actors. This was one of the highlights of the 198385 quincentenary celebrations, and most importantly gave a not guilty. As one would expect from a loyal subject of elizabeth i, it is a very negative portrayal.
It is the culmination of shakespeares earlier three plays about henry vi, and chronicles the. The elizabethan drama was a great popular art form, created not for royal courts but for poor groundlings who paid a penny to stand in the pit beneath the stage, or bourgeois such as pepys, who. King richard iii by william shakespeare free ebook. Richard iii is a 1955 british technicolor film adaptation of william shakespeares historical play of the same name, also incorporating elements from his henry vi, part 3. It is based on william shakespeares richard iii, but reworked for williamite audiences cibber, a prominent theatre manager, first attempted to stage his version in 1699, but the performance was a disaster. Occasionally, however, as in the quarto edition, it is termed a tragedy. The detective novel that convinced a generation richard iii. Included is a 16page booklet containing redblooded richard, an essay by amy taubin. Richard iii compresses fourteen years of british history into a fiveact play whose action takes place over about a month. Richard iii is a historical play by william shakespeare believed to have been written around 1593.
Shakespeares powerful tale of the wicked deformed king and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir. Great britain history richard iii, 14831485 drama category. With laurence olivier, cedric hardwicke, nicholas hannen, ralph richardson. This unit was developed following the exciting discovery in 20 of the remains of the last plantagenet king of england, richard iii. Reviewing richard iii in 1955, the monthly film bulletin hailed laurence olivier s performance in the title role as surely one of the classic interpretations. One of these, paul murray kendalls 1955 biography of the king, was the book through which philippa langley first encountered richard iii. A nearcontemporary account of richards entire reign is the socalled second continuation of the croyland chronicle, which was probably completed in 1486.
The effect of this compression is palpable and the drama seems to race by, even though it is, line for line, one of shakespeares longest plays. At the time the play opens, this tradition is embroiled in dispute. Richard iii,written in about 1591, is said to be shakespeares first great play. The tragedy of richard the third, a play by william shakespeare c. May 30, 2014 shakespeare famously portrayed englands medieval king richard iii as a hunchback, but the discerning eye of modern technology has just cast doubt on the accuracy of this literary description. He then tells his brother he will help him get out. Richard iiis prayer book goes online and is that a. Shakespeare, william, the tragedy of richard the third new haven. Ever the director, richard has staged a miniplay within the play. Neither can this early date guarantee mancinis objectivity. The only strictly contemporary account of richard is dominic mancinis usurpation of richard iii, a critical description of the usurpation of 1483 written before the end of that year by an italian visitor to england.
It is the culmination of shakespeares earlier three plays about henry vi, and chronicles the bloody career of richard, duke of gloucester. The personal prayer book of king richard iii in which the english king likely scrawled a reminder of his birthday in his own hand is now available to peruse online. The detective novel that convinced a generation richard. Of course, richard iii has also been adapted into some memorable films, including the 1995 movie starring ian mckellen a. The future richard iii was the fourth son of richard, 3rd duke of york died 1460, and his duchess, cecily neville, to survive to adulthood.
Richard iii opened at the leicester square theatre on december, 1955, with queen elizabeth ii and prince philip attending the premiere. Richard is duke of gloucester, and, man, is he unhappy about it. Reviewing richard iii in 1955, the monthly film bulletin hailed laurence oliviers performance in the title role as surely one of the classic interpretations. Laurence olivier directs himself in this portion of his stirring delivery of richard gloucesters famous speech in shakespeares richard iii, 1955.
He tells us that his brother edward has become the king of england after a series of long civil wars a. The creative team behind richard iii provide some insights into one of. King richard iii say, i, her sovereign, am her subject love. In 1984 the richard iii society managed to bring the matter of richards character to much wider public attention via a major television production the trial of richard iii which was possibly the first television reality show. York was the most prominent duke in england, of royal descent, and the most powerful nobleman of his day. Today, its considered so definitive that even highly acclaimed performances by the likes of antony sher, ian mckellen and simon russell beale are praised as much for their lack of resemblance to oliviers as for their own intrinsic merit. Mar 24, 2015 one of these, paul murray kendalls 1955 biography of the king, was the book through which philippa langley first encountered richard iii. Richard iii shakespeare written probably in late 1591, richard iii is the final component in william shakespeares tetralogy i. Gathering forces around him, henry marches eastward to engage richard iii in battle, the two armies finally meeting at bosworth field on 22 august where henry is victorious and richard is killed. Claire bloom is especially exquisite and i think she plays the. Richard iii, king of england, 14521485 drama subject. Dec 08, 2018 the tragedy of richard the third, a play by william shakespeare c. All these texts can now be searched and downloaded as adobe acrobat.
In richard iii, director, producer, and star laurence olivier brings shakespeares masterpiece of machiavellian villainy to ravishing cinematic life. Librivox recording of richard iii by william shakespeare. The wars of the roses 14551485 being over, richard of gloucester determines to gain the throne occupied by his brother, edward iv. Richards brother king edward has just taken the throne after the wars of the roses. He first manages to turn edward against the duke of clarence, who is imprisoned in the tower on the charge of treason. The blood claim to the throne derives from englands tradition of royal lineage. Next, he wins the hand of lady anne, even as she follows the hearse bearing the body of the. Gathering forces around him, henry marches eastward to engage richard iii in battle, the two armies finally meeting at bosworth field on 22 august where henry is. The 1955 movie is a classic, and well worth watching. Shakespeares richard iii covers events in the latter years of the wars of the roses that is, from the attainder and execution of george, duke of clarence, in 1478, to the defeat of richard iii at bosworth field in 1485.
The play is grouped among the histories in the first folio and is most often classified as such. D richard iii is one of the most notorious kings in english history. But in richard iii we begin to see shakespeare constructing a psychologically complex central character, flawed yet charismatic, perhaps paving the way for future shakespearean tragic heroes such as. In 1955 sir laurence olivier played the title role in a more traditional film adaptation. Despite the happy news about king edward and his familys victory, richard is bummed and feels inadequate because 1 he was born a deformed.
But what makes this product so good is the second disc, where two decades ago, various historians mounted a trial of richard iii, to see if he is guilty of the murders of the princes in the tower. Having confused and deceived the king, richard proceeds with his plans after getting a warrant, and enlists two. We can only speculate about the effect it had on its first audiences. Laurence olivier cinematography by otto heller production design. The seat of power richard so ruthlessly seeks is the english throne, whose rightful holder, the play suggests, will be worthy because of both blood and character. Because of its powerfully drawn central character, richard iii is among encyclopedia of the wars of the roses. Other plantagenet kings do not qualify unless riii was a main character in the book. Henry tudor sails from france, landing at milford haven on 7 august. But in richard iii we begin to see shakespeare constructing a psychologically complex central character, flawed yet charismatic, perhaps paving the way for future shakespearean tragic heroes such as hamlet and macbeth. Click on the appropriate links below to read shakespeares original richard iii text. The script of richard iii is very long, so we have separated the play into its original 5 acts want to know why all shakespeares plays have five acts. So the reason i made it all the way through the film this week is that i didnt have to watch a. Yet no matter how the reign of richard iii was perceived by those who lived through it, by shakespeares time, and probably much earlier, stories of richard as a tyrant and a childmurderer were accepted as fact.
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