Richard III

Richard Loncraine, UK 1996, 103 minutes

In the recent plethora of Shakespeare adaptations, this one stands out as a truly cinematic creation. It moves the story forward in time to create a fascist version of England in the 1930s. This setting, borrowed from Ian McKellen and Richard Eyre's production for the Royal National Theatre, has about the same degree of historical truth as the Elizabethans would have expected of a play about the bad old Plantagenet days.

The story begins at the end of a bloody civil war in which Richard of Gloucester (Ian McKellen) has secured victory for his eldest brother who is now Edward IV. Richard is the oldfashioned archetypal villain, compensating for his hunch-back and withered arm with guile and charm. He is utterly ruthless in pursuit of his ambition to succeed his brother as King of England. He first tries to undermine his brother Clarence and then has him killed. When Edward dies a few days later Richard becomes Lord Protector of his young nephew who is the rightful heir. Having embarked on a murderous course, Richard's body count continues to rise until civil war breaks out again and he faces defeat on the battlefield.

The whole film is exceedingly well thought out. A soliloquy becomes an after dinner speech and the burnt-out shell of a power station becomes a battlefield. And why would you offer to swap your kingdom for a horse? Because your tank has broken down, of course. The text is entirely Shakespeare's, but we don't get Shakespeare's entire text - that would take four hours. What is left is a distilled version of the melodrama which is made even clearer and more focused by the very untheatrical visual style of Richard Loncraine. Add the consummate acting skills of Nigel Hawthorne, Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent, Annette Benning, and Kristin Scott-Thomas, not forgetting Sir Ian himself, and what you get is topclass cinematic entertainment.

Review by Alison Dalzell
Taken from EUFS Programme 1997-98