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Richard III (1955) (Ws)
starring: Stewart Allen, Wally Bascoe, Claire Bloom, Pamela Brown, Alec Clunes

List Price: $24.95

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Used Price: $1.50
Collectible Price: $24.95
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Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302969276
Format: Color, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 6302969271
Label: Homevision
Manufacturer: Homevision
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Homevision
Release Date: September 04, 2001
Running Time: 161 minutes
Studio: Homevision
Theatrical Release Date: March 11, 1956
Sales Rank: 26888

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Editorial Review:

Description:
Widely acclaimed as his crowning Shakespearean film performance, Laurence Olivier's Richard III is the notorious tale of Richard of Gloucester. This deformed king connives, backstabs, and woos his way to the top of the royal heap, but his treachery eventually lands him on the fields of Bosworth, dying and screaming "A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!" Olivier, who loved the role for "its bloodcurdling spurts of malevolence" and "smoldering sexuality," gives a performance that will define Richard III for years to come. A cast replete with Britain's acting royalty give a command performance of the highest order. Restored to its original widescreen version, the film blazes with vivid color, while William Walton's musical score stirs and rouses the emotions.

Amazon.com:
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

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- 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". ... Read More

Rating:

- 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 ... Read More

Rating:

- 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 ... Read More

Rating:

- 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 ... Read More

Rating:

- 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?

VHS : Richard III (1955) (Ws)