Richard III

30th December 1995

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Ian McKellen as Richard III

           An other adaptation of the playwright of William Shakespeare; Richard III, starring Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr, Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, John Wood and Dominic West.

           But even if the story is quite similar to the playwright, the event takes place to a fictional version of Britain in 30s. The movie was directed by Richard Loncraine, and the production was adapted for the screen. 

           The visually rich production features various symbols, uniforms, weapons and vehicles that draw openly from the aesthetic of the Third Reich as depicted in Nazi propaganda and war films. At the same time obvious care is put into diluting and mixing the Nazi references with recognizable British and American uniform styles, props and visual motives.

          The role of Duchess of York is combining with the role of Queen Margaret and which by this way made her more important. The roles of Rivers, Grey, Vaughan and Dorset are combined into Rivers. The death scenes are shown rather than implied as in the play, and changed to suit the time and historical accuracy. Lord Rivers, who usually dies offstage is impaled by the device of a sharp spike spurting up from the bottom of his mattress while he lies in bed during sex with a woman in a hotel room. Each character's pre-death monologue is also removed, except that of Clarence and Buckingham.

           McKellen himself said: "When you put this amazing old story in a believable modern setting, it will hopefully raise the hair on the back of your neck, and you won't be able to dismiss it as 'just a movie' or, indeed, as 'just old-fashioned Shakespeare.'

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