Richard III written by William Shakespeare was a play based on the historical English king named Richard, the Third. Although the film was given with a modern twist by setting the plot in the 1930 post-war Britain. Richard Loncraine’s film was a daring attempt and inventive; instead of creating a story wherein all the characters moves in a medieval setting, the film was placed in a modernized era. Fancy cars, beautiful costumes depicting the 1930’s fashion, historical places and excellent acting made by the actors are the few reasons for the films excellent remark. Set in an era when England became a Fascist state, the characters originally made by William Shakespeare were so archetypal; hence the characters blended quite smoothly into the film’s modern setting. The English actor Ian McKellen, who starred as Richard, the Duke of Gloucester was the main character and later known as King Richard. Filled with political intrigue and treachery, the film shows the cunning and dangerous personality of Richard III. ‘Power Conquers All’, was the main tagline of the movie and a very appropriate in its case. Richard started as a member of the gentry and a soldier. Because of his ambitions, he mercilessly killed his own brother, Henry and murdered Prince Edward and his wife, Anne and other men just to seize the throne. The film was a dramatization of the bard’s plays into a different perspective whilst retaining the centuries old lines and story plot in the modern world.
Retelling Shakespeare’s famous play was not an easy task especially if it is to be adapted into a different era. Normally, this would create variations and changes to the characters; instead of sticking to the original, Loncraine challenged the Shakespeare’s character if they could ever adapt into the modern era by switching the setting into different time: from the hurly-burly of the Elizabethan England up to the post-war Britain. McKellen cemented his position as the greatest actor who portrayed Richard III. His actions were smooth and certain like a game master; seductive and passionate like James Bond and cunningly dangerous. Richard’s character was quite entertaining compared to the Richard in the play. In a scene that happened a few years after the brutal murders and wedding, the camera pans smoothly transitioning the audiences into the scene. Richard is shown with Anne, who became his wife. He offers her a ring; however, Richard removes the ring from his hand using his mouth and saliva for lubrication. He then places the ring in Anne’s hand which is quite a cruel twist to the poor widow. Because Richard is Edward’s murderer, the betrayer who became her own husband in the end; the saliva was not only a method for removing the ring in his hand rather it is a cruel and brutish way of reminding her that she was her brother’s former wife and upon her husband’s death she was snatched and branded as a possession by the man she loathed. Loncraine’s Richard was an excellent masterpiece showing that true meaning of the proverb that a man can become a wolf to another man for the sake of power; a man will give anything including the option of killing the ones belonging to the family, relatives and people closest to them. It is also evident that Richard was shown to have a tyrant and brutal personality as Hitler when it comes to political ambitions. The movie also shows how a keen observant Shakespeare is when it comes to his plays; the attitude of the people, the intrigue and the tension packed with action and drama were all captured in this historical masterpiece of all time.
Works Cited
Loncraine, Richard. 'Richard III (1995)'. IMDb. N. p., 1995. Web. 19 Jun. 2014.
Richard III. United Kingdom: Richard Loncraine, 1995. Film.
