Richard III
Short description
Laurence Olivier directs and stars in this 1955 British adaptation of William Shakespeare's play about Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and his ruthless path toward the English throne. Having helped his brother Edward IV become king, the hunchbacked Richard grows envious of his brother's power and begins scheming against nearly everyone at court. He turns on his own family, including his brother George, Duke of Clarence, and courts Lady Anne, widow of a Lancastrian heir, as part of his designs on the crown. The story unfolds during the Wars of the Roses, in the second half of the fifteenth century.
Olivier takes the title role, with Cedric Hardwicke as Edward IV, John Gielgud as Clarence, Ralph Richardson as Buckingham and Mary Kerridge as Queen Elizabeth among a credited cast of 23. The screenplay was written by Colley Cibber, David Garrick and Olivier, drawing on earlier stage versions of the play as well as Shakespeare's text. Olivier also produced alongside Alexander Korda for London Films. The film followed his Hamlet from 1948 and preceded The Prince and the Showgirl from 1957 in his work as director.
At 155 minutes, the film is a substantial historical drama. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.3 from around 5,800 votes, and on TMDB a rating of 7.2 from about 97 votes. Both audiences received it favourably, with little separating the two scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) used long takes in the film to give the actors and actresses the opportunity to perform in a more theatrical manner. His opening dialogue was filmed in a single long take lasting 9 minutes.
- In portraying Richard III (1452-1485), Laurence Olivier reflected many of the traits of theatrical producer and director Jed Harris (1900-1979), who was not popular with his colleagues. Several years later, he learned that Disney animators had parodied Harris's image when creating the Wolf character from the Three Little Pigs.
- The Battle of Bosworth (which took place on August 22, 1485) could not be filmed in Leicestershire, where it actually occurred, due to the area's modern development. Instead, assistant director Anthony Bushell (1904-1997) found a bull farm near Madrid where the vegetation was green enough to pass for English countryside, and secured the support of the national army. This was a decade before Spain gained popularity among film directors as a filming location.
- The most dangerous were the battle scenes, and they were generally fraught with various mishaps. During the filming of one scene, Olivier himself was injured when an arrow was shot directly into his leg. Fortunately, it was his left leg, and Richard III limped on his left leg.
- Applying makeup to Laurence Olivier (including the hump and withered arm) took three hours before the start of each shooting day.
- After filming this movie, several large-scale adaptations of Shakespeare's works were planned, starting with 'Macbeth,' in which Vivien Leigh was to play the leading female role. However, the death of the project's principal financier and producer, Alexander Korda, shattered these plans.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
