Armand more than an innovative adaptation of the Shakespeare's play, it is an experience. an exercise of memory, a lesson of history, an admirable work who presents slices from a WWII in a special manner. story about power, it becomes testimony about the illness of a century by each of its dictatorship. story about tyranny, it is a warning and remarkable tool for remember the universal message of Shakespeare work. the cast, the music, the image - all is perfect. in few moments , the only problem becomes the forced context for the Shakespeare words. but the situation is saved by the spirit of play. more than an eccentric adaptation, great performances, it is pure history lesson. few scenes - strong and touching - are necessaries proofs.

pontifikator The 1995 film is a masterpiece. I'm not familiar with Richard Loncraine, the director, but the cast includes such luminaries as Ian McKellan, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey, Jr., Kristin Scott Thomas, and Maggie Smith.McKellan adapted the play to a modern England where it has become a fascist state. King Richard is a kind of Hitler, and the wars are fought with modern equipment. We are sucked into McKellan's version so completely that the anachronisms between the language and the time don't matter. McKellan is excellent as the mad would-be dictator, and the rest of the cast is lifted to his level. As with all Shakespeare's work, I recommend reading the work before seeing the movie. I'd suggest a copy of the Folger's or Arden editions (either or both probably available from your local library for free) with explanations of the more obscure words and phrases. The language of Shakespeare is beautiful, and the cast here is equal to the words.McKellan is a superbly evil and maniacal Richard as he murders his way to the throne, and his death is one of the best on film. He nails the role; he nails the look as a sordid, dissolute tyrant.This adaptation is similar to July Taymore's adaptation of "Titus Andronicus" to modern times in her 1999 film "Titus." Taymore and McKellan have both done excellent jobs of introducing modern elements into classical tragedies from Shakespeare. They showcase the incredible genius behind the works, still relevant today.A reminder that this film is an adaptation and that McKellan rearranged scenes, removed characters, and rewrote dialogue. I have not seen Olivier's "Richard III," but it gets high marks as the best on film for the true play, not an adaptation.

crooow-2 First the good: the movement to modern neo-fascism was interesting, the twist on many of the speeches was fascinating (which is one of the pleasures of re-doing Shakespeare - viz. the interpretation), McKellen is great, and most of the supporting cast is solid.What I didn't like as much: some of the choices regarding what dialogue to keep and what to discard. Losing some of the opening soliloquy was unnecessary and a crime to Richard III fans. Benning and Downey Jr are not good in this - I like them in other films but here they sounded as if they were reciting lines that they had carefully memorized - very unnatural. But mostly where I think this falls short of the Olivier version is in the believability of Richard as a charmer. Olivier makes you believe that Richard could fool people. In this version, Richard is so blatantly evil that nobody could be deceived by him. Maybe they aren't supposed to be in this version but Richard III is one of the all-time great villains because he could charm people (a la Hannibal Lecter). Not here.

ntvnyr30 It's unfortunate more people don't know about this film and what a treasure it is. In fact, I think I almost relish when people are not aware of a small film like this, because I can introduce it to them. A similar small, great film that people have never heard of is "Glengarry Glen Ross." I am a Shakespeare fan, and think updating the period to the modern era should have made this more accessible to the general populace, but unfortunately it didn't register with them.Everyone knows the plot--about a deformed man with an insatiable lust for power who is able to overcome his physical handicap with a silver tongue (hmmm, I think I met some of these people before...).There are many superlatives about this film--the cast, the cinematography, the music--but what can't be said of Ian McKellan's performance? He was simply amazing, and seemed to have a devil of a time in his quest to reach the throne. The scene when he's walking the hall of the military hospital after successfully wooing Elizabeth is hilarious. How he wasn't nominated for an Academy Award I'll never know.The cast is worth mentioning, such a great compilation of actors: Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent, John Wood, Kristen Scott Thomas and of course Nigel Hawthorne. The cast also included two Yanks: Annette Bening and Robert Downey jr. I liked Downey's inclusion more than Bening's, since Bening's reading of the lines sounded well, just like that.Broadbent is great as Richard's willing accomplice and Adrian Dunbar is also excellent as another willing participant in Richard's evil deeds.This is a must-see for all Shakespeare fans.