Al Pacino's Looking for Richard
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Al Pacino's Looking for Richard |
| Original title | Looking for Richard |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1996 |
| length | 112 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Al Pacino |
| script | Al Pacino |
| production |
Michael Hadge Al Pacino |
| music | Howard Shore |
| camera | Robert Leacock |
| cut |
William A. Anderson Ned Bastille Pasquale Buba Andre Ross Betz |
| occupation | |
| |
Al Pacino's Looking for Richard (original and alternative title: Looking for Richard ) is an American documentary from 1996 . Directed by Al Pacino , who also wrote the script based on the play Richard III. wrote by William Shakespeare in 1593 and co-produced the film. In his debut film as a director, Pacino plays both himself as the director of the play, who develops the roles with the actors, as well as the title role in selected scenes.
The origin of the film was a Shakespeare workshop by Al Pacino, which he conducted with American students. The film itself is the result of many years of intensive study of Shakespeare's work.
action
The drama Richard III. takes place towards the end of the English Wars of the Roses . The main character is Richard Duke of Gloucester from the House of York , the youngest brother of the reigning King Edward IV. Richard is aiming for the royal crown. He intrigues, corrupts the powerful and power-hungry landlords at court and has all those who precede him in the line of succession murdered. The Duke of Buckingham , a member of the Council of Thrones, asks him publicly not to rule as regent, but to accept the royal crown, which Richard accepts for the time being. He orders Buckingham to have his two nephews, sons and rightful heirs, killed, which - as Spacey comments - crosses Buckingham's line. In the decisive battle between his supporters, or the House of York and the supporters of the Plantagenets , he fell in battle , and his competitor Heinrich Plantagenet succeeded him as Henry VII on the English throne.
The film mixes the plot of Shakespeare's play with documentary recordings in which Pacino speaks, among other things, about the problems with the reception of Shakespeare's works in the USA. He discusses with American students and people on the street what they know about Shakespeare and the difficulties of understanding the language in his dramas, which is perceived as old-fashioned and foreign. He talks to the actors about their roles and rehearses individual scenes of the play with them. In between, he conducts interviews with a number of Shakespeare actors and directors, such as Kenneth Branagh , Peter Brook , Paul Gleason , John Gielgud , Derek Jacobi , James Earl Jones , Kevin Kline and Vanessa Redgrave . Again and again he comes back to the topicality of Shakespeare, which concerns the behavior, problems and actions of people today. The film and theater director Kevin Spacey , who embodies the Earl of Buckingham, compares this z. B. with the political advisors who were responsible for the Iran-Contra affair .
Reviews
The American film critic Roger Ebert praises Al Pacino's film as the result of years of conflict with the English playwright: “The point is that the appreciation of Shakespeare is an ongoing project for anyone interested in literature. We capture history and familiarity, and if we're lucky, we see the greatness, the humor, the sadness, the insight, the wisdom. 'Looking for Richard' is the portrait of a man and his friends who do just that. By making the decision to become an actor, they know that they cannot respect this art without hugging the greatest poet. When we have decided to become readers and viewers, there is nothing less we can do and this film is a wonderful inspiration ”.
The film 'Looking For Richard' is an investigation into Shakespeare as a "cultural institution". He goes against the prejudice that Shakespeare is now irrelevant because of his language and that his stories are boring. “During the film, Pacino asks the audience what Shakespeare means to them, squeezes scholars for their findings, asks the elite British theater actors for their ideas, visits places where Shakespeare lived, visits the newly built Globe Theater in London and goes on a pilgrimage to Stratford-upon-Avon ”. With his final scene from Richard III. the film arouses curiosity about Shakespeare. But above all, 'Looking For Richard' is a film, and Pacino makes use of all the possibilities that a film offers to tell a story, to create tension, to entertain and to educate ( educate ) when you bring Shakespeare onto the stage.
The Lexicon of International Films wrote that Al Pacino questioned “the validity of ethical norms in the past and present”. Much remains "just an assertion or is mentally overwhelmed by a hectic video clip aesthetic". Only in its second half did the film find “its own rhythm, so that some of the ambiguity of the original and at the same time something of Pacino's skill” conveyed itself.
Awards
Robert Leacock won the Golden Frog of the Polish Camerimage Festival in 1996 . Al Pacino received the Directors Guild of America Award in 1997 and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award . The film was in 1997 for the price Eddie the American Cinema Editors nomination.
backgrounds
The film was shot in London , Stratford-upon-Avon , Montreal and New York City . Its world premiere took place in May 1996 at the 1996 Cannes International Film Festival . The film ran in the Un Certain Regard series out of competition. On September 8, 1996, the film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival , which was followed by several other film festivals. The film grossed approximately $ 1.36 million in US cinemas . There were over 23,000 cinema viewers in Germany.
Web links
- Looking for Richard in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Al Pacino's Looking for Richard at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Looking for Richard , accessed July 10, 2016.
- ↑ “The point is that the appreciation of Shakespeare is an ongoing project for any literate person. We pick up history and familiarity as we go along, and if we are lucky we eventually see the majesty, the humor, the sadness, the insight and the wisdom. “Looking for Richard” is the portrait of a man and his friends doing just that. Having chosen to be actors, they know they cannot respect their craft without embracing its greatest writer. Having chosen to be readers and viewers, we cannot do less, and this film is a delightful inspiration ". Rober Ebert: Looking for Richard , accessed July 10, 2016.
- ^ The Film Space. Shakespeare on Film Looking for Richard , accessed July 10, 2016.
- ^ Al Pacino's Looking for Richard in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed March 18, 2008
- ↑ Locations for Looking for Richard, accessed March 18, 2008
- ^ Opening dates for Looking for Richard, accessed March 18, 2008
- ↑ Box office results for Looking for Richard, accessed March 18, 2008