Richard III (1955)

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Movie
Original title Richard III
Country of production Great Britain
original language English , Latin
Publishing year 1955
length 161 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Laurence Olivier
script Laurence Olivier
Alan Dent
production Alexander Korda
Laurence Olivier
music William Walton
camera Otto Heller
cut Helga Cranston
occupation

Richard III is a British film adaptation of the royal drama of the same name by William Shakespeare . Laurence Olivier directed and also took on the title role. The film was also the final thesis in Olivier's so-called Shakespeare trilogy. The world premiere of Richard III. took place on April 16, 1955 in London as part of a royal performance in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip . The film was shown in British cinemas from December 13, 1955. The German premiere of the drama approved by the FSK for ages 16 and up was on December 14, 1956.

action

After Edward IV's coronation as King of England, his crippled, power-hungry and unscrupulous brother Richard of Gloucester seeks the throne himself. He spins intrigues and forges alliances in order to position himself for a possible takeover. First he gets engaged to the initially reluctant Lady Anne, whose husband Edward was once killed by Richard. He then denounced his brother Clarence to the king by accusing him of high treason. Richard is able to wrest authority from the feeble and sickly king to have Clarence executed. At the same time Richard spreads the rumor that Queen Elizabeth was to blame for Clarence's execution.

King Edward seeks mercy before his brother Clarence and revokes the death sentence. The message arrives too late in the Tower of London , where the brother had been imprisoned waiting for his execution. Because Richard had him insidiously murdered immediately before by the hired scoundrels Dighton and Forrest. King Edward reached this news on his deathbed, after he had just reconciled his wife Elizabeth and her relatives with the loyal nobles around Buckingham and Hastings in order to finally give his country the long-awaited inner peace.

After Edward's death, Richard personally heads the escort with which the designated twelve-year-old heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales, is to be escorted from Ludlow to London. But Richard takes the boy and his little brother into the Tower, allegedly to prepare the Prince of Wales for the accession to the throne. En passant he also has the loyal Rivers and Dorset arrested and executed, as they threaten to endanger his plans. Much more dangerous, however, is Lord Hastings, who is loyal to Edward's heirs. In order to disavow him too, Richard spreads the rumor that he had allied himself with Edward's former mistress , Jane Shore. Richard's intrigues are successful: Hastings ends up under the guillotine as a suspected treason, and Jane Shore is defamed as a witch for having caused King Edward's death by magic.

Richard managed to get Buckingham on his side. This should influence the mood in Richard's favor, underpin his supposedly justified claim to the throne. In addition, the rumor is spread that the Prince of Wales and his brother are illegitimate sons of the late king and therefore have no claim to the title of king. Eventually, Richard of Gloucester becomes England's new King Richard III. chosen. To secure his power once and for all, he tries to convince Buckingham to assassinate the only remaining competition, the imprisoned, juvenile princes. But this time Buckingham defies Richard's shameful request and flees to Henry Tudor, the Earl of Richmond. He quietly recruits troops in order to quickly put an end to Richard's regime of horror.

From Lord Stanley, the stepfather of Henry Tudor and at the same time a friend of the executed Hastings, King Richard learns that something is brewing against him. Once again Richard takes the reins of the deal and has Buckingham arrested. Before the decisive battle against Tudor's forces, he wants to have Buckingham executed in Salisbury. However, the Battle of Bosworth turns to the detriment of Richard when Stanley and other powerful nobles switch fronts and side with Henry Tudor. The usurper king tries with all his might to secure his power by trying to kill Tudor personally. But the plan fails: Before he can lead this liberation, Richard III falls. in the fray by the sword.

Production notes

With Richard III. Olivier finished his extremely ambitious film adaptation of three Shakespeare works. This was preceded by the celebrated productions Heinrich V. (shot 1943/44) and Hamlet (shot 1947).

Unlike his two previous Shakespeare film productions, Richard III. nominated for only one Oscar : that for the best leading role (Olivier). However, the Academy Award was won by Yul Brynner for his performance in The King and Me .

In addition to Otto Heller's excellent camera work , the equipment was particularly praised. The film structures were designed by Roger K. Furse and implemented by his colleague Carmen Dillon .

Olivier's assistant director Gerry O'Hara often took on the role of director (of purely technical processes) when Olivier had to appear in front of the camera due to his role. Another co-director Olivier was Anthony Bushell .

The score, composed by William Walton , was recorded and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Muir Mathieson .

The outdoor shots were taken in Castile-La Mancha, Spain . The interiors were filmed in Shepperton Studios in London .

After 1955 Olivier was no longer able to make any Shakespeare film adaptations under his own direction and production. The reasons: The receipts at the British box office were extremely disappointing, and Richard III also proved himself in the key sales market, the USA, where the film started on March 11, 1956 . as little successful. In addition, Olivier's most important financier, the film producer Sir Alexander Korda , had died in January 1956. Only in 1965 did Olivier return to the camera with a Shakespeare role: under the direction of Stuart Burge , he played Othello .

The cost of production was about £ 6 million. Income in the UK was around £ 400,000 and in the US around $ 2.6 million.

The color film was shown in Vistavision .

Reviews

The national and international critics almost consistently praised Olivier's final work within his Shakespeare trilogy with the highest tones. At most, the stage-like implementation was criticized.

The film's great lexicon of people named Richard III. "Another masterful Shakespeare adaptation."

The Movie & Video Guide ruled: "Elaborate if stagy version of Shakespeare's chronicle of insane 15th-century British king and his court intrigues."

Halliwell's Film Guide writes: “Theatrical but highly satifying filming of a splendidly melodramatic view of history. Interesting but not fussy camera movement, delightful sets (followed by disappointingly 'realistic' battle) and superb performances. "

At Rotten Tomatoes is about Richard III. to read: "[It] was the final, crowning glory of the British studio system and the end of the great cycle of British films aimed at international audiences."

The lexicon of international film judged: “Supported by the confident camera and an ensemble of competent Shakespeare actors (above all the director), Olivier transposed the dramatic chronicle cleverly, opulently and faithfully onto the screen. One of the few successful dramas. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 6: N - R. Mary Nolan - Meg Ryan. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 59.
  2. ^ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide . 1996 edition, p. 1092.
  3. ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide . Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 853.
  4. ↑ Film review on rottentomatoes.com
  5. ↑ Klaus Brüne (Red.): Lexicon of International Films . Volume 6, p. 3113. Reinbek near Hamburg 1987.