Richard III (1995 film)

Plot

In a fictitious timeline of England in the late 1930s, a civil war (which occurs 450 years later than the historical event) ends with the Lancastrian King Henry and his son Prince Edward assassinated by Field Marshal Richard Gloucester of the rival faction supported by the House of York. Richard's elder brother Edward York becomes King. Richard is determined to take the crown, and pits King Edward against his brother, George Clarence, who is imprisoned under a sentence of death. Richard deceives and marries Prince Edward's widow Lady Anne Neville.

Queen Elizabeth intercedes on Clarence's behalf and persuades Edward to spare his life. Richard destroys the royal pardon and commissions a soldier James Tyrrell to murder Clarence, ostensibly in compliance with the original death sentence. Richard informs Edward of Clarence's death at a meeting with Prime Minister William Hastings, and the shocked King dies from a stroke. As Edward's sons are underage, Richard becomes Regent, taking the title of Lord Protector with the support of the ambitious and corrupt Henry Buckingham.

To undermine his rivals for the throne, Richard has Rivers, the Queen's brother, assassinated and uses the sordid circumstances of his death to damage the Queen's reputation and cast doubt on her sons' legitimacy. Hastings' reluctance to support Richard's claim to the crown so enrages Richard that he manufactures false charges of treason against the Prime Minister, who is sentenced to hang. Having made an example of his only vocal opponent, Richard persuades the Lord Mayor of London and members of the House of Lords to acknowledge his claim to the throne and crown him King. Acting on the advice of Archbishop Thomas and Lord Stanley, the Lancastrian heir, Henry Richmond, flees to France.

Following his coronation Richard, now King Richard III, seeks to make his throne secure. He employs Tyrrell to murder the princes after failing to convince Buckingham to do so. Aware that Richmond intends to marry Elizabeth, he instructs Sir William Catesby to spread rumours that Lady Anne is ill and likely to die, intending to marry Elizabeth. Lady Anne is found dead sometime later from an apparent drug overdose. Impatient for the promised reward for his loyalty, Buckingham demands the Earldom of Hereford. Richard dismisses this in a high-handed manner, with the line "I am not in the giving vein". Buckingham, also disturbed by the murders of the princes and Hastings, flees to meet Richmond but is later captured and killed by Tyrrell on Richard's orders.

Richmond gathers supporters, among them Archbishop Thomas and Richard's mother, the Duchess of York. They are joined by Air Marshal Thomas Stanley. Richmond marries Elizabeth and unites both Houses and political factions against Richard. With the army's loyalty slipping and the legitimacy of his claims to the crown weakened, Richard prepares for the final battle against the Lancastrians, who plan an invasion and an advance on London. Richard's remaining loyal troops, assembling in a marshalling yard, are attacked from the air, revealing Stanley's defection to the Lancastrian cause.

The two armies meet soon after at a ruined Battersea Power Station. Richard and Richmond seek each other out but when his vehicle stalls Richard flees into the structure. Pursued by Richmond, Richard is forced to climb onto exposed metal beams high above the burning battlefield. Cornered by Richmond and refusing to surrender, Richard falls into the inferno with a maniacal grin, reflected by Richmond.

Cast

• Ian McKellen as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III
• Annette Bening as Queen Elizabeth
• Jim Broadbent as the Duke of Buckingham
• Robert Downey Jr. as Rivers
• Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Anne Neville
• Maggie Smith as the Duchess of York
• John Wood as King Edward IV
• Nigel Hawthorne as George, Duke of Clarence
• Adrian Dunbar as Sir James Tyrrell
• Edward Hardwicke as Lord Stanley
• Tim McInnerny as Sir William Catesby
• Jim Carter as Lord Hastings
• Dominic West as Henry, Earl of Richmond (the future King Henry VII)
• Tres Hanley as Lord Rivers' mistress
• Roger Hammond as Archbishop Thomas
• Donald Sumpter as Robert Brackenbury
• Bill Paterson as Richard Ratcliffe
• Kate Steavenson-Payne as Princess Elizabeth
• Christopher Bowen as Edward of Lancaster, Prince of Wales
• Matthew Groom as Prince Richard of York
• Marco Williamson as Edward of York, Prince of Wales
• Edward Jewesbury as King Henry VI
• Denis Lill as Lord Mayor of London
• Ryan Gilmore as George Stanley
• Stacey Kent as Singer at the celebratory ball

Michael Elphick has an uncredited cameo appearance as the second murderer of George the Duke of Clarence.

Adaptation

The film is based upon a National Theatre production of Richard III, starring McKellen and directed by Richard Eyre, which ran in the summer of 1990.

The evoking of 20th-century Fascist and authoritarian imagery in a Shakespeare production had existed since at least the 1930s, notably Orson Welles' 1937 staging of Julius Caesar. In setting the film during that period, McKellen chose to portray the Woodvilles as Americans, alluding to Edward VIII's marriage to Wallis Simpson. Richard's deformities (themselves largely ahistorical) is portrayed as a withered arm, evoking German Kaiser Wilhelm II's Erb's palsy.

In adapting the original text, McKellen and Loncraine cut the character of Queen Margaret, giving some of her dialogue to the Duchess of York, and several minor parts including Clarence's children. Conversely, the roles of Richmond and James Tyrrell (combined with the 1st Murderer) are expanded. Rivers is also killed earlier in the film than he is in the play.

Production

Development

McKellen originally wanted Eyre to direct the film version as well, but declined due to his theatrical commitments. He stated in a 2024 interview,

"Although it is a history play, if you look at the dates, there were people at the original production whose grandparents would have lived in Richard III’s time. Richard [Eyre] suggested looking back to the 1930s and fascism, which seemed like a modern equivalent. Just before the play opened in the US, I said: 'Shouldn’t we film this?' He said: 'Yes, you’d better write a screenplay.'"Richard Loncraine admitted he was not well-versed in Shakespeare, but McKellen trusted him due to his instinct for strong visuals. "He knew nothing about Shakespeare but the partnership was perfect. He gave way on any point I made about the text and I conceded on visual things because he knew how to tell the story cinematically," McKellen said.

=== Casting === McKellen cast Robert Downey Jr., having enjoyed working with him in Restoration earlier that same year. Loncraine recalled of Downey "Robert Downey Jr was in a pretty bad way in those days: well-mannered, just not always quite with us, though his performance didn’t suffer."

Dominic West made his film debut as Richmond.

=== Filming === In keeping with the film's aesthetics, Loncraine chose locations that evoked a modernist architectural style rather than accuracy to the original text, for example portraying the Tower of London with the exterior of Bankside Power Station. Filming took place at Shepperton Studios and at various locations including the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, St Cuthbert's, Earls Court; Carnforth MPD, Senate House, London; Strawberry Hill House, County Hall, and St Pancras London Hotel. The climactic battle scene was shot at Battersea Power Station.

==Reception==

Richard III was well reviewed by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 96% based on 51 reviews, with an average score of 8.2/10. On Metacritic the film has an average score of 86 based on 24 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Empire magazine gave the film four out of five, calling it "fascinating" and "cerebral". Jeffrey Lyons said the film was "mesmerizing", while Richard Corliss in Time called it "cinematic". Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "the picture never stops coming at you". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four and included it on his Great Movies list.

===Accolades=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Award ! Category ! Nominee(s) ! Result ! Ref. |- | Best Art Direction | Tony Burrough | |- | Best Costume Design | Shuna Harwood | |- | Golden Bear | |- | Best Director | |- | Outstanding British Film | Lisa Katselas Paré, Stephen Bayly, and Richard Loncraine | |- | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Ian McKellen | |- | Best Adapted Screenplay | Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine | |- | Best Costume Design | Shuna Harwood | |- | Best Production Design | Tony Burrough | |- | British Society of Cinematographers Awards | Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film | |- | Camerimage | Golden Frog | |- | Chlotrudis Awards | Best Actor | |- | European Film Awards | European Actor of the Year | |- | Best Film | |- | Best Technical or Artistic Achievement | Tony Burrough | |- | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | |- | London Film Critics Circle Awards | British Actor of the Year | |- | Nastro d'Argento | Best Foreign Director | Richard Loncraine | |}

==Soundtrack== The soundtrack to Richard III was released on 27 February 1996.

{{Track listing

}}

"Come Live with Me" is a 1930s-style swing song, performed by Stacey Kent at the ball celebrating Edward IV's triumph. It is an original composition by Trevor Jones with anachronistic lyrics adapted from Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love", a poem actually written a century after the events depicted in the play.

==Legacy== One of the T-34 tanks used in the film, originally in service with the Czech army, can still be seen in London, permanently located on a plot of land in Bermondsey on the corner of Mandela Way and Page's Walk. It is regularly repainted by graffiti artists.

==Notes==

==References==

==External links==

• McKellen's website about the film including an annotated copy of the screenplay.

[[Category:1995 films]] [[Category:British drama films]] [[Category:American drama films]] [[Category:1990s dystopian films]] [[Category:1990s English-language films]] [[Category:British alternative history films]] [[Category:American alternate history films]] [[Category:Films set in the 1930s]] [[Category:Films set in England]] [[Category:Films based on Richard III (play)]] [[Category:Films directed by Richard Loncraine]] [[Category:Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare]] [[Category:Films scored by Trevor Jones]] [[Category:Films about fascists]] [[Category:1995 British films]] [[Category:1995 American films]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Henry VII of England]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Edward IV]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Edward V]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Henry VI of England]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Elizabeth of York]] [[Category:British dystopian films]] [[Category:1995 science fiction films]] [[Category:English-language science fiction films]] [[Category:Films about disability in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Anne Neville]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Elizabeth Woodville]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence]] [[Category:English-language drama films]]

References

1. "''Richard III'' Screenplay by Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine".
2. Gilbey, Ryan. (2024-07-29). "'We went bankrupt and had to set up the explosives ourselves': Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine on making Richard III". The Guardian.
3. "Richard III".
4. "Richard III".
5. Errigo, Angie. (January 2000). "Empire's Richard III Movie Review".
6. Stern, Keith. (1995). "Richard III: Reviews". Mckellen.com.
7. Corliss, Richard. (24 June 2001 }}{{Dead link). "Pulp Elizabethan Fiction".
8. Ebert, Roger. (7 October 2009). "Richard III Movie Review & Film Summary (1996)". [[Chicago Sun-Times]].
9. "The 68th Academy Awards (1996) Nominees and Winners". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
10. "Berlinale: 1996 Prize Winners". berlinale.de.
11. "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1997". [[British Academy Film Awards]].
12. "Best Cinematography in Feature Film". [[British Society of Cinematographers]].
13. "CAMERIMAGE 1996". [[Camerimage]].
14. "2nd Annual Chlotrudis Awards". [[Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films]].
15. "EFA Night 1996". [[European Film Awards]].
16. "Richard III". [[Golden Globe Awards]].
17. "Richard III Soundtrack". AllMusic.
18. Rothwell, Kenneth. (2004). "A History of Shakespeare on Screen: A Century of Film And Television". Cambridge University Press.