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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laurence Olivier brings his Richard Crookback to the screen, 2 Jan 2004
"Richard III" was the third film I ever saw based on a play by William Shakespeare. The first two were Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Taming of the Shrew." Watching Laurence Olivier's Richard approach the camera, hold his hunchbacked body at an odd angle, and declaim "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of York." By the time Richard's opening monologue, with additionally dialogue pulled from a similar speech in "Henry VI, Part III," I was totally convinced me that if I ever played Shakespeare on stage it was this part that I wanted to play (for lead parts that remains true, although I have a great affection for John of Gaunt in "Richard II"). Now I know that Olivier's portrayal of Richard Crookback is an extension of the interpretation he first brought to the stage in 1944. At the time all I knew was that the tradition was that an actor performed Richard before he tackled Hamlet. I was not sure why this should be the case at the time, but I have a sense of it now for whereas the Prince of Denmark is doomed by his failure to act, Richard, Duke of Glouster and thereafter King of England, is relentless in his pursuit of the crown. The idea of Olivier's Richard as a malevolent spider is apt, for he is beyond the stereotype of the power-hungry politician. He is a ruthless, dominant, and unforgettable figure, who consumes everything in his way and ultimately himself. The cast of this 1956 film includes John Geilgud, Ralph Richardson, and Cedric Hardwicke, but these actors have no more chance of standing up against Olivier's performance than their characters do of stopping Richard. For me the most memorable scene ends up being when Richard seduces the Lady Anne (Claire Bloom) over her husband's coffin, probably because that is the point at which Richard's ascension is assured as well as where he goes over the line. The job by Olivier and Alan Dent, his text advisor, of making Shakespeare's play accessible to the masses who attend the movies is rather brilliant, not only in terms of the cuts (e.g., the character of Queen Margaret) but also the choice additions as well (the coronation of King Edward IV). The use of the crown motif is made clear without being forced, providing a cinematic way of reinforcing the power struggle, and we also have the overly bright Technicolor photography of Otto Heller giving a sense of pageantry to the proceedings. But we keep coming back to Olivier's performance and his dramatic appearance: the long black hair, the thin lips, the deformed left hand, the elongated nose, the crooked back and the sidling walk. It is no wonder that during the dark days of Watergate the idea of Richard Nixon as the American modern version of Richard Crookback took such a hold in my imagination. However, since I have seen this film there is only one other character whose evil has been as overwhelmingly charismatic, and that would be Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter. This is only a minority opinion because very few people have seen both films. But if you have, then I would think you be inclined to agree.
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