Richard III
1955 · Movie · 161 min. · United Kingdom
The third and final entry in Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare triptych, Richard III (1954) is an audacious portrait of a man determined to prove himself a villain. As the personification of evil impudence, Olivier portrays the Duke of Gloucester with such aplomb that he brings the audience onto his side. This is true even as Richard engineers plots to murder his brother Clarence (John Gielgud), betray his cousin Buckingham (Ralph Richardson), and seduce his niece Lady Anne (Claire Bloom). From the play's famous opening lines ("Now is the winter of our discontent"), Olivier delivers every speech with truly Machiavellian splendor, and his superb staging of the climactic battle rivals his work on Henry V.
Direction Laurence Olivier
Cast Laurence Olivier · Ralph Richardson · John Gielgud · Claire Bloom · Cedric Hardwicke · Stanley Baker · Alec Clunes · Norman Wooland · Laurence Naismith · Pamela Brown · John Laurie · Michael Gough
Soundtrack William Walton
Screenplay Laurence Olivier · William Shakespeare
Cinematography Otto Heller
Original title Richard III
7.2
890 votes (FilmAffinity)
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