Looking For Richard (DVD)

Richard III is a great play, even judged purely within Shakespeare?s canon. One of his greatest tragedies, and almost indisputably the finest of his historical pieces, with all sorts of quotable bits. It mutilates the actual events of Richard of Gloucester?s accession and reign, but who cares? Be honest. Al Pacino certainly doesn?t care. And in the carefree mid-90s, he set out to show the world how his favourite play should be performed. Looking for Richard is essentially a documentary based around Pacino?s attempts to stage the ultimate production of Richard III. Apparently Pacino?s directorial debut, critics cooed over the heavyweight cast and ponderings on ...

Murder, betrayal and treachery, and that’s just skimming the surface. Yet Shakespeare’s work is described by one passer-by in this film as boring, and another even goes as far as saying "it sucks". How to bring Richard III, perhaps the Bard’s most complex play, to the masses, is the question Al Pacino posed himself before making this film. Why is it that despite its almost universal acclaim from scholars, Shakespeare’s work is not appreciated more by the general public? And is there a deep-rooted problem that prevents American actors from successfully performing his plays? Part documentary, part re-enactment, ...