Laurence Olivier: 'Richard III'- Richard woos Anne (1 of 2)

[johnsher2]

Olivier I'm told singlehandedly transformed the presentation and declamation style of Shakespeare from a florid, musical style to a more direct, minimalist, dramatic form. Though he's very dramatic and over-the-top here, that is what works in Shakespeare.

[BigAl9432]

Anne (Claire Bloom) was also the queen in The King's Speech

[Nelsonhojax15]

Am I the only one who finds this Anne really sexy. She's got that "hidden desire" thing down really well. I know Olivier rocks these two scenes, but she helps, I think, to really add that extra level of sexual tension.

[novadrian]

I am SO confused. Am I right in thinking that the scene with Anne, which is just one scene in the written text has been split into two in this film, and placed on either side of the scene with Clarence?

[MissyHolland]

@novadrian Yes. Olivier thought it more believable rather than have him accomplish his aim in one scene.

[jg2904]

SOOOO Golden Age... I don't know how much of this I watch before going insane. It's a shame such great performances are buried under this awful early technicolor cinematography and an array of horrendous sets!

[port304]

@jg2904 Oh you poor sensitive troll. Let me apologize on behalf of the thousands of artists whose work causes you such cruel torment.

[port304]

@jg2904 Oh you poor sensitive troll. Let me apologize on behalf of the thousands of artists whose work causes you such cruel torment. You know, some of these criminals had the termity to work with black and white film and monaural audio. Philistines and barbarians!!!

[jg2904]

@port304 I do love b&w films... but something about the early technicolor stuff just really does nothing for me. It's like they forgot everything they learned shooting with b&w and made all the lighting flat and obviously unnatural in these early color pictures. The sets look SO studio and unreal, too. The realism and attention to detail is really what separates films like Branagh's Henry V from Olivier's for example. Anyway, to each his/her own. Touché, my first comment was bit harsh.

[spide429]

@jg2904 Olivier felt that verse spoken on real sets would be jarring and laughable. He deliberately used "sets" to let the language create the atmosphere.

[jg2904]

@spide429 Cool to know! I often like (or can at least tolerate) an effect more when I know the reason behind it.

[Jedermann101]

Lawrence Olivier, in my opinion he played the best Hamlet I ever so. Only him was capable of giving the full measure of depth and evil that Richard is alleged to have had. Brilliant! Magnificent!

Miguel

[hididdlyho82]

@Jedermann101 Have you seen Branaghs hamlet? Branaghs hamlet was magnificent!

[jakbottle]

Is it just me or do the priests at 06:50 seem like they done't have a clue what tune they want to sing the latin in? haha

[bookkeeper57]

Takes an actor like Olivier to make this really improbable scene work.

Richard III is a creep who woos this widow over her husband's dead body.

He is not the least bit subtle about it. I've seen more indirection in a singles' bar.

He has personal and political reasons for wanting the widow.

[michaudj14]

Laurence Olivier is a brilliant actor and this is one of my favorite scenes in all Shakespearean plays, but they chopped out most of the lines!! He's supposed to be quick-witted and irresistible, and compared to the original script he hardly talks in this, except to himself. Lammmmmeee

[alanth252]

Historical nonsense! Edward was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury, by whom is unknown. Anne was taken prisoner, eventually to Clarence's house where she became the subject of dispute between Clarence and Richard. Clarence, married to her sister was anxious to secure the whole Neville inheritance. It`s said Anne escaped from Clarence's custody. She was found in a cookshop disguised as a servant by Richard who took her to sanctuary. They married soon after and were very happy together.

[dodbell]

he fucks her over the coffin of her husband

[iamanatullah]

@homeros8000

Shakespeare had more more insight about human psychology than pretty much everyone else on earth, but it's up to the film director to determine how that psychology will translate onscreen. Unlike Pacino, Olivier was not making an essay film with excerpts from the play, and in this context Olivier's wooing scene was more effective when split, as the second part indicates.

[homeros8000]

@iamanatullah

Every director has his own vision. I agree that he has a point, but I believe that the actor should take the task of convincing the viewers that this can happen in one scene. I saw that Pacino's performance was extremely convincing, in addition to this, Shakespeare had more insight about human psychology than Olivier.

[SavannahFern]

that's her father-in-law. not her husband. in the casket.

[artj22850]

Isn't the text rearranged here? I have read the play and this part comes after the viewing. I guess Olivier took the liberty to rearrange the words.

[92af]

Peter Cushing was much better than Laurence Olivier was

[ngcjean]

I can see why some may dislike Olivier's interpretation and depiction of Richard, the scenery, and the way it is acted.

Richard's soliloquy may not directly address the audience as Olivier does, but indirectly speaking to us all as on-lookers, whilst speaking to himself. This may be confusing to some.

I love Olivier's style. I understood Shakespeare so much more after watching him. As Prycik mentions, it is about interpretation and no one style is the best, but for me it is Olivier.

[scienquist]

Oh man this version totally strips the humour from Richard's encounter with Anne.  In the play it becomes so absurd that it actually seems pretty funny.

[rodrigofromspain]

I need this movie in SPANISH URGENTLY!!!!

[sallyfieldrequired]

it has been a hard day's night

[warhols25]

This movie (spectacularly terrifying performance by Laurence Olivier) along with "Becket" and "A Man for All Seasons" are my favourite on screen depictions of English history. Line, hook and sinker !

[saharabdelmonsef2]

this is one of my favourit scenes

Richard my favourit villian :)

[zeekwolfe]

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.

[ariadneugene]

this Richard is too handsome for the original character

[hoodoo961]

What the hell is up with this version? So many of the lines and scenes are totally different than in the play.

[valocilf]

He's the best Richard I've seen, without a doubt. He scared me when I watched this when I was little and he's still a cold viel thing. Brilliant work with his eyes too.

[lepulverfe]

Yes, Al Pacino, Sir Ian Mckellen and many other actors are wonderfull. I could make a long list.. maybe Sir Derek Jacobi is Oliviers equal.. my two favourite actors. Afterall, the "who is better than who" contest, isn´t it a matter of subjective opinion... I love Olivier in this part.

[2009Historian]

Last year i saw this scene this is quite acurate with what happened as King Richard III really did marry Ann, the young wife of the deceassed Henry VI!!

[roguefem]

Uh, no. First off, he married Anne 12 years before Edward died. They had a ten-year-old son who was in Richard's coronation.

Also, Anne was married off at age 15 not to Henry VI, but to his SON. Since her father turned coat and married her off to a former enemy, it's unlikely that she mourned him.

Richard was a longtime ally whom she had known since childhood. He also rescued her and her inheritance from Clarence, AND got her mother out of prison.

I wonder which husband she preferred? :-P

[kackbretzel]

i did not like it. i agree with evietibbatts, that they´ve missed the point.

lady anna seems much stronger to me and i do believe that she wants to uphold her position in the monarchy and politics.

and gloster is somewhat like charles manson, not as stupid, but a lethal and fearsome character with a huge amount of attraction on women, even though he might not be beautifull.

both of them seem equipollent to me. albeit gloster is keeping the upper hand in the end.

[phantom4087]

In my opinion, the other characters don't matter too much. What I love about Richard III is the contrast between Richard and all the other characters: Richard III, who is a despicable vile human being, is the most witty and interesting character in the history, whereas the other characters, who tend to be good and just people, are gullible and uninteresting, so it presents a dilemma for the audience: do I side with Richard, or the good people?

[musicgalore30]

@phantom4087 Richard is the only one among them with any sense

[suiram85]

All you purists telling us that Olivier missed the point. Maybe you have missed the point? Genius.

[evietibbatts]

I did this play for an exam last year and we looked at this scene in great detail. Very dissappointed that they missed the point of this scene entirely. There's a wonderful monologue in the wooing section they missed out that i wanted to hear. very sad.

[AnnwynAuldcross]

Well it was vastly important to pain Richard III as a monster during the Tudor reign, because they used his brother's legitimacy as a claim to the throne, so its not overly surprising they paint him to be evil in this play. Its heavily biased.

[54spiritedwill54]

Even if Pacino is a wonderful actor, he doesn't matcher the living wonder that Sir Laurence was.

[justagog]

This clip is great so is the acting and im english so as far as heritage stuff goes i go with it, we know the whole play was put together by shakspear so events are questionable , but this is a film of the play not an probe into historical facts.

[mbarac]

Perfection by Larry...

[FilmTraum9a]

It's great!

[jamiesh]

i'm dissappointed by the rearrangement of this scene. it changes the story. the way it was originally written, richard is able to successfully woo lady anne in one scene, which says something entirely different about richard as a man and the context of the play

[zenguy22]

I don't see why everyone is harping on this being "terrible". How about the fact that this whole play is based on LIES!

[Prycik]

Pretty sure Richard can't hear the lies of which you speak.

[legendary1210]

Olivier's Richard III is convincing--and one of the best Shakespearean acting performances on film. Lady Anne is not overacting; she is acting in the Shakespearean style.

[Prycik]

I take offence to the term "Shakespearean Style" There is no one way to do Shakespeare- all that matters is that you say the words in a way that gets to the meaning. That's why I hated Pacino putting on a fake English accent. There might have been a "style" more favored in the 50s when Olivier mad e this movie when doing Shakespeare, but there is no one style. If you're acting it, how you do it doesn't matter, it's whether or not you get your point across.

[Lytton333]

Surely you've got that the wrong way round?

I would have thought that how the actor expresses the meaning of the text depends upon how he/she speaks it..

[Prycik]

Well, yes. I wasn't trying to say meaning comes second, you have to go to the text first. What I'm mainly trying to say is that style comes after the actor studies the text and develops an interpretation. Style is irrellevant, interpretation is crucial.

[randyshipp]

God, what a dreadful butchery. If one wants to do Shakespeare, do Shakespeare. But to cut, edit, and rearrange as if you know better than he did how to write for effect and pace is pretty silly and damn near unwatchable. Never mind the tedious quivering of Lady Anne's voice.  And hey, I'm sorry, but Olivier's acting here is not great.

[jerkpork82]

i must agree. this was terrible. if you want to rearrange shakespeare a little bit then fine. cut some of the lines for time purposes then fine. but you miss the entire wooing of this scene. the only instance of wooing was "in your bedchamber". It was terrible. they skip just how evil and devoid of all human emotion Richard is. Not to mention the performance by this lady anne was horrendous. not a shinnig moment for Olivier. Ian Mckellin's version for this scene was brilliant however.

[starrbeatlesqueen]

that coffin is so small.

[joe983]

I love Walton's music for this film, especially the tender moments featuring Lady Anne.

[Paperclip2000]

yeah I think he's underrated.

[ladytron72]

Haunting is the word yes. could anyone tell me which's the best dvd from this to get? Reg 2... Ta!

[elenapulli]

Unforgettable and haunting; Sir Laurence Olivier could not be bettered.

[munerider]

Is this Olivier or Marty Feldman?

[starrbeatlesqueen]

olivier.

[Rh1ann0n13]

Agh, Could Lady Anne be anymore overdone??

[Commando303X]

I like her performance.

[Commando303X]

No! I'm right and you're wrong! (Kidding...)

[checkoutmyprofile]

Happy Birthday Laurence Olivier:)

[chutney93]

yes i found it!!!!!!

i am doing this for drama...

THANX!!

[ryandivall]

Thanks for putting this up. Needed to watch it for revision.

[xaimziiixluvzxmcfly]

Yay i kind of understand it now cuz iv got SATS nxt week and i hav 2 do it on this play

[HayliiBabiiX]

can some one tell me something about this scene because i have an exam on it next week

and i don't realy understand shake speare

x

[iPodVideo99]

this is soo boring

[stevie114crane]

Yeah it really seriously is!

[KurtSteiner]

Even if Pacino is a wonderful actor, he doesn't matcher the living wonder that Sir Laurence was.

[Deztrei]

It's actually called "Looking for Richard" not "Finding Richard." And while Pacino is an awesome actor to say his portrayal is better than Olivier's, well them's fighting words, aren't they. I do agree with you about Lady Anne though, I don't think Ryder really felt comfortable enough to understand and portray the part well.

[twistyconee]

comparing this to "finding richard", al pacino's documetary/version of this story, pacino plays richard better than this guy but this lady anne is better than winona ryder

[homeros8000]

Olivier's acting is great but it is not appropriate for movies, it is theatrical in the first place. His splitting of the scenes confuses the veiwer, especially those acquainted with the original play.

[KristynaKabzanova]

I have to agree. A like Pacino's version better too.

[homeros8000]

Yes. I like Pacino as well. Although his accent is American, but his acting is superb.

[iamanatullah]

@homeros8000 Richard is a theatrical part and is best played that way. And Olivier's performance works brilliantly on film, especially his direct addresses to the camera.

[tss77]

What a great pleasure if one could see the entire movie Richard III.

[constanzavictrix]

Fifties influence apparent in her costume - decollete!! and they omitted many (witty, important) lines - typical hollywoood. Too much time devoted to those coffin bearers and latin singing.

[pamphilia]

Actually, Olivier splits up the courtship scene in two- the part with the sword and the ring comes later in the film.

[ticklepint]

Marvellous film in every respect.

[Eudora74]

One of my favourites... is curious that sir Laurence Olivier offers to sir John Gielgud the role of Clarence....¿!

[zenstudent37]

The best adaptation Of Shakespeares play.

[alterfritz]

Great video, thanks for the clip