Looking for richard Purpose To connect Shakespeare’s universal themes and the powerful language with the everyday public. Pacino- “we’re peddling him on the streets” To present a Shakespeare about how we think and feel today. Pacino- “It has always been a dream of mine to communicate how I feel about Shakespeare to others”.
Context
Multicultural religious influence
lack of or loss of power of the monarchy
existential belief- that man is responsible for his own destiny
Capitalist , egalitarian society, 20th century
Themes
Morality- as emphasised by the African American the street, who asserts that we lack morals because we don’t understand and appreciate Shakespeare, “that’s why it’s easy for us to get a gun and shoot each other. If we were taught to feel, we wouldn’t be so violent.”
Power of Language-“if we think words are things and we have no feelings in our words then we say things to each other that don’t mean anything. But if we felt what we said, we would say less and mean more.”
Lust for Power- The actors in Pacino’s text are fascinated by the battle for power and the hatred that is so obvious, “They are clawing at each other for the throne.” Comparisons are made to the film “The Godfather-the gathering of the Dons in this room.” This connection between Shakespearean lust for power with contemporary lust for power shows that there will always be those who desire power and are willing to go to great lengths to achieve this goal.
Redgrave says, “The truth is that those in power have total contempt for everything they promise, everything they pledge and this is really what Shakespeare’s great play is really about.”
Vengeance and Retribution- Pacino observes that Richard has no friends and the academic states that Richard “knows that he does not have his own humanity. He has lost it!” Richard even fails to pity himself and concludes that there is no creature that loves him.
Form film
Text techniques Technique Lighting
Effect + example Richard III scenes featured dark lighting, emphasizing his metaphorical darkness/evil personality. Half face lit = duplicity of Richard Contrast with brighter, fully featured actors as other characters in Richard III; the more pure/innocent figures.
Looking for richard Contextual (feature of text form)
Elizabethan era had very dim interiors, while today’s brightly lit indoor areas were utilised for rehearsals, design and discussions. Daylight vox pop interviews and the diagetic sounds of the streets enabled Pacino to literally bring his “search for Richard” out of the darkness into the light. Pacino’s intent to make Shakespeare accessible is depicted in numerous direct to camera responses which are bright contrasts to the more sombre Shakespeare scenes.
Quick jump cuts
Al Pacino’s actors switch between fully costumed to arguing around a table. This stream of fluid cuts between discussing, practising and then acting in costume is a highly effective technique used by Pacino to juxtapose a tradition with a modern setting. Also, seeing behind the scenes, when actors are arguing and discussing and stumbling through the text just like a anybody else etc. allows the audience to feel more on the same level as the actors and not as if they are simply watching that can do things they can't.
Hand camera shooting
To convey an essence of reality, especially with the street scenes,
thus suggesting the legitimacy of the reactions and responses of the people on the streets. This gives the interviews a sense of naturalness. This underpins Pacino’s dream to teach Shakespeare to the streets- and “peddling him on the streets”. Camera shots/angles
Costuming
Music
Establishing shot, camera pans across a church, the angle from the spire to the ground level parallels the journey viewers will take with pacino as he strives to bring Shakespeare closer to us. Close up shot of Richard clutching a copy of the text Richard III while his dialogue conveys his personal desire to portray “how we think and feel today”. His perspective is that despite the hundreds of years’ time difference since Elizabethan times, Shakespeare’s work remains extremely relevant to us, with contemporary resonance of themes and character traits. Dark clothing Long black coat Uses clothing from Elizabethan time period to accurately portray King Richard III At the beginning Richard is always in black clothing Clarence is wearing white, contrast between Richards darkness (evil); Clarence innocence Wearing blood red – also represents royalty along Lady Anne wearing virginal white (She’s already married) Buckingham wearing purple -> colour of royalty and conveys his loyalty to Richard Medieval music – repeated during the dialogue to emphasis the historical nature of the play. Also used to foreshadow where they go to film next. Mysterious menacing music used when Richard is giving a speech – this rises to a crescendo as there is flashbacks of Richard’s planning. Classical music rises to a crescendo to parallel the rising action. When Richard enters the scene to take control of Anne in the mourning scene, the music begins to get louder Cheerful music when Al Pacino and the staff end doing filming Gloomy music used during the enactment of the plays acts.
Looking for richard
Vox pops (where members of the public are asked for their views on certain matters)
Dialogue
Menacing music begins with the entering of Richard many scenes such as the council scene. With the increasing loudness of the music to a crescendo, Richard’s aggressiveness rises. This emphasizes the increasing tensions that Richard creates in order to use the situation to manipulate others Man 5: Yeah, it's boring. Man: To be honest, I really don't remember that much, if anything at all. The vox pops reveal the disgust that modern Americans have towards Shakespeare while showing how out of touch modern society is with the language and complexity of Shakespeare. Al pacino tries to establish
the universal relevance of Shakespeare and Richard III. Michael hadge -‘We're never going to finish making this movie. I don't even get Richard III. Kimball: He has let the pursuit of power totally corrupt him and is alienated from his own body and his own self. Emphasizes how even the director do not understand the film.
Voiceover
Al pacino- It has always been a dream of mine to communicate how I feel about Shakespeare to other people. Kevin Kline- We made out in the back row and left at intermission. Al Pacino- So Richard figures, "I get rid of Clarence, then work out getting rid of the kids”
AL Pacino- ‘Our main goal with this project is to reach an audience that would not normally participate in this kind of language and world.’
Kimball: -I've heard you talking about Richard as a man who cannot find love. A person who finally, in the last scenes, knows that he does not have his own humanity, that he's lost it.
