Richard III

Film Info

United Kingdom
1955
158 minutes
Color
1.66:1
English
Spine #213

In Richard III, director, producer, and star Laurence Olivier brings Shakespeare’s masterpiece of Machiavellian villainy to ravishing cinematic life. Olivier is diabolically captivating as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who, through a series of murderous machinations, steals the crown from his brother Edward. And he surrounds himself with a royal supporting cast, which includes Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud, and Claire Bloom. Filmed in VistaVision and Technicolor, Richard III is one of the most visually inspired of all big-screen Bard adaptations.

Cast

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later, King Richard III	Laurence Olivier
Duke of Buckingham	Ralph Richardson
George, Duke of Clarence	John Gielgud
The Lady Anne, later, queen to Richard III	Claire Bloom
King Edward IV of England	Cedric Hardwicke
The Lord Hastings	Alec Clunes
The Lord Stanley	Laurence Naismith
Queen Elizabeth, wife to Edward IV	Mary Kerridge
Catesby	Norman Wooland
Ratcliffe	Esmond Knight
Lovel	John Laurie
Edward, Prince of Wales	Paul Huson
Richard, Duke of York	Andy Shine
Jane Shore	Pamela Brown
The Lord Rivers	Clive Morton
The Lord Grey	Dan Cunningham
The Lord Dorset	Douglas Wilmer
First executioner	Michael Gough
Second executioner	Michael Ripper
Brackenbury	Andrew Cruickshank
Henry, Earl of Richmond, later, King Henry VII	Stanley Baker

Credits

Director	Laurence Olivier
Produced by	Laurence Olivier
Screenplay adapted by	Laurence Olivier and Alan Dent
Production designer	Robert Furse
Associate director	Anthony Bushell
Art director	Carmen Dillon
Editor	Helga Cranston
Director of photography	Otto Heller
Production supervisor	John Gossage
Camera operator	Denys Coop
Special effects	Wally Veevers
Sound recordists	George Stephenson and Red Law
Sound editor	Bert Rule
Music composed by	Sir William Walton
Music performed by	The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Continuity	Pamela Davis
Makeup	Tony Sforzini
Hairdresser	Gladys Atkinson
Set dressing and titles	Roger Ramsdell
Costumes	L&H Nathan Ltd.
Scenic artist	Robert White
Masters of horse	Jeremy Taylor and Jack Curran
Technicolor consultant	Joan Bridge

Disc Features

New digital master of The Film Foundation’s 2012 4K restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
Audio commentary by playwright and stage director Russell Lees and John Wilders, former governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Interview with actor Laurence Olivier from a 1966 episode of the BBC series Great Acting, hosted by theater critic Kenneth Tynan
Gallery of behind-the-scenes and production stills and posters, accompanied by excerpts from Olivier’s autobiography, On Acting
Twelve-minute television trailer featuring footage of Olivier, producer Alexander Korda, and other cast and crew
Restoration demonstration hosted by director Martin Scorsese
Original theatrical trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Amy Taubin

Cover based on a theatrical poster