Change Your Image
ErlandGadde
Reviews
Richard III (1995)
Modernization with no credibility
I just watched this awful movie on Swedish television, and I can't understand how so many reviewers can praise it. It doesn't matter how splendid the actors are if the setting isn't believable. It is in general very difficult to "modernize" historical plays/movies/novels, and in this case, the result was disastrous.
Moving Shakepeare to a fascist pre-WWII England in the way it was done here just doesn't work. Apart from the superficial features with clothes, cars, trains, tanks, flags etc, there was no resemblance at all to fascism or the politics of the pre-WWII era. In the 20th century, you simply can't have noble families who, obsessed with lineage, fight for the throne, neither in a Western democracy nor in a fascist state. This was typical for the feudal society Shakespeare wrote about; to move this to the 20th century creates nothing but a strange anachronism without any credibility. Instead, the noble families should have been transformed to political parties, or classes, or some other more modern type of groups fighting for power. And the so called "fascism" should have been depicted by letting us see how society was affected on a much deeper level, not just this superficial kitch with uniforms, flags, tanks, etc. If you don't think you can do this without being faithful to Shakespeare, then you should refrain from it rather than doing it in this poor superficial way.
I give it two stars, and that's being kind!
Erland Gadde