RICHARD III

Review: A brutal civil war has erupted between the Houses of Lancaster and York battling control of the throne. Richard, Duke of Gloucester plots his own route to power.
Director: Richard Loncraine
Actors: Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Christopher Bowen, Edward Jewesbury, Bill Paterson, John Wood, Nigel Hawthorne, Maggie Smith, Kate Steavenson-Payne, Robert Downey Jr., Tres Hanley, Tim McInnerny, Jim Carter, Roger Hammond, Denis Lill and Jim Broadbent
Year: 1995
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi and War
Conclusion: 4/5
An all-star cast. Magnificent performances especially Ian McKellen, who I think steals the show. Watching this I felt that he was also enjoying himself and enjoying playing the role that he was doing. Apparently, Sir Ian McKellen cites this movie as his proudest accomplishment because, apart from having played the title character many times on-stage, he organized the funding, executively produced, and co-wrote the screenplay for this movie adaptation. It is understood that 12-year-old Eddie Redmayne auditioned for a part as Duke Richard of York, but was turned down by Sir Ian McKellen as being unsuitable. The tanks that were used in the latter part of this movie were loaned from the set of the James Bond movie GoldenEye (1995). The late film critic Roger Ebert wrote about this film “This is a film with a dread fascination. McKellen occupies it like a poisonous spider in its nest.” I particularly liked all the scenes of Richard lll’s military camp as these were all filmed at Carnforth, Lancashire! At the BAFTA Film Awards in 1997 this won for Best Production Design and for Best Costume Design.