RICHARD III (1955)
With a preamble asserting, “The history of the world, like letters without poetry, flowers without perfume, or thought without imagination, would be a dry matter indeed without its legends,” Laurence Olivier’s adaptation of RICHARD III serves up the legend of one of Britain’s most evil kings, as imagined by Shakespeare, from “the winter of our discontent” to “my kingdom for a horse!” Though unsuccessful upon its initial 1955 theatrical release, the film enjoyed a landmark U.S. television broadcast that same year (given the multi-million-member TV audience, the BFI has claimed that it “may have done more to popularize Shakespeare than any other single work”) and was a hit upon theatrical re-release a decade later, while its critical reputation has only grown with time. Olivier plays the title monarch, with Ralph Richardson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, John Gielgud, Claire Bloom and Stanley Baker in supporting roles. DIR/PROD Laurence Olivier; SCR from the plays “Richard III” and “Henry VI: Part III” by William Shakespeare. UK, 1955, color, 159 min. NOT RATED
Run Time: 159 Minutes
Opening Date: Sunday, July 27, 2025
Genre: Biography, drama
