Richard III has a rich production design to go along with amazing performances headlined by Ian McKellen who is fantastic in the title role. Sure, the Laurence Olivier version is better but this is a well done and new take on the classic tale.
Richard III
(1995)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama, Thriller
Twilight Time | R – 104 min. – $29.95 | April 14, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Richard Loncraine Writer(s): William Shakespeare (play); Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine (screenplay) Cast: Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, John Wood DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1) |
** Click Here to Purchase Richard III on Blu-ray from Screen Archives **
THE MOVIE
Director Richard Loncraine gives us a cinematic version of Ian McKellen’s heralded 1990 National Theatre stage performance as the vile but fascinating Richard III. Updating Shakespeare’s most entertaining history play to the 1930s, the filmmakers offer a slick-haired fascist Richard, disturbingly recognizable as one of our ambitious own, coldly, pleasurably eliminating his enemies and scooping up the widow (KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS) of one victim even as she’s burying him.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5
Unfortunately this release only includes the Original Theatrical Trailer (2:48; HD) and the usual 6-page essay booklet.
VIDEO – 4.0/5
Richard III arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Twilight Time presented in the original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture actually doesn’t look half bad and although the details aren’t the best, it still appears to be a nice and clean transfer. Colors are bold and there didn’t appear to be any aliasing or artifacting, however I did notice in once instance of a strange jitter from one frame to the next though I could not replicate it for purposes of taking a screen grab.
AUDIO – 5.0/5
One of the more surprising aspects of this release is with this 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio track. Beyond just the dialogue levels, which in itself are crisp and clear, the more action-centric scenes show incredible depth with the LFE channel clicking on providing for a fantastic aural experience.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, Richard III has a rich production design to go along with amazing performances headlined by Ian McKellen who is fantastic in the title role. Sure, the Laurence Olivier version is better but this is a well done and new take on the classic tale. This release by Twilight Time is a mixed bag with basically no bonus material but the video and, especially, audio transfers are both amazingly well done.
Published: 04/21/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.