Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786304393079 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC ISBN: 6304393075 Label: 20th Century Fox Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: 20th Century Fox Release Date: April 29, 1997 Running Time: 111 minutes Sales Rank: 11124 Studio: 20th Century Fox Theatrical Release Date: October 11, 1996
Description: The camera follows the cast and crew throughout rehearsals, eavesdropping on the behind-the-scenes process that goes into creating characters and mounting a production. With appearances from Sir John Gielgud, Kenneth Branagh, Vanessa Redgrave, James Earl Jones and Kevin Kline. "Looking For Richard" is "outrageous fun" (Rolling Stone).
Amazon.com: This strange and charming documentary by Al Pacino, in which he also stars, is an exploration of several topics: Shakespeare and his hump-backed villain, the impulse to act, the way actors work--and Pacino's single-minded effort to make the Bard accessible to all audiences and not just the effete few. Over the course of the film, Pacino alternately discusses the role and the text; roams Manhattan, talking about Shakespeare with everyone from scholars to people on the street; and re-creates scenes from the play in a production staged at the Cloisters, an evocative castle-like museum on the north end of Manhattan. He assembles a cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Winona Ryder, Estelle Parsons, and Alec Baldwin to perform the scenes, and he slips back and forth between text and discussion of the play in a way that makes Shakespeare comprehensible and fascinating to viewers who know or care nothing about his writing. --Marshall Fine
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - A Must See For Actors Of Any Stripe
I've always caught this movie on cable whenever I could, as it's a great treatment of the art of acting and the play itself. Pacino takes us on a journey not only through the play, but also through Manhattan as he drums up interest in seeing the play at a Shakespearian Festival. Here we hear from erudite panhandlers as well as learned experts on Shakespear and famous Shakespearian actors. We also see him going through the city looking for locations to film his version of the play, settling on The Cloisters, the museum, and having to shoo away curious pedestrians while he rehearses a scene. ... Read More
Rating: - Pacino gets to the truth about Shakespeare's Richard III
I really enjoyed this film because it makes accessible one of the greatest written English stories to another generation on whom otherwise it would be lost. The Bard's play is a story written after the fact during the victorious Tudor era. Hence the creation of a dark hearted villain and his manipulative lust for power. Richard really was a brave king who died in battle at the head of his troops at Bosworth in 1485, the victorious Henry Tudor's family thus having the opportunity to enjoy Shakespeares re-write of history as they clung to power.
The villain is a true monster and has been ... Read More
Rating: - Good directing debut by Al Pacino
Al Pacino's directing debut is a (sort of) documentary of him as he prepares to film Shakespeare's Richard III (with him on the title role, of course). We see him researching the material, going to Shakespeare's house in England, rehearsing with the actors, interviewing people on the street about Shakespeare, interviewing scholars. As the film progresses, we actually see him performing (parts) of the play with the actors (including Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder, among others). Its enjoyable and informative, though it is sometimes irritating when Pacino asks questions to the scholars he already knows ... Read More
Rating: - Pleasure-filled peek at performing the play...
I learned a lot that I did not know about Shakespeare's "Richard III" through this documentary, and I also saw a side of Al Pacino I did not know existed...a very appealing side. If you like the Bard, or his plays, or theater in general, or documentary films about the arts, this one's for you. I saw it on the Independent Film Channel via Dish Network, because the DVD apparently is not currently available in the USA, although it can be purchased in Europe. Whoever owns the rights to this 1996 film ought to get the DVD into the stores and on-line distributors in 2008. It may be a British play, with several ... Read More
Rating: - Scarface does Shakespeare.
Most people associate Al Pacino with The Godfather, Serpico, and Scarface, but Shakespeare? Looking for Richard (1996) is a documentary directed by and starring Al Pacino, which not only explores a stage production of Shakespeare's Richard III, but also examines Shakespeare's relevance in contemporary culture. Stated differently, this is a film about Pacino's passion for Shakespeare. Just imagine Shakespeare's villainous hump-backed Richard III roaming the crowded streets of NYC today. In the quick-witted film, Pacino plays himself and the title character of Richard III. Filmed mostly in the streets of Manhattan, ... Read More
- 
- 