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Looking for Richard
by (Producer: Al Pacino) (Writer: Al Pacino) (Writer: Frederic Kimball) (Producer: James Bulleit) (Producer: Michael Hadge) (Producer: William Teitler) (Writer: William Shakespeare)
Director: Al Pacino
Product Group: Video
ISBN: B00004RUKS
EAN: 4010232414298
VHS Tape
Running Time: 111 minutes
Original Release Date: 1996-10-11
Theatrical Release Date: 1996-10-11
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
SKU: 08020217
Condition: Very Good Very Good
Comments: VHS tape in very good condition. From private collection so no rental or library stickers. Very good original uncut case with minor wear. Play-tested. Very nice movie.
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Editorial Reviews
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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
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Customer Reviews
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A Must See For Actors Of Any Stripe
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-11-30
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. He shows readings with luminaries like F. Murray Abraham; Kevin Spacey and a host of familiar faces from the stage and screen. We get to hear them argue about what the characters are feeling; how they should react and other behind-the-scenes stuff we don't have the privaledge of seeing otherwise. There are parties with guests talking about their experiences with Shakespear and street filming broken up by the police. The actual play is abridged and told mainly in soliloquies by Al between and even during scenes. He speaks to acting students, cab drivers, and practically anyone else who'd give him the time of day.
As an amature actor/director who's been in community theater for a few years, this film offers much in the way of style and thought behind the style. The actual scenes are studies in minimalism and having the actors carry the play on their backs, just as Shakespear intended. Even Ol' Willy shows up here and there for comic relief.
Even if you're not into acting or Shakespear in particular, this film will open your eyes to the craft and art behind the words. A true masterpiece of film making.
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Pacino gets to the truth about Shakespeare's Richard III
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-07-08
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 the basis of many a similar character that Pacino himself has played in a more modern setting.
I studied the play at school and at first was baffled by the language. I persevered with it, and suddenly the sheer brilliance of it became apparent. I've loved it ever since and have seen it performed in Statford, seen all the movies etc etc. Pacino get's together a powerful bunch of actors who illuminate the characters. Alec Baldwin's Duke of Clarence, Kevin Spacey's Hastings all get to the nub of what Shakespeare intended.
Thinking person's film. Highly recommended.
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Good directing debut by Al Pacino
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-01-13
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 the answer to. It's a bit self-indulgent, also, though Pacino does come as a likable person. But his unpretentiousness seems a little too studied, a little too forced (hey, Shakespeare is for normal people too, he seems to say, a little too many times).
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Pleasure-filled peek at performing the play...
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-12-31
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 British/Irish actors in it, but essentially, this is an American product made by American masters: Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin, Estelle Parsons, Penelope Miller and others are in the play portions, and James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline and several others do some commentary. Watching this gave me great entertainment for a couple of hours on a cold and lonely night.
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Scarface does Shakespeare.
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-12-31
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
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, in Central Park, and the at the Cloisters museum, the documentary focuses on several pivotal scenes in the play, featuring minor performance segments by the other cast members including Kevin Spacey, Winona Ryder (as Lady Anne), Alec Baldwin, and Aidan Quinn. (Roughly one-fourth of the play is actually performed in the film.) Others contributing their insights to the film as experienced Shakesperean actors include Kenneth Branagh, Sir John Gielgud, Kevin Kline and Vanessa Redgrave. (Kevin Kline confesses that his first exposure to Shakespeare came while making out with his girlfriend at a performance of "King Lear." In true Shakespearean form, the amorous couple left the play at intermission.) This is a truly fascinating film that not only illuminates the challenges of performing one of the Bard's most difficult plays, but for Pacino fans, Looking for Richard offers us a rare window into the way he totally immerses himself into a character, whether it is Tony Montana in Scarface or Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. This film will leave viewers with an inspiration for Shakespeare, and while Looking for Richard is currently unavailable as a single DVD, it is in rotation on the IFC channel and also available in the four-disc set, Pacino: An Actor's Vision (Chinese Coffee / Looking for Richard / The Local Stigmatic).
G. Merritt
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