directed by Laurence Olivier
UK 1955
With Richard III, Laurence Olivier—as director, producer, and star—transfigures Shakespeare’s great historical drama into a mesmerizing vision of Machiavellian villainy. Olivier’s performance, viewed as the greatest of his career, charges Richard with magnetic malevolence as he steals his brother Edward’s crown through a murderous set of machinations. His inspired direction brings to the screen superlative performances by veteran theater actors Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud and the young Claire Bloom. Filmed in VistaVision and Technicolor, this is the the restored full-length version for which Olivier received the 1956 British Academy Film Awards for Best Actor and Best Film.

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Theatrical Release: April 16th, 1955

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DVD Review: Criterion (2 Disc) -  Region 1 - NTSC

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Distribution Criterion Collection  Spine # 213 - Region 1 - NTSC

Also available in a three pack with Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948), Henry V (1944) and Richard III (1955) on Criterion DVDs.

         

(click titles for DVDBeaver reviews)

This edition (without any extras) is also available in The Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films - a 50-disc celebration of international films collected under the auspices of the groundbreaking theatrical distributor. It contains Alexander Nevsky (1938), Ashes And Diamonds (1958), L'avventura (1960), Ballad Of A Soldier (1959), Beauty And The Beast (1946), Black Orpheus (1959), Brief Encounter (1945), The Fallen Idol (1948), Fires On The Plain (1959), Fists In The Pocket (1965), Floating Weeds (1959), Forbidden Games (1952), The 400 Blows (1959), Grand Illusion (1937), Häxan (1922), Ikiru (1952), The Importance Of Being Earnest (1952), Ivan The Terrible, Part II (1958), Le Jour Se Lève (1939), Jules And Jim (1962), Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949), Knife In The Water (1962), The Lady Vanishes (1938), The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943), Loves Of A Blonde (1965), M (1931), M. Hulot's Holiday (1953), Miss Julie (1951), Pandora's Box (1929), Pépé Le Moko (1937), Il Posto (1961), Pygmalion (1938), Rashomon (1950), Richard III (1955), The Rules Of The Game (1939), Seven Samurai (1954), The Seventh Seal (1957), The Spirit Of The Beehive (1973), La Strada (1954), Summertime (1955), The Third Man (1949), The 39 Steps (1935), Ugetsu (1953), Umberto D. (1952), The Virgin Spring (1960), Viridiana (1961), The Wages Of Fear (1953), The White Sheik (1952), Wild Strawberries (1957), Three Documentaries By Saul J. Turell plus the hardcover, full color 240-page book.
Runtime 2:38:00 
Video 1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9
Average Bitrate: 6.44 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s 
 

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:

 

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) 
Subtitles English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Criterion / Home Vision

Aspect Ratio:
Original aspect Ratio 1.66:1

Edition Details:

• New high-definition digital transfer including newly discovered footage from the original theatrical release, with restored image and sound, enhanced for widescreen televisions 
• Commentary by playwright and stage director Russell Lees, joined by John Wilders, former Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre 
• Great Acting: Laurence Olivier, a 1966 BBC interview with Olivier hosted by renowned theater critic Kenneth Tynan 
• Gallery of on-set and production stills and posters, featuring excerpts from Olivier’s autobiography On Acting 
12-minute television trailer with Olivier, producer Alexander Korda, production designer Roger Furse, and other crew members at work in Shepperton Studios 
• Theatrical trailer 
• Essay by film historian Bruce Eder 

DVD Release Date: February 24th, 2004
Keep Case
Chapters: 40

 

Comments:
I guess we can first ask "Why so long?" - I'm not referring to the delay by Criterion once this was announced - but why was this masterpiece film not already on DVD? We could speculate on the version - perhaps obtaining the recently discovered footage might have been difficult and I understand the 'rights' are shared... and in England. Regardless, we should all rejoice that it was Criterion who produced this stellar DVD. Great contrast, color, skin tones, film grain - I'd be surprised if it looked this good in the theatre. The apparent texture of the image is almost like the canvas of an oil painting. This DVD looks worthy of being in anyone's TOP 100. Easily the best color, widescreen DVD of a film from 1955 ever put on DVD. Thanks Criterion! out of

RE: The aspect ratio.

The negative is 1.50:1.
The proper aspect ratio for projection of an 8 perf print would have been 1.96:1, as with most other Vista shows.
35mm prints would have been masked to approximately 1.55 and projected anywhere up to 1.85.

Gary W. Tooze

 




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DVD Box Cover

   

CLICK to order from:

Distribution Criterion Collection  Spine # 213 - Region 1 - NTSC

Also available in a three pack with Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948), Henry V (1944) and Richard III (1955) on Criterion DVDs.

         

(click titles for DVDBeaver reviews)

This edition (without any extras) is also available in The Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films - a 50-disc celebration of international films collected under the auspices of the groundbreaking theatrical distributor. It contains Alexander Nevsky (1938), Ashes And Diamonds (1958), L'avventura (1960), Ballad Of A Soldier (1959), Beauty And The Beast (1946), Black Orpheus (1959), Brief Encounter (1945), The Fallen Idol (1948), Fires On The Plain (1959), Fists In The Pocket (1965), Floating Weeds (1959), Forbidden Games (1952), The 400 Blows (1959), Grand Illusion (1937), Häxan (1922), Ikiru (1952), The Importance Of Being Earnest (1952), Ivan The Terrible, Part II (1958), Le Jour Se Lève (1939), Jules And Jim (1962), Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949), Knife In The Water (1962), The Lady Vanishes (1938), The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943), Loves Of A Blonde (1965), M (1931), M. Hulot's Holiday (1953), Miss Julie (1951), Pandora's Box (1929), Pépé Le Moko (1937), Il Posto (1961), Pygmalion (1938), Rashomon (1950), Richard III (1955), The Rules Of The Game (1939), Seven Samurai (1954), The Seventh Seal (1957), The Spirit Of The Beehive (1973), La Strada (1954), Summertime (1955), The Third Man (1949), The 39 Steps (1935), Ugetsu (1953), Umberto D. (1952), The Virgin Spring (1960), Viridiana (1961), The Wages Of Fear (1953), The White Sheik (1952), Wild Strawberries (1957), Three Documentaries By Saul J. Turell plus the hardcover, full color 240-page book.




 

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