Richard III 1955

[James Steven Beverly]

What a rich, elegant film, beautifully filmed. It's some of Olivier's best work. I really loves this film. I been watching a lot of Shakespearean films lately and had never seen this production before. What is weird, it is it was shot in VV but printed in 1:66? anyone know why? Needless to say, I missed out not having seen this truly remarkable film before. I also, STILL have not seen Polanski's Macbeth. That is the NEXT one I want to see.

Edited September 1, 2009 by James Steven Beverly

[David Mullen ASC]

The VistaVision negative is 1.50 : 1 full aperture, so framing for a 1.66 release, particularly in Europe, does not sound unusual. Paramount favored the U.S. adopting 1.66 as the standard aspect ratio for matted widescreen projection, though Universal's favored 1.85 ratio won out eventually. But in the 1950's, there were all sorts of ratios that studios were suggesting that theaters matte their 35mm flat movies to.

[Leo Anthony Vale]

What a rich, elegant film, beautifully filmed. It's some of Olivier's best work. I really loves this film. I been watching a lot of Shakespearean films lately and had never seen this production before.

 

Steve:

 

have you seen Kozintsev's <<Gamlet>> and <<King Lear>>?

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058126/combined

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064553/combined

 

Uses Pasternak translations, with scores by Shostokovich.

 

Both are B/W Sovscope. Neither are at all stagey, Lear in particular makes extensive use of landscape.

 

Production stills for 'Lear' in 'Soviet Film' show an exterior scene being shot with a Foton Anamorphic zoom on a Konvas 1M mounted on a humongus gear head on a tripod on a dolly on tracks.

[James Steven Beverly]

Steve:

 

have you seen Kozintsev's <<Gamlet>> and <<King Lear>>?

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058126/combined

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064553/combined

 

Uses Pasternak translations, with scores by Shostokovich.

 

Both are B/W Sovscope. Neither are at all stagey, Lear in particular makes extensive use of landscape.

 

Production stills for 'Lear' in 'Soviet Film' show an exterior scene being shot with a Foton Anamorphic zoom on a Konvas 1M mounted on a humongus gear head on a tripod on a dolly on tracks.

OOOUUUU, No, no I haven't but DEFINITELY gots ta check it out. THIS version of Lear sounds REALLY cool. I'm trying to imagine the Soviet take on this material. It's got to be bleak and dark. :D

[Steve Phipps]

Hi.

 

You might also like his Henry V. The film starts out as a sort of "filmed play", with the camera limited to the confines of the stage-theatre, then opens up. It's nice.

 

You might also like the 1995 Richard III with Ian McKellen. That film makes a modern interpretation (at least, 20th c., with guns and tanks), and if you've just seen Olivier's version, it might be interesting to see them close together.

 

What a rich, elegant film, beautifully filmed. It's some of Olivier's best work. I really loves this film. I been watching a lot of Shakespearean films lately and had never seen this production before. What is weird, it is it was shot in VV but printed in 1:66? anyone know why? Needless to say, I missed out not having seen this truly remarkable film before. I also, STILL have not seen Polanski's Macbeth. That is the NEXT one I want to see.