Looking for Richard

Infobox Film
name = Looking for Richard

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image_size =
caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Al Pacino
producer = Al Pacino
writer = William Shakespeare
Al Pacino
Frederic Kimball
narrator =
starring = Penelope Allen
Gordon MacDonald
Madison Arnold
Vincent Angell
Alec Baldwin
Al Pacino
Winona Ryder
music = Howard Shore
cinematography = Robert Leacock
editing = William A. Anderson
Ned Bastille
Pasquale Buba
Andre Ross Betz
distributor = Fox Searchlight Pictures
released = October 11, 1996
runtime = 112 min
country = USA
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0116913

"Looking for Richard" is a 1996 documentary film, the first film directed by Al Pacino. The film is both a performance of selected scenes of William Shakespeare's "Richard III" and a broader examination of Shakespeare's continuing role and relevance in popular culture. The film was featured at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1996. [cite news | author=Janet Maslin | title=Films on Junior High School And a Farm Win at Sundance | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9505EEDF1039F93AA15752C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work=New York Times | date=29 January 1996 | accessdate=2008-05-16]

Pacino plays both himself and the title character. The movie guides the audience through the play's plot and historical background. [cite news | author=Bruce Weber | title=Al Pacino, Slouching (Again) Toward Shakespeare | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CE7DA1F3CF935A35753C1A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work=New York Times | date=6 October 1996 | accessdate=2008-05-16] Pacino and several fellow actors, including Penelope Allen and Harris Yulin [cite news | author=Godfrey Cheshire | title=Looking For Richard | url=http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117910793.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 | work=New York Times | date=5 February 1996 | accessdate=2008-05-16] , act out scenes from the play. [cite news | author=Roger Ebert | title=Looking For Richard | url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19961025/REVIEWS/610250303/1023 | work=Chicago Sun-Times | date=25 October 1996 | accessdate=2008-05-16] The other actors include, with their roles:
* Kevin Spacey (Buckingham)
* Winona Ryder (Lady Anne)
* Kevin Conway (Hastings)
* Julie Moret (Mistress Shore)
* Estelle Parsons (Queen Margaret)
* Alec Baldwin (Clarence)
* Aidan Quinn (Richmond)In addition, the actors comment on their roles. Pacino also features other actors famous for performing Shakespeare, such as Vanessa Redgrave, Kenneth Branagh, John Gielgud, Derek Jacobi, James Earl Jones, and Kevin Kline. [cite news | author=Janet Maslin | title=Royal Monster, Are You Out There? | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E6D9123EF932A25753C1A960958260 | work=New York Times | date=11 October 1996 | accessdate=2008-05-16] He includes interviews with Shakespeare scholars and ordinary people on the street.

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0116913|title=Looking for Richard
* [http://www.americanpopularculture.com/archive/film/pacino_shakespeare.htm Magazine Americana, December 2001 web article, "Looking Through Richard: Al Pacino and his Call to Shakespeare".]