User Reviews

As another poster stated, it is good to see the Henry plays to gain a greater perspective on Richard III. I have seen quite a few Richards, and this one stands out as the best for matching the historical participants characteristics to those in the quasi-propaganda of the Bard's backstory. As an example, the historical Edward IV was an amoral hedonist as is portrayed here -- not the somewhat daffy old man of the great Cedric Hardwicke in the fifties version. Another thing that appealed was the wooing of Lady Anne with the elimination of the Prince of Wales' corpse in the background, which I always felt was an odd distraction. Also worth noting is the sly tribute to Welles' Chimes At Midnight mud during the battle of Bosworth Field. I love how Cumberbatch changes the emphasis and cadence of Richard's dialogues as well. Only complaint is that I miss the tendency to indulge in a wee bit of ham acting that the Bard lends itself so well to. Even McKellen's fascist version had some nice meaty word chewing. Though Benedict is memorable, who can ever forget Olivier as Richard -- and Richardson as Buckingham? "And has it come to this?"

The whole cast gives a remarkable performance,but once Cumberbatch starts talking to the camera he is absolutely brilliant. You simply cannot take your eyes off him! A standing ovation to this gentleman!

Wow! I seriously have never seen such intensity in a Shakespearean adaptation. Every scene felt real, brutal and captivating. The sets and camera work during the battle sequences are just amazing.

Benedict Cumberbatch - what can I say? It's probably one of the best performances of his I've ever seen. The man chews, swallows and spits out every scene that he's in, hissing like a serpent, crying on cue and breathing in and out his soliloquies throughout the play. The character is so loathsome and pitiful that you have a hard time rooting for him, but yet you can't turn your head away from the screen.

Kudos to Benedict for such hard work and commitment to a character that's obviously not at all easy to play. And a special shout out to Sophie Okenedo as ruthless French queen Margaret of Anjou and Judi Dench as the Duchess of York, Richard's mother.

Definitely one of the few great joys of television these days.

Excellent adaptation of Richard III with Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role.

Having seen the previous episode of the Hollow Crown (Henry VI part 2) and disliked it very much, I had to steel myself to be able to put behind in my mind the haunting images endured in HVI-2.

But the portrait of Gloucester by Ben. Cumberbatch in HVI-2 was really good, so I was hopeful that he could carry RIII very well.

And so it proved to be. From the first images to the final ones I felt inside the play, transported to every scene. Tension mounting in my mind until the very end.

I loved everybody's acting, although I usually prefer more expressive iambic pentameters than those that were spoken. But in this case the delivery of the text in a naturalistic way worked very well.

Contrary to what I was expecting from watching HVI-2, I was not on RIII side, simply because he revealed himself since the beginning as the unsavory character that he is.

The toned down visual violence in relation to HVI-2 let the text breath and poetry shone deliciously during the whole play, except obviously during the brief wordless fighting at the Bosworth battle, which I watched with eyes semi-wide shut (Blurworth battle).

Outstanding acting came from Ben. Cumberbatch, Sophie Okonedo, Ben Daniels, Keeley Hawes. I thought Judi Dench was somehow subdued in the role of Cecily. But maybe having seen so much in her live she was simply portrayed as having no more tears or emotion to share.

Also liked Catesby more than I usually do. It's not easy to serve a master like RIII and remain faithful until the end and the actor playing him did it very well.

I feel a bit guilty of having given 1 star to Henry VI part 2, but images from that play haunted me for days, like Adrian Dunbar's head on a pike and so on. It seems I'm reacting in a bi-polar way to these adaptations. One un-watchable, the next exceptional. Maybe I just learned to close my eyes in the right moment. But it's not only that. Maybe the difference is in the quality of the play, RIII being much better than HVI-2. Whatever it was, I definitely loved this adaptation. Which makes me think, should I watch Henry VI part I? Something I would never consider after seeing HVI-2...

There were a few things that I missed in RIII. He doesn't say "I'm not in the vein", for instance. And the allusions to Edward IV's and Hastings mistress are gone. But there is so much to savour that this are minor quibbles.

A most definite TEN!

The previous film in this series felt like it was building to something, and Richard III is what it is. I enjoyed watching the previous films, although they had their faults, mainly because I had only ever seen Richard III in isolation, so it added appreciation for me to see the story leading the character to this point. It shows his descent well, and delivers the violence and horror of it without overdoing it in the way the previous film did (in terms of battle and gore). I'm not sure how much of the original is stripped away, but I found that it moved well, was easily accessible, and pretty fluid in its delivery as a film. Perhaps it was a bit too fast when it came to the violent political moves being made by Richard, because it did feel like they were piled on top of one another, but it didn't really detract from their impact.

The production as a whole uses locations well in the same way as the previous films did. The starry cast deliver the goods, with Cumberbatch in particular doing very good work throughout. He is well supported by people like Dench, Daniels, Fox, Fleet, and others. Okonedo in one scene is just as good as she was in the previous film, but her presence in the rest of the film doesn't really work - although not through anything she does. All told, it is a very good production, easy to watch, accessible, and well delivered across the board.

Cumberbatch's Richard is a marvel to behold, it's true, but the directorial choices involving Margaret were deeply impactful. The scene with Queen Margaret, Queen Elizabeth, and Duchess Cecily took my breath away in a way that no other movie ever has. They presage Macbeth's witches but they are presented without the clownish enchantments and obvious sorcery.

'The Hollow Crown' is a highly intriguing and mostly great series, all round exceptionally well made and acted (even in my least favourites of the series 'Henry V' and 'Henry VI Part 1') with the odd issue here and there. A must see for anybody who wants to be more familiar with Shakespeare's historical plays or wants to see accessible productions of high quality throughout the entire series. Loved the whole of the first season, though ever so slightly disappointed by 'Henry V', while being less taken with Season 2.

Found this 'Richard III' to be superb, and despite having yet to see a bad production of 'Richard III' of the ones seen 'The Hollow Crown's' production is one of the best in my view. It is easily for me the best of the Season 2 "War of the Roses" productions, being the only one of the season to completely bowl me over (though there are a lot of great things with the 'Henry VI' productions, especially Part 2), and the best of 'The Hollow Crown' series since 'Henry IV Part 2'. Though that may not be a popular opinion and am not going to hold it against anybody who disagrees as long as they have nothing against me.

'Richard III' is one of Shakespeare best known historical plays along with 'Henry V' and the best known of the "War of the Roses" plays. Can see why, Richard III is one of Shakespeare's most fascinating characters, and not just as a "villain", and he was also interesting as a historical figure. 'Richard III' may not be among my favourite Shakespeare plays, but it is so easy to seee why it is performed frequently and why it is so widely discussed.

Visually, 'Richard III' looks fabulous and of the productions seen of the play it is the best-looking. Like with the previous 'The Hollow Crown' productions, the never too flashy and sometimes intimate photography is equally striking, not quite as cinematic as the previous 'The Hollow Crown' productions but one still cannot believe that it is not a film instead of being made for television. The costumes, scenery and locations are the very meaning of lavish and quite evocative. Never do the production values come over as too chaotic or too restricted. The music has presence but never felt like it was over-scored.

Shakespeare's text is as ever intelligent, poetic and emotive, also that this is more complete than the 'Henry VI' productions means this is more coherent and jumps around much less, while this is yet another beautifully directed production of 'The Hollow Crown'. The direction is compelling and didn't get overly-busy or dull, neither did it feel emotionally cold and is opened up enough that it never becomes stagy or too much like a filmed play. There is a lot going on in the quite complex plot, without feeling rushed or over-complicated, meanwhile there was intimacy and breathing space without being static. The dark, bold tone of the 'Henry VI' productions is maintained here, but personally find it more tasteful here and that any brutality isn't taken too far.

All the performances are spot on, with the powerful and goosebump-inducing but never stock Richard of Benedict Cumberbatch standing out. He handles the physical side of the role very well too, it must have been very uncomfortable physically getting into the role (being a scoliosis sufferer who had back surgery eight years ago so know what it's like) but Cumberbatch doesn't look taxed at all. Have seen criticisms of Sophie Okonedo being out of place, personally don't think it really matters at all and interpretation wise she nails Margaret, she doesn't over play the ruthlessness and has touching moments. Ben Daniels shows a loyal yet conflicted side to Buckingham. Judi Dench is sincere in her role.

To conclude, brilliant way to finish a fine series. 10/10

Richard III has a powerful interpretation by Benedict Cumberbatch who brings strong physical presence as the deformed, scheming prince who plans to wrest the crown away from his brothers. Early on we see Richard shirtless so we see his deformity.

Benedict talks to the camera as a friend seducing the audience. First in amazement as he persuades Lady Ann to warm to him when she started out hating him. As the play progresses we see him plotting some times accompanied by some tapping of his fingers on a chessboard.

The play is a tragedy, a lot of death take place off stage but the despot soon becomes haunted even regretful as heads to the Battle of Bosworth. At the end Sophie Okonedo's Queen Margaret haunts him the most as she wanders around the the battlefield in vengeful silence as the fallen bodies lie.

Despite the cinematic imagery and strong performances by the actors, I felt somewhat disappointed by the adaptation. I know Richard III is one of Shakespeare's strongest and well known tragedies. Some of the lines and plot elements are familiar but overall I did not feel enthralled or grabbed by the lapels like I did with the earlier showing of King Henry VI Part 1 in The Hollow Crown series. Maybe I was expecting too much, after all this was the main course and I had my fill with an excellent starter.

One wonders how much of Shakespeare is really left in this overly dramatised, and episodic 'adaptation' of Richard III.

Don't get me wrong, there is some decent acting, though also some pretty questionable casting and direction, and the basic story is all there, but it's presented in such a way as to leave this lover of historical drama simply wishing for it to end. Cumberbatch's over-acting renders Richard little more than a caricature and the frequent close-ups of his one expression do nothing but strengthen this impression.

The excessive and far too loud music is an annoyance and does nothing to enhance the production, in fact, it detracts from it. The first 2 episodes in this trilogy were far superior and this effort left me badly disappointed. For me, it's a 4 at best and there's no way I'd want to see it again.