Al Pacino uses a combination of documentary-style footage on the streets of New York and interviews with celebrated actors and renowned scholars, along with footage from Shakespeare's play Richard III being performed in various locations, in order to explore one of Shakespeare's most complicated plays. Pacino's aims as a director are not so separate from his desires as an actor: he wants to bring the play to life, to understand the text and the characters from the inside out. He invites the viewer to go on his acting journey with him, as he seeks to catch some inspiration from his surroundings and from the play itself.
Technically, Pacino uses many different methods to stitch together his footage, interviewing a variety of different sources about the play. He skips from interview, to scene in the play, to behind-the-scenes footage, often quite abruptly, as a way of merging the dramatic world with the real world, the stage with the screen and the screen with life. He also uses slow-motion and sharp edits to transition the film from documentary into the filmed dramatizations.
Pacino makes use of wide shots, particularly in the scene with Lady Anne entering behind the body of her slain husband in a great hall. He also uses extreme close-ups of actors, which distinguishes the film from a filmed play; the viewer gets an up-close-and-personal view of the actors' expressions and choices in a way that does not happen in the theater.
