Looking for Richard

Looking for Richard Literary Elements

Director

Al Pacino

Leading Actors/Actresses

Al Pacino, Frederic Kimball

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Vanessa Redgrave, Penelope Allen, Kevin Conway, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin, John Gielgud

Genre

Documentary, Drama

Language

English

Awards

Won DGA Award - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary

Date of Release

1996

Producer

Michael Hadge, Al Pacino

Setting and Context

1996 —New York and Great Britain, while the play itself takes place in the 15th century

Narrator and Point of View

POV is primarily that of Al Pacino.

Tone and Mood

Serious, Dramatic, Humorous, Investigative, Playful

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist is Pacino. There is no real Antagonist.

Major Conflict

The major conflict is that Al Pacino thinks that Shakespeare is perceived as esoteric and difficult to understand by the general public, and he wants to find a way to help more people gain access to classic plays.

Climax

The climax of the movie occurs in the staging of Richard III's death on the battlefield, which signals the end of the play, and thus, the documentary.

Foreshadowing

Understatement

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

Allusions

References to Shakespeare and his work.

Paradox

Buckingham helps Richard III to gain the crown in exchange for property from Richard. Buckingham gets Richard to the throne, but paradoxically Richard denies him what he promised him.

Parallelism

An actor dressed as William Shakespeare is in the audience when Pacino walks on stage in the beginning of the film. This is paralleled at the end of the film as we see the same actor in costume putting his hand on his head while watching Pacino.

Buy Study Guide Cite this page