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Richard III

Richard III

Drama · History · 1955

Having helped his brother King Edward IV take the throne of England, the jealous hunchback Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots to seize power for himself. Masterfully deceiving and plotting against nearly everyone in the royal court, including his eventual wife, Lady Anne, and his brother George, Duke of Clarence, Richard orchestrates a bloody rise to power before finding all his gains jeopardized by those he betrayed.

Movie details

Richard III

“Conscience is a word that cowards use.”

1955 Drama · History 2h 35m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

Having helped his brother King Edward IV take the throne of England, the jealous hunchback Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots to seize power for himself. Masterfully deceiving and plotting against nearly everyone in the royal court, including his eventual wife, Lady Anne, and his brother George, Duke of Clarence, Richard orchestrates a bloody rise to power before finding all his gains jeopardized by those he betrayed.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Richard III?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Laurence Olivier

Written by

Laurence Olivier · Alan Dent

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Richard III

Cedric Hardwicke

Cedric Hardwicke

King Edward IV of England

Nicholas Hannen

Nicholas Hannen

Archbishop

Ralph Richardson

Ralph Richardson

Duke of Buckingham

John Gielgud

John Gielgud

George, Duke of Clarence

Mary Kerridge

Mary Kerridge

Queen Elizabeth

Pamela Brown

Pamela Brown

Jane Shore

Court is in session

Put Richard III on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.