Where was Al Pacino when I was taking Shakespeare 101 at the University of Illinois? For that matter, I wish Pacino had made Looking for Richard about 20 years ago, so I could have used it with my English classes. I had the same goal as Pacino – basically attempting to communicate an appreciation for the Bard.
I used to treat my high school freshmen as if they were groundlings, who mostly appreciated Shakespeare’s bawdy language and the action scenes, so we spent some time learning some of Shakespeare’s “dirty bits.” For freshmen minds, this was enough to open them up to follow Romeo and Juliet and become hooked forever with the power of the words. Pacino’s dream with this documentary is exactly the same; he wants to communicate what he feels about Shakespeare so that others can develop a similar passion and understanding for his work. To do so he realizes that he must make Shakespeare more accessible to the general public.
Looking for Richard should now be required viewing in every class that includes Shakespeare in its curriculum. There simply is no better teaching tool to give a student understanding and appreciation of the Bard. Pacino films this documentary during a production of Richard III to give us a thorough view behind the scenes. I learned far more than I ever imagined about putting a Shakespearean play on and about the play itself. Richard III is performed more than any other Shakespearean play, but places great demands on the audience due to the numerous characters and complex plot.
* A brief visual confirms that Pacino is striving to make Shakespeare accessible to people occurs near the beginning when he is discussing Richard III with some students. Look at what Pacino is holding: a lifesaver to many of us who took literature classes in college—the familiar black and yellow pamphlet sold in campus bookstores nationwide. Don’t ever mention that a former English teacher recommended that students use those same Cliff’s Notes that we did as English majors.
Highlights
Indeed, we see Pacino ask people on the streets of New York what they know about Richard, and nobody knows. They don’t even know about the hump on his shoulder or his lines about trading his Kingdom for a horse. Despite the ignorant responses he gets from the people, Pacino keeps his mission in mind and seems to actually enjoy these encounters with the uneducated. I imagine that Will Shakespeare would do much the same.
Pacino also goes on the street to find out what people think about Shakespeare. Most are negative, one even saying that he “sucks.” The most eloquent man on the street is homeless, and he expresses the idea that Shakespeare’s words can teach students “how to feel” and will help stop the gang shootings plaguing the city. After seeing this man, I could almost imagine street actors doing Shakepearean scenes in gang infested areas of the city with great success.
While we do not see the entirety of Richard III performed, we see enough to basically get a video Cliff’s Notes version to give us a deeper understanding than we get from watching the full 1954 Olivier version or the Nazi-ized 1995 McKellen version. This is accomplished through the magical way that Pacino interweaves rehearsals, interviews with scholars, actual performance footage, and background scenes to break the play down and analyze its parts.
We hear intelligent discussions about why Americans have such a difficult time acting in Shakespearean productions and about the special motivations behind Queen Margaret, Lady Anne, Buckingham, and Richard himself. The camera allows us to see Pacino practice various nuances with an acting coach, and see how hard he works on simply pausing correctly with his opening lines of “Now is the winter of our discontent.”
We also grow to understand Pacino’s appreciation for Shakespeare the man, as he stands upon the very spot that the original Globe Theatre once stood to test its acoustics. Later the production moves to a 300-year-old theater that has seen many a Shakespeare play, just so they can gain an idea of the “ghosts” contained in the last act of Richard III. Pacino also makes a special trip to Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford Upon Avon to view the bed where his mother gave birth. Humorously, the camera crew set off the fire alarm and they are evacuated abruptly. I don’t think I’ll mention how I once touched that same bed, despite the warning signs about the room.
One thing I think most viewers will find surprising is the depth array of acting talent that Pacino lined up to participate in the project. Actors that you are familiar with include Kevin Spacey as Buckingham, Alec Baldwin as Clarence, and Wynonna Ryder playing Lady Anne; and other notable actors like Estelle Parsons (Bonnie and Clyde) as Queen Margaret and Aidan Quinn (Legends of the Fall) as Richmond. Pacino also demonstrates that he’s serious about the Bard by showing interview clips with noted Shakespearean actors Kenneth Branaugh, Derek Jacobi, and John Gielguld.
One highlight for me occurs when Pacino is brainstorming with a group, and the producer begins to rant about getting a scholar to explain Richard III. To much laughter (including mine) he asks why they have to do this, since Al knows Richard far better than any scholar that exists out there in academia. Pacino explains that his project is an educational one, and that a scholar’s viewpoint is also valid. The next scene sent some chuckles through my body, as we see a literary scholar expound on Richard III while Pacino and a bemused producer look on.
Overview
The documentary is shot in pretty standard fashion. The structure is framed traditionally with a picture of the Tower of London accompanied by a voiceover quoting Shakespeare’s lines about the “things that dreams are made of.” There are a couple of choices that I felt were curious. One is the inclusion of a scene in a New York sidewalk café where the crew is forced to relocate because they don’t have a permit. The other includes some footage of the cinematographers talking about the massive amount of film they have shot and how they are glad the project is finally ending. I can understand how the latter helps establish Pacino’s commitment to this project, but I’m still puzzled about the purpose of the café scene.
You won’t find the same kind of creative imagery and juxtaposition that we find in an Errol Morris documentary, but it’s the content that stands out in Looking for Richard. Pacino demonstrates his passion for the project, and succeeds in giving us a greater appreciation for Shakespeare. The Bard, and especially Richard III, no longer need be inaccessible.
So if you’re an English teacher, get a copy and include it with your curriculum. If you’re an English student, this is your annotated video version —- far superior to Cliff’s Notes. And if you are neither, but would like to understand Shakespeare better, Looking for Richard is designed for you.
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