Year: 1912
Director: James Keane
Country: US
Language: N/A
If you have been a fan of silent film you'll know that the majority of pictures made before the Golden Age of Hollywood have been lost forever. They either have been purposely destroyed by their creators, destroyed by environment over time, misplaces and never found or lost in fire due to the physical nature of the flammable film. The Life and Death of Richard III is known to be the earliest surviving American feature film.
Richard III is a feature film based on Shakespeare's memorable play about an evil monarch.
In addition to being the oldest surviving American feature film, Richard III (1912) is known to be the earliest film adaptation of Shakespeare. It was thought to be lost since 1922, but was found in 1996 by projectionist William Buffum in Oregon. Director James Keane's picture differs from the original play; here much of the dialogue is lost even in intertitles and the King's deformity is also abandoned. What we do get is a scenery chewing villain who captures our attention with his grandiose gestures.
Richard III is grounded, less manic than many of the fantasy films (we're looking at you Georges Melies) at the time. It is unfortunately subject to a fixed camera position, but what it lacks in cinematography it certainly makes up for in character, costume and scenery. We are given visual delights that no stageplay could match and thus, it's pretty damn entertaining.
Distributed by Kino International, the dvd is worth a buy because of how engrossing the film is. In addition we are treated to a wonderful score composed by Ennio Morricone. The music is both martial and ominous, with a heavy dose of violins and horns. It improves what already is a pretty fascinating picture.
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