Martin Scorsese continues to devote his energy to The Film Foundation with support for their restoration and preservation efforts to save deteriorating classic movies — many on the brink of being lost forever. Mini-lecture on the task of reconstructing Laurence Olivier’s Richard III after the cut.
Criterion Blu-ray disc extras:
- New digital master of The Film Foundation’s 2012 4K restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary by playwright and stage director Russell Lees and John Wilders, former governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company
- Interview with actor Laurence Olivier from a 1966 episode of the BBC series Great Acting, hosted by theater critic Kenneth Tynan
- Gallery of behind-the-scenes and production stills and posters, accompanied by excerpts from Olivier’s autobiography, On Acting
- Twelve-minute television trailer featuring footage of Olivier, producer Alexander Korda, and other cast and crew
- Restoration demonstration hosted by director Martin Scorsese
- Original theatrical trailer
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Amy Taubin
In Richard III, director, producer, and star Laurence Olivier brings Shakespeare’s masterpiece of Machiavellian villainy to ravishing cinematic life. Olivier is diabolically captivating as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who, through a series of murderous machinations, steals the crown from his brother Edward. And he surrounds himself with a royal supporting cast, which includes Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud, and Claire Bloom. Filmed in VistaVision and Technicolor, Richard III is one of the most visually inspired of all big-screen Bard adaptations.
(Thanks, Brandon)
