Richard III is a 1955 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's
historical play Richard III. The film also contains elements of
Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 3. It was directed by Laurence Olivier,
who also played Richard. The cast includes many noted Shakespearean
actors of the time, including a quartet of acting knights. The film
depicts Richard plotting and conspiring to grasp the throne from his
brother, King Edward, played by Cedric Hardwicke. In the process, many
are killed and betrayed, with Richard's evil leading to his own
downfall. The prologue of the film states that history without its
legends would be "a dry matter indeed", thus the film admits that it
is not portraying the actual events of the time, but rather the
legend. Many critics now consider Olivier's Richard III his best
screen version of Shakespeare. As well, the British Film Institute has
called Olivier's rendition of the play "definitive" and that it has
done more to popularize Shakespeare than any other single piece of
work.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_%281955_film%29
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1838:
In order to avoid anti-Mormon persecution, Joseph Smith, Jr.
and his followers fled Ohio for Missouri.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith%2C_Jr.)
1967:
James Bedford became the first person to be cryonically frozen with
intent of future resuscitation.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryonics)
1969:
British rock band Led Zeppelin released their first record album, Led
Zeppelin.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin)
1970:
The self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra in southeastern Nigeria
capitulated, ending the Nigerian Civil War.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafra)
1971:
The American situation comedy All in the Family, starring Carroll
O'Connor, was first broadcast on the CBS television network. It became
the first show to depict controversial issues previously deemed
unsuitable for network television comedy.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_in_the_Family)
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Wikiquote of the day:
Society is indeed a contract... it is not a partnership in things
subservient only to the gross animal existence of a temporary and
perishable nature. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership
in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in all perfection. As
the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations,
it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but
between those who are to be born. -- Edmund Burke
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke)