(20) King John

I have mixed feeling about this one. At times it was interesting and at times it was not (or worse…but more on that in a minute). A quick synopsis (spoiler alert): The French King Philip thinks the English King John’s nephew (Arthur) should be king instead of John (and he has a point actually, as Arthur is the real heir). King John, predictably, disagrees. They fight. John wins, but dies in the end (this is supposed to be a tragedy after all). In between all of this we have a newly enfranchised nobleman running interference with a rogue clergyman bookended by the siege of a French town and an ill-advised escape attempt.

As my above synopsis suggests, this play is all over the place and, as such, comes across as a bit of a mess at times. Plot points come and go, conveniently contrived for the sake of the dramatic form at the expense of coherence and plausible reality (an important element to my modern eye). Take, for example, the siege of the French town of Angiers in Act II, Scene I. This siege almost devolves into two mortal enemy armies, on a whim, combining forces to raze the place to the ground simply because the townspeople cannot say who is king. Why can’t they say? Because no one knows. Wouldn’t want to be a townsperson, right?

Or how about this: In Act IV, Scene II,  King John, who has in writing ordered the death of his nephew (and rival heir), denies that he has done so. His reasoning? The nobleman he told to carry out the execution is so ugly looking that he was compelled by proxy, and therefore innocent. In Shakespeare’s own words (spoken by King John):

"This murder had not come into my mind:
But taking note of thy abhorr'd aspect,
Finding thee fit for bloody villany,
Apt, liable to be employ'd in danger,
I faintly broke with thee of Arthur's death;
And thou, to be endeared to a king,
Made it no conscience to destroy a prince."

Translation: It’s not my fault that I directly and in writing told you to kill him. Your “abhorr’d aspect” made me do it (insert eye roll here). It’s a fantastic claim of course (and like I said, not the only one in this play) that strains credulity and makes for an uneven experience at best and raises the specter of (gasp!) lazy cop-out at worst. In the murder example above, perhaps an elegant and reasoned speech from John about the brutal realities of kingly succession and the tough choices that the guy in charge is forced to make. Or maybe some layered excuse involving the terrible human cost of leading the body politic? Nope. Instead it’s “your ugly made me ugly.” It just doesn’t seem to work so well.

Final Thoughts on Richard III

So it’s time to move on. I can say most definitively that despite the swing-and-a-miss that was the 1995 movie version of this play, Richard III is high on my list of favorites (the top perhaps?). Some final musings:

• One of the longest plays in the canon, the depth and breadth of this one is at times overwhelming. It’s also problematic in that, as a sequel to all of the Henry VI plays, it references them all over the place, causing confusion if you are unfamiliar with the predecessor plays. Lots of characters to keep straight too…staging this thing must be a bitch.
• It’s strange that I disliked Al Pacino as Shylock in the movie version of The Merchant of Venice but absolutely loved him as Richard III (see my previous post). Was it the character that made the difference? Or the actor playing the character? Or my state of mind at the time? Or all of these things?
• I am hereby vowing to memorize the opening lines of the play. They are just too good not to. This play easily has some of the most brilliant and memorable lines ever produced by Shakespeare. So there!

More on Looking for Richard

I love this write-up of the movie. It says it so much better that me. Through this movie, Pacino tries (and succeeds) at making Richard III, and in turn Shakespeare, accessible, understandable, and fun. All good.

Another Richard III Movie

I watched a 1995 film version of Richard III last night and was bored stiff despite the very positive reviews and promising cast. Although this adaptation certainly does some interesting things and there were moments where I was definitely impressed (the scene where Richard wins Ann, for example…or the interesting way they ended the thing), I generally just couldn't get into it.

This happens from time to time with the Bard, at least for me. It’s probably has as much to do with my state of mind at the time, but for whatever reason I am at times totally bored and unengaged with this guy and his art. Nature of the beast I guess...lots and lots of long speeches and very little action can be a bit…slow, right? Finding inspiration in art can be a fickle thing, but one must keep trying of course.

Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard

I watched the movie Looking for Richard last night and it easily became one of my favorites of the year. Directed by Al Pacino, it’s a movie about making a movie version of Richard III. The back-story is basically this: Al wins the Oscar for Scent of a Woman 1992 and then takes four years “off” to produce and direct Richard III, all on his own dime, filming not only the various acts and scenes of the play itself, but everything else in between. This includes interviews with actors, personal thoughts on the text, interviews with British experts and scholars, more thoughts on the text, and so on. It sounds disjointed but it’s actually really coherent and organized (apparently they had months and months of film footage that had to be edited down to movie length. The editors of this thing should probably have gotten an Academy Award). Down-to-earth, extremely thoughtful, and thoroughly enjoyable, it’s just a great analysis of everything and anything Richard III. And it’s funny too. For example, it starts with the following joke about the perils of miscasting a Shakespeare play, told by Al himself:

"John Wayne is cast as Hamlet and, as you would think, does a terrible job. During the play, the crowd is booing and throwing things at him because he’s so bad. Finally, at the end, he comes out and addresses the audience, excusing himself by exclaiming “Don’t blame me…I didn’t write this shit.”

Love it. For a guy like me, in the middle of a huge geek-out on Shakespeare, I felt like I had found a kindred spirit, albeit a much more involved, studied, and talented one. So, if you have any interest in deepening your understanding and appreciation for Shakespeare's Richard III, this is most definitely the movie for you.

(19) Richard III

When I read Richard III for the first time, a while back at this point, one thing really stuck with me over the years, namely the famous last words of the fallen king, right at the end of the play:

“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!”

I found (and still find) something just so haunting in that final phrase, a plea of such desperation and sublimely sad denouement. Richard is going down, and he knows it. Also, in thinking about this line some more this morning while brushing my teeth (I know, inspiring, right?), it is a pretty strange thing to say as you are being done in, isn’t it? And why a horse? Why not a better sword? Or a bigger army? And what is a horse going to really do for you, even one that costs an entire kingdom? Or, is Richard trying to escape? Or…is he simply just trying to get back up on a horse so he can fight better?

One of my favorite things about this play (and I do have lots of them) is its seemingly endless nuance and subtly. Just about everything in it feels like it has multiple layers and meaning, with the puzzles and enigmas solving and then unsolving themselves as you dig deeper. I just love that. This play can be turned over and over, and still stay fresh. I find myself thinking about it throughout the day, while standing at line in the grocery store or wading through the commercials during the latest game on the tube. “Why a kingdom for a horse…?” Hmmmm. That means it’s a good play, right?

So anyway, I have finished the play and now plan on watching the well regarded movie version starring Ian McKellan. Should be a blast. While I wait for Netflix to deliver the disk, it’s onwards with King John, a play (unlike Richard III) that I know literally nothing about at this point except the title.