This version is different from the first two interpretations in that Al Pacino and his actors needed to break down the barriers, which render Shakespeare's history complicated and intimidating. Al Pacino allows his viewer to go behind the scenes and witness the actual process of acting. The heavier aspects of the play are made mild by informal shots of actors dealing with their roles in either a comic or

This would change in the years that would follow Francis' defeat of France. Henry's focus upon domestic issues became fixed upon the difficulties of succession -- just as his father's had been. But unlike Henry VII, Henry VIII had ongoing difficultly seeding a male heir. Although it was not unheard of in Europe to place a Queen upon the throne, Henry and his advisors believed that stability could only

This reinvention has continued in every era since, including in the modern film adaptation of Richard the Third starring Ian McKellan. Set just prior to World War II and with Richard as a fascist dictator who often appears quasi-Naziish, this film version gives much darker political overtones to Richard's climb and eventual reign than appear in Shakespeare's text. Though this makes the depth of Richard's evil far more profound

They want to be king so badly that they can justify any action that helps them achieve their goal. These actions include murder. Both men become villains in different ways - Richard seems to have been born villainous and Macbeth seems to prove that villains are not born but made from outside influences. Shakespeare proves both assertions valid when we see Macbeth reach the same level of conniving and

They fear Richard because he is a great warrior, I thought. Although Richard tried to deny it, Queen Margaret described how he slew my husband without pity. Indeed, I suppose the good have no place in this world, no place in politics. Henry VI and my husband should have been monks or shepherds, not rulers. But then what of myself? What will happen to me? I wondered this as I

Dreams in Shakespeare's Richard III Whatever view we take of Richard III as depicted in Shakespeare's play, his dominance of the action cannot be doubted. He is the central figure of the story, a demonic force that energizes the plot and constantly makes things happen. The very fact that he begins the play by asserting that all is well in England except with himself, and proceeds on the basis of his