Richard III/Awesome

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Richard III's wooing of Lady Anne.
  • Seeing the villain get their comeuppance is usually an extremely satisfying affair: this troper must give special mention to a production of Richard III that he saw, in which the ghosts of all the characters Richard killed wrap him up in sheets, keeping him from escaping, allowing Richmond to climb to the top of the set, level a goddamn revolver at Richard, and make a perfect headshot. Ownage.

1995 film

  • Among all the CMoAs Shakespeare gave Magnificent Bastard Richard III, the 1995 film that transplants the story to the 1930s gives him a whole new one right in its first scene: he rams right into the mansion that King Henry is using as a base with a tank, jumps out wearing a gas mask that makes his breathing sound like Darth Vader, and shoots Henry right in the head, with the title popping onscreen at the same instant.
    • Which, by the way, wasn't just invented. Richard actually did kill Henry and Henry's son, though you could almost miss that (or be seriously confused) just hearing the dialogue.
  • Richard in the final battle mans a machine gun turret single handedly (literally).

1955 film

  • Laurence Olivier has his own: as if Richard's meticulous false show of humility to get the public behind the idea of him becoming king wasn't good enough, in this film he follows it by sliding down a bell pull like a fireman's pole, and making Buckingham kneel and kiss his hand with an incredible music swell.