"The current focus on the classics puts Shakespeareback where he belongs -- in the hearts of the people -- and this is a good thing for all of us," comments American Branch chairman A. Compton Reeves, professor of history at Ohio University, "but in the case of Richard III it perpetuates a lot of myths about a historical person who was reckoned by his contemporaries to be a pretty decent sort of a fellow. We hope that some of those people looking for Richard this year will take a look at the man behind the myth."
Shakespeare's demon-king, who murders close to a dozen family members (including a brother, a wife, and his two little nephews), friends and political opponents to get and keep the throne , bears no resemblance to the historical character, maintains the Society, which offers a range of educational resources to aid students, educators, and the general public in the study of both the dramatic and the historical Richard III. "We're not anti-Shakespeare. As a matter of fact, many of our members relish a rousing performance of 'Richard III'," explains Reeves. "Anything that increases interest in the humanities is important to us, and we applaud Al Pacino's efforts to make Shakespeare more accessible. But setting the historical record straight is also very important to us. So we try to keep a balance. Our web site, for example, offers essays on the Shakespeare play as literature and as history, as well as a study guide for high school teachers, historiographical surveys, and on-line texts of many fifteenth- and sixteenth-century source documents which have long been out of print. We have also printed a curriculum for high school social studies teachers. We find that the dichotomy between the historical and the dramatic character fires young imaginations and motivates them to develop critical skills in research, analysis, and writing."
Al Pacino's semi-documentary, which opened in New York October 11 and is scheduled for general release in late October and November, is the third film to put Richard-III-as-machiavellian-schemer in the cinematic limelight this year. It follows the January release of Sir Ian McKellen's bravura performance in the controversial film version set in the 1930s with Richard III as a hitleresque despot. It also follows the September announcement by the American Film Institute of the discovery of a nearly-perfect copy of the 1912 film version of "Richard III" starring Federick Warde, believed to be the oldest surviving complete American feature film. The Pacino film blends scenes from the play with rehearsals, interviews with leading screen and stage actors, and the reactions of random New Yorkers to Shakespeare and to Richard III. Information on all three productions can be found on the Society's web site, together with the beginnings of an annotated edition of the play comparing it to the actual history of the period.
"As an actor, I'd give my eyeteeth to play Richard III. As a scholar, I recognize that the character is fiction, pure fiction," remarks Morris G. McGee, emeritus professor of English at Montclair (NJ) State University and former chair of the American Branch. The real Richard III, he adds, was respected by his contemporaries, had a reputation for fair-mindedness even when it was at his own expense, and was supported even to the end of his reign by more of the English people than is often recognized. "If you talk to the old-timers around Market Bosworth, the town closest to where Richard was killed, they'll tell you that King Richard marched his troops down the road like a decent Englishman, instead of trampling the ripening wheat like Henry Tudor and his French mercenaries," McGee explains, adding that Richard's defeat was more the result of foreign intervention than widespread disloyalty at home. After his death, Richard's reputation was blackened by historians writing in the reign of the Tudor monarchs as part of the effort to strengthen the Tudor's weak dynastic claim to the throne.
The Richard III Society, founded in England in 1924, is dedicated to the study of late fifteenth century English history and culture and to a celebration of the life and times of Richard III. With more than 4,000 members worldwide and 750 in the United States, it sponsors the publication of fifteenth- and sixteenth- century source documents and the work of twentieth-century historians; publishes a quarterly journal; supports the restoration of churches and the conservation and preservation of documents and works of art with a connection to Richard III; maintains circulating libraries for member use. In the United States, the American Branch also funds a graduate scholarship program with modest awards to two to four Ph.D. students each year.
For information on the American Branch, write P. O. Box 13786, New Orleans, LA 70185-3786 or visit its site on the World Wide Web at http://www.webcom.com/blanchrd/gateway.html
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