From my education, Shakespeare isn't for common people and I praise Al to invest his stature to bring Shakespeare to us. Thus, this movie is really exciting because there are really two story lines nicely melted together: the Shakespeare's play and the passion of Al.For those like me who rates Al as their best actor, this is a must-see. The character of Richard is black as coal and Al has always been never better with those perfidious and nasty guys. On the opposite, in the real life, Al is a warm-full, sweet person and with his documentary, he opens this door for us and offers to take a peek. In addition, it's great to see Al and his pals talking about the play, looking for great exteriors and visiting the original place of Shakespeare. You see the mystery of creation in art and this special birth is always a memorable event.Actually, despite being hard of hearing (and fearing to become deaf), I just like Al's voice: it's amazing how much feelings he can show with it. That's why i'm just laughing when actors like Pitt are depicted as great because they are dwarfs compared to Al.In conclusion, beyond being "the" actor, Al reveals himself as an inspired director and he should direct more!

I'm not sure I have ever given a -10- to anything I've ever reviewed here (including the fifty or sixty I have removed) - BUT - if you are an actor, director, scenarist, dialog writer, director or pretty much anything else in stage or cinema... and -haven't- seen this...You have -really- missed something remarkable.We have seen Pacino be artful (in the Godfathers, in "Glengarry Glen Ross," in "Sea of Love," in "Serpico"). We have seen him strike us dumb (in "Scarface," in "The Devil's Advocate," in "And Justice for All"). We have seen him slip us a mickey (in "Scent of a Woman," in "Dog Day Afternoon," in "Dick Tracy"). Here, however, we get to see him do -all- of this, -and- provide access to the man's boggling mind and force of charm.We can surely see here why – and how -- Al has gotten his way for decades (even though Richard himself only got –his- for two years).And see him do it in the context of the play that really "made" Bill Shakespeare when it hit the big time in 1633 -40 years- after it was written... along with a cast of stage monsters who make this 450-year-old revelation... Come... To... Life.Bear in mind, as well, how all this revelation must have been viewed a mere 125 years after all this blood-soaked chicanery in a court so similar to the one viewing it.For the king and queen who saw that first performance, this might have been rather like watching "Gone With the Wind" had it been screened for the first time in about 1880 when the world was as little changed from 1865 as 1633 was from 1485.Talk about "The Godfather," this is the -original-. The intrigues are like torpedoes coming from everywhere. NO one can be trusted. NO one is safe. And we get to see it here in a way no film version (of pretty much anything by Old Bill) has ever made so evident... and relevant.This is worth a trip to Blockbuster in a hail storm.

Al Pacino is one of the most dynamic and charismatic film stars ever; yet he has always been hampered by his inability to pick good projects other than his hits for Coppla and Lumet. This film gives some clue as to why: he appears to be as stupid as a block of stone. A big screen version of Henry "Fonize" Winkler's Shakespeare T.V. show, "Looking For Richard" is a harebrained idea run into the ground. "Richard The III" is one of the easiest to follow of all the Bard's works, that the dark prince is the bad guy stabbing everybody in the back is about all you need to know. Yet Pacino begins with the idea that the play is impossible to bring to modern audiences, it's just too complicated. His solution? Only do the juiciest bits with his Hollywood pals. Unintentional hilarity ensues. Beyond that, Pacino is a ceaseless bore, surrounded by sycophants who encourage him to make a behind of himself. In one scene, Pacino seems to be suggesting to young people that Shakespeare is cool because you get to seduce Wynona Ryder. In another, he keeps interrupting a bored John Gielgud. It's never mentioned that Pacino's on stage Richard III was an infamous production laughed off Broadway in about a week. Maybe it wasn't Al's fault. But the critics were a lot kinder to this silly film than they were to Pacino when he really took a crack at the Bard.

Shakespeare In Love? Mr. Pacino et al are in love with Shakespeare, truly, madly, deeply and thank God for that. While Canada's Stratford Festival began fifty-two years ago with decidedly Royal Shakespeare Company pretensions, while searching for its audience, voice and unique identity, (Alec Guinness opened the Festival in 1953 with a brilliant Richard III)it has staged some incredible interpretations of the canon with performances by British, American, as well as then unknown young Canadian actors including Christopher Plummer and my God, in truth, I once watched a young kid named Wm. Shatner from Montreal literally inhabit Prince Hal in Henry IV, I and II, with dynamism, boldness, wit, intelligence and unbridled energy. In Canada, Stratford has near singlehandedly made Shakespeare accessible and understandable, without condescension, in part through its inexpensive programs tailored especially for schools and the near messianic spirit of making the majesty of Shakepeare's English intelligible, in essence transcending the four century 'divide' with visually stunning,sometimes controversial but most often gratifying entertainments. Kudos to Al Pacino and company for undertaking their quest in America. Looking For Richard is truly a revelation. I always suspected that beneath the Method breathed the soul of a great, but frustrated artist, who seemed always to be searching for ...himself? How absolutely courageous and generous of Al and his colleagues to invite to share in their journey of discovery. This is not and was not ever meant to be another film version of the play. It is about becoming...