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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating,
By tin2x "tin2x" (Staten Island, NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Laurence Olivier and the Art of Film Making (Hardcover)
This book discusses Olivier's choices as an actor and director for the trio of Shakespeare films he made. The first was Henry V, the second Hamlet, and the third Richard III.I am not a film student and for me this was a fascinating look at how Olivier helped achieve some of the dramatic impact of these films through various cinematic devices. I am not sure if it's something that would be obvious to someone who studies films or not. My sense is that they would not learn as much from this book as I have. Additionally there are comments on how Olivier altered Shakespeare's scripts and read certain lines as an actor. This is not quite so useful as it's easier to reference that information, and I was familiar with most of the major changes made. Since reading this book I have watched Richard III again and was amazed to see how many things I had not noticed in my more casual viewing of the film. I personally love Olivier's enigmatic performance in that film (it was my primary motivator in buying this book), and I found that my further understanding of his choices as an actor and director only made me appreciate the film more. I had experienced the film as a "casual" viewer and now as someone with more insight. A worthy experience! I would not suggest this book to someone who does not appreciate both Olivier's films and more importantly Shakespeare's plays. I think that if you are familiar with only Olivier's work and not other performances of the plays it might be worthwhile, but I would urge you to watch other acclaimed versions of the plays first, and possibly pick up Shakespeare's folios (if you cannot find them online). Ian McKellan has made Richard III more recently and Kenneth Branagh has made Henry V. There are countless Hamlets out there (including one by Branagh again). Without some knowledge of other performances I think the appreciation for Olivier's choices is lost. But all that being said, I learned a lot from reading this book, and find it's still a nice reference to keep around.
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