Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comments 1. The identification, double-spaced, begins one
inch from the top of the page and flush with the left margin. A doublespaced
line precedes the centered title of the paper. A margin of one inch
is provided at the left, right, and bottom.
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Frushour 1
Katie Frushour
Professor Thompson English 200, Section 5 8 May 1997 Olivier's traditional cinematic methods, which were groundbreaking in his time, bring the complexity of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to life by highlighting his malice and desire to control the crown of England. Olivier cleverly uses the cyclical theme of the crown being handed from king to king to symbolize |
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Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comments 1. All three quotations in paragraph 2 are cited
with only a page number because the authors' names are included in the
text.
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Frushour 2
the rise and fall of Richard III, what Constance Brown justly
calls "the central device of coherence" (133). Jack Jorgens concurs
with Brown's assertion as he states that there "is no question that the
theme of the crown is important to the film, (137). Jorgens identifies
the theme of the film as the "fall and rise of state, and argues that the
fall and rise are represented by the image of the crown (137). The
film opens with the crowning of Edward IV, after which the audience learns
of Richard's self-serving lust for the throne. The audience increasingly
becomes a party to Richard's malevolent actions and his growing tyranny
in his quest for power, which culminates in his possession of the crown
of England. Soon after obtaining the throne, however, Richard's tyrannical
methods lead to his death and the surrender of the crown to Richmond, the
rightful heir. This common cycle of events creates a sense of balance
in the film, which is both central to the theme and cinematically appealing.
Another cinematic technique employed by Olivier is the artful use of the shadow. As Richard confides his plots to kill Clarence and to marry Lady Anne, his shadow slowly grows until it consumes the whole screen. This use of shadow symbolizes Richard's dominance and his growing tyranny. Likewise, while the audience watches Clarence describe the horrible nightmare that he sees through the window of his cell in the Tower, the camera |
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Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comments 1. Because the quotation from Jorgens in paragraph
3 is brief, it can be run in with the text instead of being indented.
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Frushour 3
slowly reveals the shadow of Richard on the cell door.
Through this action, Anthony Davies suggests, the audience becomes an accomplice
to Richard's eavesdropping and thus a confidant to his plotting (70).
This action is cinematically advantageous because it involves the audience
in the film, while developing Richard's tyranny. Finally, the shadow
is used to emphasize the intertwining of Richard with the Duke of Buckingham,
a vital alliance in Richard's quest for the crown. Jorgens describes
this powerful scene: 'Buckingham's shadow merges with Richard's . . . and
the shadow of the murderers falls upon the crucifix in Clarence's cell
as they enter to kill him" (146). The shadows of both men are shown
side by side as they exit a room after plotting to meet the young Prince
of Wales' escort. This visual representation of the alliance of Richard
and Buckingham reinforces their ties to one another and provides a strong
contrast centered on Richard's tyranny when he and Buckingham are estranged.
Therefore, through the clever and inventive use of the shadow, Olivier
is able to emphasize the theme of his film, while making it cinematically
appealing at the same time.
Perhaps the most important of Olivier's cinematic techniques is his adaptation of the play. Shakespeare plays are never performed in their entirety, as actor/screenwriter Ian McKellen states in the "Production Notes" of Loncraine's version of Richard III. Olivier |
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Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comments 1. The citation to Wilson's article, (83-84), at
the end of Paragraph 4 indicates that the summarized information appears
on two pages.
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Frushour 4
generally uses traditional methods of adaptation, such as
cutting characters and occasionally dialogue, which serve to clarify the
plot by eliminating minor characters. He also maintains the stereotypes
of the characters that were defined by Shakespeare. Robert Wilson
points out that Olivier uses Shakespeare's archetypal clichés of
Lady Anne and Richard III (83-84).'
However, Olivier also adds scenes to the 5 film that are not in the play. One of these key additions is described in Magill's Survey of Cinema:
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Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comments 1. The reference to Stark in paragraph 7 acknowledges
that Frushour got the idea that there is renewed interest in Shakespeare
because of Branagh's productions from Stark's article. No page is
cited because Frushour used the online version of the source.
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Frushour 5
parallels Richard's lust for power. These brief scenes
work to enforce the image of Richard as tyrant and are an important part
of the cinematic beauty of Laurence Olivier's Richard III.
Loncraine's release of Richard III in 1995 takes a more contemporary approach to Shakespeare. Fueled by a renewed interest in Shakespeare resulting from Kenneth Branagh's success in bringing the playwright to the big screen (Stark), the film sparked a controversy concerning Loncraine's choice of setting. Loncraine uses a fictional, fascist, art deco London circa 1930 for the setting of his film, which adds to its cinematic capabilities. Although critics such as Stanley Kauffmann complain that Loncraine's setting is unbelievable,2 Jack Kroll states in his article concerning the recent release, "Loncraine gives you true movie visuals and rhythms as Richard rises to power . .. in an England of art deco and prewar tensions" (58). The setting parallels the tyranny of Richard. It becomes more militaristic as his obsession for the crown drives him to greater tyranny. Richard's tyranny fuels his rise to power, which "parallels Nazi Germany . .. with his introduction at a Nuremberg-style rally just prior to his coronation" (Kersey). Ben Brantley further stresses the effectiveness of Loncraine's setting as a device to emphasize the image of tyranny. He says: |
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Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comments 1. Notice that the page number for the blocked quotation
from Brantley in paragraph 7 comes after the final period, whereas for
quotations that are run into the text, such as Kroll's, the page number
comes before the period.
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Frushour 6
From a cinematic standpoint, Loncraine also makes a few casting decisions that relate the plot (and in turn the theme) of the film to the audience. The "Production Notes" from Richard III explain:
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Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comments 1. No page number is necessary for the blocked quotation in paragraph 9 because it is a citation to a Web page. In this instance, a paragraph number is given instead, according to advice (rather than a requirement) in the MLA Style Manual. However, the full electronic address appears in the Works Cited. 2. The citations in paragraph 10 refer to the two identically authored and titled films. The director's name is included to distinguish one version from the other. |
Frushour 7
Finally, like Olivier's film, the most important technique emphasizing the theme of Loncraine's film while making it cinematically favorable is adaptation. Ian McKellen, who wrote the screenplay in addition to playing Richard, makes numerous character cuts, rearranges or drops lines, and combines scenes to adapt Shakespeare's play. Characters like Lords Dorset, Grey, and Northumberland and Queen Margaret are eliminated, and their lines are given to other characters in the play. To increase the pace of the film, McKellen combines two scenes between Richard and Lady Anne (Loncraine, Richard III), so that she is successfully wooed in one scene rather than two (Olivier, Richard III). This reduction in |
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Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comment 1. The citation in paragraph 10 to the interview
with McKellen includes the title to avoid confusion with other electron
'c sources that quote McKellen. Since the reference is to a Web page,
there is no page number.
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Frushour 8
scenes emphasizes the power that Richard has over Anne and
allows the audience to compare it to the power he acquires as the movie
gains momentum. This scene is so powerful that even in his negative
review of Loncraine's film, Kauffmann describes the scene between Anne
and Richard as intrinsically interesting (30). Yet, despite the major
alterations that McKellen makes to reduce the four-hour play to just under
one hundred minutes, he insists on preserving the spirit of Shakespeare.
He says, in an on-line interview, "I will not betray his words.,, McKellen
emphasize the fact that although the characters are changed, lines rearranged,
and scenes added or dropped, the words remain true and convey the proper
image to the audience ("Richard III: Interview with Sir Ian McKellan").
This dedication to the spirit of Shakespeare's Richard III, while
making cinematically advantageous alterations to the text, enables Loncraine
to focus on the tyranny of Richard.
Forty years allows for numerous cinematic improvements, yet in Olivier's version of the play, Richard's tyranny is stressed using traditional methods that are just as cinematically appealing today as they were in 1955. Likewise, Loncrain'e's Richard III introduces a dramatic twist to the film, opening it for cinematic reinterpretation while preseving the tyrannical theme. Therefore, it is this artful and careful presentation of the films that allows both |
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Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comments I- Notes are usually put at the end of the text
and titled Notes. They are coordinated with their location
in the text by a superscript number that comes before the indented first
line of the note and also at the appropriate location in the text.
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Frushour 9
directors to successfully emphasize the tyranny of Richard
III while employing vastly different, yet equally effective, cinematic
techniques.
Frushour 10 victim, Lady Anne. 2Kauffmann argues that by changing the setting to Fascist times, Loncraine succeeds only in creating an unbelievable story line and distorts Shakespeare's original intentions. Kauffmann says, "Are we to believe that this power-greedy homicidal malcontent was a fascist? Nonsense. He had nothing in his head except schemes for personal advancement" (30). |
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Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comments 1. All works cited as sources in the paper and only
those should be included in the list of works cited.
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Frushour 11
Brantley, Ben. "Mesmerizing Men of Ill Will." New York Times 21 Jan. 1996, late ed.: 1+. Brown, Constance. "Olivier's Richard III: A Reevaluation." Focus on Shakespeare Films. Ed. Charles W. Eckert. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice, 1972. 131-45. Davies, Anthony. Filming Shakespeare's Plays: The Adaptations of Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Peter Brook, and Akira Kurosawa. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1988. Jorgens, Jack J. Shakespeare on Film. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1977. Kauffmann, Stanley. "Stanley Kauffmann on Films: Shrinking Shakespeare." New Republic 12 Feb. 1996: 30-31. Kersey, Alan. "Review: Richard III (1995)." Online posting. 6 May 1995. 9 July 1996 <news: rec.arts.movies.reviews>. Kroll, Jack. "Richard III--My Kingdom for a Movie." Newsweek 29 Jan. 1996: 58. Richard III. By William Shakespeare. Screenplay by Ian McKellen. Dir. Richard Loncraine. MGM/United Artists, 1995. Richard III. Dir. Laurence Olivier. British Broadcasting Company, 1955. "Richard III: Interview with Sir Ian McKellen." Richard III Onstage and Off. 20 Dec. 1995. Richard III Society Home Page. 3 July 1996. <http://www.r3.org/mckellen/film/mckell.html>. |
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Research: Using and Citing Sources
Comments 1. An anonymous source (such as Magill's Survey
of Cinema or "Richard III: Production Notes") is alphabetized
under the first important word in the title.
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Frushour 12
"Richard III": Production Notes," Richard III Onstage and Off. 20 Dec. 1995. Richard III Society Home Page. 3 July 1996 <http://www.r3-org/mckellen/film/notes.html>. Sime, Tom. "Now Is McKellen's Winter of Content: Acclaimed Shakespearean Finally Wins Film Stardom in Richard III." Dallas Morning News 4 Feb. 1996: 1C. Stark, Susan. "His Naked Villainy: Sir Ian McKellen Is No Garden Variety Richard III." Detroit News 20 Jan. 1996. 3 July 1996 <http://www.detnews.com/menu/stories/32720.htm>. Wilson, Robert F., Jr. "Shakespeare and Hollywood: Two Film Clichés." Journal of Popular Film and Television 15.2 (1987): 83-84. |