Richard III

If you 1) ignore the outrageous claims about the production's "level of realism rarely achieved on stage" in the supplemental feature Rediscovering Richard (on the discovery and restoration of Richard III), 2) accept the fact that there is virtually none of Shakespeare's language presented on the title cards of this 1912 tinted silent film (but some odd spellings), and 3) are prepared to suffer Ennio Morricone's overblown new orchestral score, then 4) you're still liable to be disappointed by this primitive comic book level adaptation in which Frederick Warde glowers at his enemies, makes google eyes at Lady Anne and "despatches" his political adversaries with a sword. But, and here we have a bigger "but" than Eddie Murphy's derriere in The Nutty Professor: this is the oldest surviving full-length American motion picture in existence. And that is reason enough to recommend this lovingly restored landmark in the history of the cinema. Also available, Emil Jannings in the 1922 Othello. (R. Pitman)