Richard III Richard Loncraine and Ian McKellen have adapted Shakespeare's Richard III for the big screen and put the characters and action into an imaginary fascist Europe and England of the 1930s. The Swing music and the art deco style of the settings belong to the period.
Civil War divides the nation.
The King is under attack from the rebel York family, who are fighting to place their eldest son, Edward, on the throne. Edward's army advances, led by his youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The film starts with a scene in which a telex is announcing that Richard is marching towards the adversary's headquarters. A tank crashes into a room. Soldiers storm in.