good news for ricardians

I am, like a lot of other folks right now, pretty excited about the recent discovery of Richard III's skeleton under a Leicester municipal parking lot. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as I'm sure many more scholars will be weighing in, but it does seem like the doors are wide open to discuss Richard III and his reign.

Look at the extreme curve in Richard III's spine, from scoliosis. From The New York Times and Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

Thanks to a certain playwright named William Shakespeare, Richard III has come down to us through the ages as a hunchbacked, scheming murderer of brothers and children. there have been many authors and historians who have happily reiterated this party line, while there have been just as many who have disputed the portrayal of "evil King Richard" in fiction and non-fiction.

Boris Karloff as Mord listens closely to his King's (Basil Rathbone) instructions

As much as I have enjoyed Shakespeare's play and some of the over-the-top portrayals through the years (Laurence Olivier, even Al Pacino), I have to admit that I lean more and more towards the Ricardian camp these days. That said, for a really entertaining movie version of the wicked king, Tower Of London, starring Basil Rathbone as Richard III, is great fun to watch. Rathbone has little figurines of each relative who stands in his way, and viewers can watch him knock off his brother Clarence (Vincent Price) in a butt of malmsey and imprison his nephews, the little princes, in the Tower of London. Boris Karloff is also on hand as Richard's creepy henchman Mord. In the same vein, but lacking any humor or authenticity is Alison Weir's The Princes in the Tower. I read the book with an open mind, but I found her "scholarship" so faulty and biased towards the Tudors that I now doubt her historian credentials. It was probably wise for her to have switched to writing fiction, as she seems to have done recently.

In the "give Richard a chance" camp, still probably the best book to start with is Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time. Part detective story, part history, Tey lays out a very convincing case for questioning the old position of Richard III as a murderous uncle. For readers who love historical fiction that is amply researched, Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne In Splendour is an excellent book, for telling the story of Richard III and his shining brother, Edward IV.

In Egypt (and many other places) they keep digging under old temples and finding even older temples, so we shouldn't be surprised to find a king below a parking lot. What will be interesting is how much will this skeleton be able to tell us about Richard III, his life, his times. How close have some of our fiction and non-fiction depictions of this controversial king come — and which ones, the bad or the good ones — will become the new accepted history?

shakespeare uncovered

PBS has a new show that fans of acting and actors, and most especially, William Shakespeare, are bound to enjoy. Each episode of Shakespeare Uncovered features a well-known actor tracing the steps of the Bard's famous plays.

The first episode, which featured actor Ethan Hawke examining Macbeth was a real treat. Hawke, known for his own interpretation of Hamlet, examined the possibilities of exploring the character of Macbeth, a part he yearns to play. He visited Scotland and spoke to other actors who had assayed the role. The episode also featured scenes from interpretations by actors Patrick Stewart and Antony Sher. Noted Shakespeare scholars also weigh in to give the play and its characters context. One of the more interesting observations that came up during the episode was that the Macbeths, for all of their murderous impulses, are one of Shakespeare's happier married couples. It is this sort of fresh look at an old play that most viewers may not have glanced at or thought about since high school English class that makes Shakespeare Uncovered so interesting to watch.

Ethan Hawke consults fellow actor Richard Easton on how to play the dagger scene in Macbeth

The next episode will feature actress Joely Richardson discussing Shakespeare's comedies Twelfth Night and As You Like It (it hasn't aired yet here, but has already aired on some PBS stations). That will be followed by Derek Jacobi on Richard II, Jeremy Irons on Henry IV and Henry V, and David Tennant examining Hamlet and The Tempest. I have to admit that I'm very eager to see Jacobi, one of my favorite actors, and his take. I remember seeing him do both Richard II and Hamlet as part of The BBC Television Shakespeare, an ambitious project to film all of the Bard's plays for television, when I was still in middle school. I have since come to learn that he is one of those who doubt that William Shakespeare actually wrote the plays. I disagree with this point of view, but still love him. It will be interesting to see if he butts heads with scholars on his episode.

Derek Jacobi as Richard II, John Gielgud as John of Gaunt

David Tennant as Hamlet, Patrick Stewart as Claudius

PBS also includes links to three filmed Shakespeare plays:

Macbeth, starring Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood
Hamlet, starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart
King Lear, starring Ian McKellen

This is a real treat for fans of Shakespeare and is making me want to hunt down some of those older late '70s - early '80s versions of the plays, too.

kill shakespeare, volume 2

Article first published as Graphic Novel Review: Kill Shakespeare, Volume Two: The Blast of War by McCreery, Del Col and Belanger on Blogcritics.

Authors Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col, and Andy Belanger have taken William Shakespeare and his greatest heroes and villains and put them together in a world where they either worship or detest their creator. Shakepeare is viewed as a godlike figure to some. Hamlet is the main character in both collections, and his trademark indecision is alive and well in this interpretation.

Kill Shakespeare, Volume Two: The Blast of War, nominated for a 2011 Harvey Award for best new comic series, collects the last six issues in the series, 7-12, and brings the exciting story to a conclusion.

In the first book, Kill Shakespeare Volume One: A Sea of Troubles, super-villain Richard III promised the guilt-ridden Hamlet that he would resurrect his father if Hamlet would steal Shakespeare's magical quill. Richard III, teamed up with the murderous Lady Macbeth and others, aim to steal their creator's quill, which can alter reality. Hamlet rejects Richard III and ends up joining the Prodigals, a band of rebels led by a very spunky Juliet and a remorseful Othello.

Readers don't have to be well-versed in the Shakespeare plays to enjoy the comic, but knowledge of key speeches and characters does enhance the experience. Not only do main characters like Hamlet, Falstaff, and Iago populate the pages, but peripheral characters like Demetrius and Lysander from A Midsummer Night's Dream also make an appearance.

In Volume Two, Hamlet and the Prodigals race to find Shakespeare before Richard III and Lady Macbeth and their troops. There are battle scenes galore, but Hamlet also manages to find time to fall for the lovely Juliet — what will he do now that he's discovered that her first love Romeo is still alive? Will Hamlet be able to save Shakespeare, or will he be manipulated by the villains to kill their author and creator, possibly destroying them all in the process?

The book was entertaining, with lots of action, clever references to the Bard's works, and bold graphic drawings. The story moved along well, keeping the suspense and excitement at an equal pitch.

The only quibble would be some of the writing. Classic Shakespearean characters have been mashed together creatively, but the writers then felt the need to have them speak with clunky "thees" and thous." It made some of the speeches hard-going. I'm not sure iambic pentameter would have worked, either, but dialogue like ...

"I will not do thy dirty work for thee. If thou wishes to die so badly, then come with me and do so on the battlefield."

... hardly runs trippingly on the tongue.

Kill Shakespeare, Volume Two: The Blast of War includes a bonus story, "Here Never Shines the Sun," written by Tom Waltz and drawn by Will Sliney, as well as multiple covers and additional artwork.

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star-cross'd gnomes

Article first published as Movie Review: Gnomeo & Juliet on Blogcritics.

As a small red gnome informs us at the start of Gnomeo and Juliet, "The story you are about to see has been told before. A lot." What crazed mind thought a retelling of Shakespeare's (too) oft-told tale, Romeo and Juliet, starring garden gnomes, would be a good idea? Some twisted genius, perhaps. Whoever the culprits were, I'm grateful. Because this distinctly untypical animated film with minimal Disney associations and absolutely no product placement that I could discern was actually a lot of fun.

The kid loved its bright colors and silly characters, but there were Shakespearean in-jokes sprinkled about that the quick-of-eye adult could also enjoy. Some that I caught (I'm sure there are many more): the numbers on the semi-detached houses of the feuding Montagues and Capulets are 2B and Not 2B. A Rosencrantz and Guildenstern moving company truck can be spotted, as well as "Stratford-Upon-Avon" as the destination on a double-decker bus. When heroine Juliet is tangling with a very large (to her) neighborhood bulldog who is trying to push his way into her yard she yells, "Out, out!" to him while his owner on the other side of the fence curses, "Damn Spot!"

The dialogue is clever, as evidenced by Juliet's reworked balcony speech, "Oh Gnomeo, oh Gnomeo, are we really doomed to never see each other again? Why must you wear a blue hat? Why couldn't it be red like my father's? Or green like a leprechaun? Or purple like, um... like, uh... like some weird guy? I mean, what's in a Gnome? Because you're blue my father sees red, and because I'm red, I'm feeling blue." Juliet not only gets to utter the only major monologue, but is a much more sassy and interesting character than the Bard's original teen queen. Gnomeo isn't just captivated by her beauty as was his alter-ego Romeo, but by her acrobatics and independent spirit. Juliet is a modern female ... gnome.

Juliet is voiced by Emily Blunt, Gnomeo by James McAvoy, and her seeing-red father by Michael Caine. Other easily-identifiable vocal talents include Maggie Smith, Patrick Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne and Jason Statham, to name just a few. The film is full of snippets of greatest Elton John/Bernie Taupin hits like "Your Song," "Bennie and the Jets" and "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)," which work well in their new context of the apparently age-old battle between red gnomes and blue gnomes. John also delivers a new version of Crocodile Rock this time a duet with Nelly Furtado. It's always interesting to hear the back-stories of movies and Gnomeo and Juliet apparently has quite a long one, with John being involved since 2000.

Director Kelly Asbury was a name I didn't know, but after a little digging around on imdb I discovered that his work is very familiar (especially in our house). He directed Shrek 2 and has worked in various capacities on many great animated films: storyboard on Kung Fu Panda and James and the Giant Peach, assistant art director on The Nightmare Before Christmas, as an artist on Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid.

Gnomeo and Juliet shows off the years of hard work that went into making it, as the little details — the ceramic "clink" whenever the gnomes touch, their rough or shiny surfaces, the vast variety of gnomes and other garden decor — all add to the fun of the film. Shakespeare may not have recognized this latest adaptation of his tragic romance at first, but I'm sure he would have approved. He wasn't exactly known for plot originality, as his tale of feuding families was based on an old Italian one. Shakespeare brought his signature language and dramatic structure to already-established stories, just as Asbury and Co. have brought their talents to the timeless tale of "two households, both alike in dignity ... " and created an engaging tale of star-cross'd gnomes.

Related articles

• Elton John talks "Gnomeo & Juliet" (loft965.com)

fools rush in

April Fools Day was always celebrated in our house when we were kids - usually with an attempt to short-sheet someone's bed. As far as public hoaxes go, Smell-o-vision is probably my favorite. But today could also be a day to "pity the fool" and possibly even honor them.

Fools have existed throughout history, and many have found time to comment on them:

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex . . . It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.—Albert Einstein

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.—Abraham Lincoln

A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.—William Shakespeare

He who hesitates is a damned fool.—Mae West

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it.—W. C. Fields

Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.—Charlie Chaplin

Lord, what fools these mortals be.—William Shakespeare

Wise people talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.—Plato

Happy April Fool's day!

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