From the moment he appears onstage, uniformed and martial, barking out "Now is the winter of our discontent" with the guttural fury of a drill sergeant, Sir Ian McKellen's Richard III is arrestingly cruel and humorless, all chill and absolutely no charm. Not tomorrow, not yesterday – now. Brings back memories of first seeing it on a preteen school group trip to the cinema. A horse! Is now still a winter of discontent? "Now Is the Winter of Our Discontent" II: Invisibility. SHAKESPEARE: The opening line of Richard III is, ‘Now is the winter of our discontent’. SIR IAN MCKELLEN: What I like about that first line is the first word, now. Richard III is a 1995 British drama film adapted from William Shakespeare's play of the same name, starring Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, John Wood, Tim McInnerny and Dominic West.The film sets the play in 1930s Britain with Richard as a fascist sympathiser plotting to usurp the throne. The winter of Sir Ian McKellen's discontent was in 1986, when Broadway critics attacked Wild Honey like a swarm of killer bees. Gloucester enters and begins with the famous line about now being "the winter of discontent". ‘Now is the winter of our discontent’ opens a quite stunning soliloquy by the young Richard, Duke of Gloucester in the opening line of Shakespeare’s Richard III play.. Richard III is a historical play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written around 1593. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of King Richard III of England. ... ("Now is the winter of our discontent"), begin in public glory, and then conclude in private, standing at a urinal, speaking directly to the camera. A HORSE! But that's not why Ian McKellen points this out for us. Sir Ian McKellen plays himself. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified as such. ACT 1 SCENE 1. "Now is the winter of our discontent..." With these timeless words, Duke Richard - lounging on his sun deck - sets his murderous plans in motion. MY KINDGOM FOR A HORSE! This line ranks among the most famous and most quoted opening lines of any Shakespeare play, alongside such openings as ‘When shall we three meet again/In thunder, lightning or in rain? It's somewhat the opposite, as there is no discontent anywhere within… Is it always? In a rather unusual interview, the veteran actor reflects on some of the Bard’s greatest lines, written 400 … Having written their screenplay of Richard III, Richard Loncraine and Ian McKellen summarized the plot for potential investors and other interested parties.. The Review: Ian McKellen on Stage by Ross "Now" is the first word spoken in Shakespeare's Richard III. Occasionally, however, as in the quarto edition, it is termed a tragedy. Of course I didn't understand a word then apart from the "winter of our discontent" speech but remember being blown away by the clarity and colour of this my first VistaVision movie. Bloom thought Sir Ian McKellen was the greatest Richard III he had ever seen, and Richard Loncraine's 1995 film is based on McKellen's famous 1990 National Theater performance . Sir Ian McKellen may be best known as the wizard Gandalf or the malevolent Magneto, but his finest acting moments belong on stage; recounting the words of Shakespeare. at that moment, the speaker is in a bad way -- things are not going well, but he sees his improvement in the son of york (a royal family) -- the pun on the word son/sun leads to summer (sunshine) which provides the contrast with a winter (cold, harsh, depressing, dark) of discontent (sadness, anger). Shakespeare is now. My kingdom for a horse!, acting, Ian McKellen, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Olivier, Leicester, Milan, Mussolini, Now is the winter of our discontent, Off with his head!, Paris, Richard II, Richard III, Shakespeare, Shakespeare quotes, This precious stone set in a silver sea 2 Comments on A HORSE! There is a chilling scene in Ian McKellen's portrayal of Richard that brings the "looking into the mind" of evil to birth in the viewer in a powerful way. Seeing it again now on my home plasma with my brain in gear is a delight.