Richard III (1912 silent film)

Richard III (also known as The Life and Death of King Richard III) is a 1912 silent film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, co-directed by French filmmaker André Calmettes and American playwright James Keane, and starring Frederick Warde.

The 55-minute film, an international co-production of France and the United States, was produced by Film d'Art.

It is the oldest surviving American feature-length film and is also thought to be the first feature-length Shakespearean adaptation ever made.

As early as 1922, the film was thought lost.

It was not until 1996 that a print was discovered, when William Buffum, former projectionist at the Bluebird Theatre in Portland, Oregon, donated his copy to the American Film Institute.

The AFI restored the print, transferring it from its nitrate film stock and retouching the hand tinting effect used in the original 1912 release.

In 2001, Kino International released the film on DVD, with a newly composed score by Ennio Morricone.

Tickets £6 per person.