Pacino's Ambition

Pacino was born in New York City, to Sicilian-American parents Salvatore and Rose Pacino, who divorced when he was two years old. His mother moved near the Bronx Zoo to live with her parents, Kate and James Gerardi, who, coincidentally, had come from a town in Sicily named Corleone. His father, who was from San Fratello in the Province of Messina, moved to Covina, California, and worked as an insurance salesman and restaurateur.

One of the darkest tragedies found in Shakespeare, Hamlet is notorious for revealing concepts of human nature that are still recognized today, as it also signifies human frailty through corruption and grief. The human mind is a complicated place, that only few writers choose to decipher. Shakespeare writes not only with passion but also with plights that all humans face today. Although frailty can be found in many stories, Shakespeare uses the reality of the human mind to appeal to his readers in a dark and beautiful way, going in-depth, and reaching into the true meanings of grief and despair.

This derives from the play as a recount of historical events with a known outcome and a medium for propaganda in support of the monarchy, an avid determinist. Nevertheless, the aforementioned tension is prevalent throughout and epitomised by the paradoxical pun ‘I am determined to prove a villain’. Uttered with a tone of poise and self-assuredness, the term ‘determined’ implies a conscious statement of purpose and a preordained villainy. Thus Richard is aligned with the stock character of the Vice, an instrument of predestination, and the innovative Machiavel, an advocator of humanism. Despite this, the ultimate decline of Richard is consequential of the reign of determinism. The directly antithetic correctio ‘I am a villain. Yet I lie, I am not’ yields an implicit self-doubt and acknowledgment of an inability to fulfil his humanist purpose. Providentialism thus displays precedence over self-determination. This is in direct contrast to Pacino’s docudrama, composed for a secular modern American audience disengaged with traditional notions of determinism. A greatly diminished and altered portrayal of Margaret, the primary instrument of determinism in the play, is expressive of this. Pacino devalues her curses by reducing her to a ‘sort of ghost of the past’. A frenzied montage of informative discourse and the activity of the play complete with

People’s perceptions of incessant societal issues are inherently influenced by their social and cultural contexts. In the prescribed non-fiction text, “The Prince,” written by Niccolo Machiavelli in 1532, is a didactic explanation of the political struggles of Renaissance Italy. Similarly, William Shakespeare’s play, “Julius Caesar,” composed in 1599, depicts the historical events surrounding Julius Caesar’s assassination. The ideas of manipulation and fate versus free will are presented through literary devices in “The Prince” and dramatised staging features in Shakespeare’s play. Both texts effectively highlight continuous human concerns as a result of the context in which they are written.

Shakespeare’s plays that deal with historical accounts of kings often show the flaws that the reigning king had. From King John to Henry VIII, Shakespeare paints an image of a king whose flaws lead to their eventual downfall. Shakespeare’s Richard II is no different, in that context, from his other historical plays. He highlights the flaws of the reigning king while he highlights the virtues of an individual that is below the king in terms of status. By highlighting the flaws of the king, Shakespeare aims to dissolve the idea of a perfect king.

‘Richard would literally do anything if it meant he would be in power, including killing off family members to achieve the throne', Al Pacino made it very clear by stating what Richards's intentions were. Hyperbole is used to emphasise how far Richard would go to gain power, contrasting how brutal Richards's path to power was. The pursuit of power is portrayed in both texts similarly, despite the different contexts. Both the film and play display the theme of the pursuit of power is brutal on Richards behalf, connecting the

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a celebrated revenge tragedy which challenges conventions of Renaissance Humanist era values and ideas. The unquenchable thirst of revenge is the underlining factor which coerces the play, exploring the undeniable fantasy of vengeance. However, this challenging convention cannot be redeemed by Hamlet due to strict Elizabethan religious beliefs. Additionally, the theme of verisimilitude dictates the difference between reality and appearance, showcasing the effortless fall to disillusionment and madness. Shakespeare’s use of structure, language and content create a multi-dimensional text which explores all these themes and their relevance in mainstream society maintaining its integrity. Therefore the conventions

He expresses the rise and fall of those in power and the struggles this journey causes. Power hungry Richard openly reflects upon his nature, “determined to prove a villain”, frequently throughout his soliloquies. Pacino helps modern audiences to relate to this peculiar man by using a hand held camera and quick consecutive cuts between scenes, bringing the audience into the moment. The exploration of scenes through voice overs lead to a better understanding of the play. His genuine efforts to bring Shakespeare to the streets of America result in a sense of spontaneity.

Shakespeare’s tragedies are filled with many commonalities: violent murders, treachery and revenge. However, while Hamlet, Prince of Denmark portrays these same ideas, it effectively fights against the traditional expectations of a Shakespearean tragedy. The play centers on Hamlet’s attempts to avenge his father’s murder, yet his greatest struggles are against himself. Stemming from his constant desire to plot a perfect revenge, Hamlet’s obsessiveness often leads to frustration. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony and lengthy soliloquies to give the reader an omniscient perspective that recognizes that Hamlet must let go of his desire to control the future.

The 16th century Tudor myth that Richard had to die in order to restore peace in England as he has disrupted the chain of being, “bloody and guilty... in a bloody battle end thy days!” would not be understood by post-modern audiences making it plausible for Pacino to shape the text to suit his context. The absence of divine retribution in the modern world and the irrelevance of ghostly intervention lead to Pacino’s portrayal of Richard as mentally unstable and his fall from power as being due to his conscience. The ghosts from Richard III are present in Richard’s dream using stichomythia and distortion to make them seem dream-like. Kimball’s voiceover, “he has let the pursuit of power corrupt him... he is alienated from... his own self” conveys a very humane representation of Richard III as can be understood in the secular modern context while commenting on the impact of a person’s pursuit of power in both

In Shakespeare’s play, Richard is portrayed as a Machiavel, he is unapologetically manipulative yet a smooth-talker with a sense of humour. This combination of characteristics, along with Shakespeare’s use of asides to make the audience confidants to Richard’s scheming, evokes an attraction to his character which lasts until his murder-filled to-do list becomes seemingly never ending. The connection between the audience and

Pacino: I was symbolically reflecting the character King Richard in a postmodern way to connect a modern audience’s context where freedom of choice and actions are

Shakespeare's Richard II tells the story of Richard's fall from power. Being dethroned by Bolingbroke forces Richard to confront the limitations and nature of his power as king. As audience members, we follow Richard on his journey of self-discovery, which enlightens him even as his life is shattered by Bolingbroke's revolt. Paradoxically, it is in utter defeat that Richard comes closest to understanding what it is to be human. Unfortunately he is unable to accept life as an ordinary subject after having tasted what it means to rule.