MovieChat Forums > The Actors (2003) Discussion > Shakespeare and Withnail

Shakespeare and Withnail

posted 19 years ago by jnnfrbryc
8 replies | jump to latest

I'm a bit of a Shakespeare junky, I just love the stuff but can't stand most of it when I see it performed. Usually I prefer just to read it but occasionally there are some performances which do it justice, eg a production of Othello I saw at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh last year. But my two favourite recitals are in The Actors and Withnail and I.
I love it at the start of the movie when Moran does the openeing speech to Richard III, the look of the shot against the dark rainy window and his accent make the reading amazing both to watch and to listen to. It's a lot like my other favourite which is from the end of Withnail and I where Richard E Grant gives the "What a piece of work is a man" speech from Hamlet in the pouring rain. It also struck me that both times it is the character you end up thinking of as the better actor who gives these performances.
If you get shivers up your spine watching Moran do Richard III, rent Withnail and I, I gaurentee you wont be disappointed.

He said, "She had a lovely face
God is his mercy lend her grace
The Lady of Shallot".

[–] renegade_fita 19 years ago

That scene in Withnail almost made me cry.

[–] ecky_ducky 18 years ago

Argh, when Dylan Moran was doing Richard, I almost died, he's so sexy in that scene...did you notice when he licks his lips? *Dies*
Apart from my love for the man, he did do that very well, I've performed Richard III, and I must say, he did better than our lead :D

[–] bob-deniro 18 years ago

I couldn't agree more jnnfrbryc. It really takes a special performer to make the great man's words come alive. Richard E Grant's faultless reading in Withnail & I is one of my favourite monologues in film. It was just fantastic, and every word resonated inside me. Such wonderful imagery.

Also, The Actors threw up a great quote about the acting profession: "if you don't believe in yourself, you'll never be able to convince anyone you're not you." And while we're on the subject, Patrick Stewart came out with a perfect summation: 'The camera can see a great actor thinking." Watch Pacino in The Godfather and it'll all make perfect sense.

"I'm drownin' here and you're describing the water!"

[–] neil_mc 18 years ago

It's funny that people should be mentioning Withnail & I, because I really was reminded of that film at various points throughout this.

"We're making a film here, not a movie."

[–] jnnfrbryc 17 years ago

I just got another one to add to my list
Dylan doing the speech from Richard III
Richard E Grant doing the bit from Hamlet in Withnail
and my new one: Peter O'Toole reciting sonnet 18 in Venus, God what a voice!

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] xilapang 17 years ago

It'd be great if someone could upload Moran's richard III clip from the film on youtube, or better yet the "withnail and I" clip aswell. I'd love to rent these movies, but my video store is completely useless for carrying international films.

[–] itzandy 16 years ago

That's what Torrents are for...