The Earliest Surviving American Feature FilmAn astounding rediscovery of the cinema, Richard III is the earliest surviving American feature film, newly discovered and restored to its original brilliance through the American Film Institute, with ahaunting orchestral score by composer Ennio Morricone.Produced as a vehicle for Frederick Warde, a legendary stage actor of the 19th Century, Richard III was the most ambitious Shakespearian adaptation to date. The film not only attempts to honorthe intricacies of the original play, it flavors the drama with spectacular crowd scenes and rich color tints. Richard III offers a fresh glimpse at a time when Shakespeare wasn't strictly the domain of scholars but was a source of popular entertainment,"when Americans didn't have to be spoon-fed a great dramatist but were united in their passion for one who gave them characters who mirrored their own complex humanity, not to mention sublime poetry, along with requisite doses of sex and violence." (FrankRich, The New York Times)
