Apr 22 2025

Richard III: Good Guy or Evil Putz?

44 min 9 movies discussed
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Ever since Shakespeare wrote his tragedy on Richard III the world has thought of him as an evil king with a shriveled soul. But is that actually unjust?

AI Summary

# Stuff You Should Know: Richard III

This episode dives into one of history's greatest mysteries and most controversial figures: King Richard III of England. Josh and Chuck explore how Shakespeare's famous play painted Richard as a deformed villain and child murderer, but modern historians and a dedicated group called the Ricardians argue that his reputation was deliberately smeared by the Tudor dynasty that replaced him. The episode covers the brutal War of the Roses, Richard's rise to power, the disappearance of two young princes in the Tower of London, and an incredible 2012 archaeological discovery in a Leicester parking lot that finally located Richard's remains and proved at least one thing about him wasn't what we'd been told for centuries.


Movies Discussed

A Normal Daughter: The Life and Times of Kewpie of District Six
A Normal Daughter: The Life and Times of Kewpie of District Six
2000 56m
"It was a very popular detective novel called A Daughter of Time, in which they reimagine the disappearance of the two princes as a modern murder mystery. — Chuck describes this detective novel that reframed the mystery of the two princes and Richard III's culpability." — Chuck
Looking for Richard
Looking for Richard
1996 PG-13 1h 52m
★ 6.8
"Al Pacino made a documentary because he's apparently a huge Shakespearean and was obsessed with the Tragedy of Richard the third. — Josh references Al Pacino's documentary film about Richard III and Shakespeare's play." — Josh
Paddington
Paddington
2014 PG 1h 35m
★ 7.1
"She was in the Paddington movies, which are fantastic if you haven't seen them. I saw the first one in the theater. — Chuck mentions Sally Hawkins appeared in the Paddington films as examples of her good work." — Chuck
Paddington 2
Paddington 2
2017 PG 1h 44m
★ 7.5
"Yeah, the second one's even better. I was not expecting that, Chuck. — Josh and Chuck discuss the sequel to Paddington, with Chuck praising it as better than the first." — Josh
The Goodbye Girl
The Goodbye Girl
1977 PG 1h 51m
★ 6.9
"I saw The Goodbye Girl the other day, the Richard Dreyfuss movie, the Neil Simon movie. — Josh mentions watching this film where Richard Dreyfuss plays Richard III in an unusual theatrical portrayal." — Josh
The Lost King
The Lost King
2022 PG-13 1h 48m
★ 6.5
"There's a good movie that came out in 2022 called The Lost King. It's about Philippa Langley and this. — Josh mentions this film about Philippa Langley's project to find Richard III's remains, starring Sally Hawkins." — Josh
The Shape of Water
The Shape of Water
2017 R 2h 3m
★ 7.2
"Wouldn't she The Shape of Water, that weird movie? It won the Oscar and it was a little weird. — Chuck references Sally Hawkins' role in this Oscar-winning film while discussing her acting abilities." — Chuck
The Tragedy of Richard III
The Tragedy of Richard III
1983 3h 50m
★ 8.0
"There's a very, very famous play by Shakespeare called The Tragedy of Richard III. — The Shakespeare play is discussed as the primary source of Richard III's negative historical reputation." — Chuck
The War of the Roses
The War of the Roses
1989 1h 56m
★ 6.9
"That also explains that movie with Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito and Kathleen Turner. One of my favorite all-time movies. — Josh references the 1989 film as an example related to the War of the Roses conflict between York and Lancaster." — Josh

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