This man was once the king's closest friend.
After the king's death, he sometimes guided me like a brother
and sustained this kingdom.
Even so...
...those who sell their souls to demons are bound for hell.
What's going on?!
Listen well!
The queen dowager's family and Lord Hastings
attempted to assassinate the Duke of Gloucester!
Lord Stanley.
You backed the wrong horse.
Did you all see that?!
Lord Hastings not only spread baseless slanders against the Duke of Gloucester,
but even attempted to murder the duke by sorcery!
Yet have not fear!
He was executed before our eyes and his schemes forestalled!
The Lord God could see the justice in the Duke of Gloucester's heart!
Our Lord Protector! Please have mercy!
I swear to turn over a new leaf and serve you body and soul!
Very well.
Hear me: it is not yet too late.
If we can join hands for England's sake,
I shall call you
my brothers.
I'm so close.
Soon, my hands will be able to grasp
the light!
York of the white rose.
Lancaster of the red rose.
These royal houses with roses for their crests battled for the throne.
People call their strife the "Wars of the Roses."
Queen Dowager Elizabeth.
What a shame.
All of your schemes have fallen flat.
Buckingham!
You had cause to want the Duke of Gloucester dead at any cost.
He is the true heir to the throne, more legitimate than your sons.
What?! How dare you!
Catesby, speak the dreadful truth you once heard on the field of battle.
What I am about to say is supported by a wealth of testimony.
I swear to the Lord Our God that I speak the truth.
Our former king, Edward IV,
was already married to another woman before he met Elizabeth Woodville.
Elizabeth Woodville is not the king's lawful wife.
Therefore, her son Edward is not a legitimate king.
This is a grievous mistake!
A lowly weed has put down roots in the sacred palace!
But gentlemen!
Fortunately, the prince does not yet wear a golden crown upon his brow!
We can still correct our error!
God is watching over us!
Enact justice.
Take both brothers away!
To the Tower of London with this false king!
S-Stop it!
Take your filthy hands off me!
I am king!
Damn that demon!
Richard! You'll pay for this!
The time has come at last.
How you and I have waited for this moment.
"You and I"...?
Once the time comes, we need no longer reaffirm our pact.
The king's body belongs to the kingdom.
Naturally.
Are you worried about what Jane said?
But do you truly understand yourself?
Rest easy. That's not possible.
Do you have proof of that, or do you merely wish to believe it?
The terrible nights will return,
even though I've already known warmth.
Richard?
It's for the crown.
Our pact is merely a ritual to that end.
Isn't that right, Richard? If you have the makings of a king...
I...
...can't sleep without you.
Forget that.
How you toy with my resolve.
Coupling isn't the extent of our pact.
Tell me your desire.
Just be at my side.
Until the darkness burns away in the morning sunlight.
Have you heard?! Edward V and his brother were taken to the Tower of London!
What on earth is going on?!
If that's true, the next heir to the throne
can only be him!
What's wrong? Doesn't this feel real?
When I thought I held it,
light has always turned to curses in my hands.
This time, it's real.
No one remains between us and the throne.
All the briars have been cleared away.
You need only wish.
Now, all shall be as you desire.
Where is the Duke of Gloucester?
Praying at the Tower of London, I hear.
Pressing on his wounds and praying, they say.
Fools! They'll all act out his script if nothing is done.
Let me tell you what he has already done!
He killed his friends, killed his brothers,
and now he's praying in feigned innocence
in that place!
Henry VI died here.
I killed him.
He called me a demon.
Richard is without compassion, for he
was not fashioned in God's image!
Now you mention it, there were rumors about his true self.
I heard them, too. About what he really is.
Yeah! Everyone was saying that Richard, Duke of Gloucester is a demon!
You must not crown a demon king!
If a demon takes the throne, England will be plunged into the depths of ruin!
Your Grace! A mob surrounds the Tower!
Demon!
Get out, demon!
Don't crown the demon!
Your Grace...
They call for me, and I shall answer.
Are you ready, Buckingham?
The script is complete. Now, act it.
The curses of the dead only trouble humans.
Demons merely do as they wish.
Listen. This is a ruse.
No matter how I beg you,
simply spurn my demands like a pure maiden.
It's your cue, Richard. Your role is "God."
Yes.
I'll give a performance of holiness that will hoodwink God himself.
Demon, you say?! Nonsense!
This is the legitimate scion of the Plantagenets,
the renowned Duke of Gloucester!
The new King of England!
What insolence! You may play the saint,
but you can't hide the rot within, usurper!
Buckingham, face me.
How dare you?! I am not the king!
True, I have long desired the crown.
But only to offer to Prince Edward, my beloved brother's heir!
Your Majesty is mistaken!
That boy is no prince!
You all must know as well!
Lustful Edward IV neglected war and even despoiled his subjects' wives!
At last, he conceived those boys in bigamy!
Nonsense! Don't let the demon's tawdry act deceive you!
You may be my friend, but I'll forgive no more such slights!
If speaking the truth is a crime, then I await my punishment.
But you have never yet killed anyone who spoke the truth.
Your love for your brother's children is what drives you.
You wish to give them the exalted station and happiness of kingship!
I have only one desire:
A light to shine on this dark world.
On bloody mornings, troubled days, and lonely nights.
A light to illuminate our proper path.
I want someone to be that light.
Not "someone."
You. You will become the light that shines on this world.
The chaos of a child king's reign begets suffering for the people.
None know the pains of such an age better than you.
Of course. Strife will break out around a powerless king.
I don't want to see that chaos again.
I lost my son in the wars.
Yes, and I my father.
My father...
My father was everything to me.
All lies! Even those tears!
It doesn't look that way to me.
I felt a special bond between us.
Preserve my name.
Yes, Father.
Duke of Gloucester!
If you will not listen to all my entreaties,
I will be forced to claim the throne through another bloodline!
--Stop! --Duke of Gloucester, stop the wars!
Please! Please, Your Grace!
All of you join in!
Hear our pleas!
Grant our wish, Duke of Gloucester!
--King! --King!
King!
Save us!
Defend us!
O Lord, please!
Wait!
I will not allow England to fall to ruin,
even if I must forsake my soul's justice to prevent it.
Buckingham, people of London,
I will become king
and shoulder the weight of destiny!
O Lord!
Praise be to God!
Richard, named for his father, shall become the light of this world!
God save our new king!
What's going on? Some kind of festival?
Yes.
The new king's coronation.
Edward V's coronation?!
Then Richard's reign is over!
Yes, that means we'll soon be free.
O little robin, bearer of good news!
Let's toast our new king together!
To our king!
The day I was given life, a terrible storm laid trees low.
Owls screeched and crows croaked in the night
to herald the coming of an age of misfortune.
Tell me, Father, why does everyone do what the king says?
Because God chose the king.
If God chose me...
If I became king, would I never be sad again?
Of course not. You would have your every wish.
Listen, Richard.
Within that crown-- that golden circlet--lies paradise.
Let me prophecy, Richard.
One day, a host of the elderly, of widows, of orphans
will bless you even as they lament the loved ones they have lost.
Because God...
Because God has chosen this bloody demon.
Now I bless you with your royal title!
Your Majesty, Richard III, King of England!
May God's blessing be upon you!
May the Lord God redeem us as well.
Make way for His Majesty!
Allow me to congratulate Your Majesty!
Bless His Majesty, King Richard III!
Does it truly blind people this much?
They heap praises upon the crown's radiance,
never noticing the demon's horns hidden by its halo of light.
The wounds of civil strife have healed, and peace breathes once more!
I humbly pray to God that this peace may be eternal.
This is impressive for an impromptu celebration.
Of course it is. It was originally meant for Edward V.
Now, please turn your attention to our next entertainment!
Almighty God! I beg your permission to create a heaven here!
I am God, the King of Kings!
O Lord! Eternal loyalty to you alone!
I thought this play was chosen to please Edward.
Why this subject?
Listen well, angels!
Touch not my throne while I am gone!
I know what God said,
but if I sat on that throne, might I gain power equal to His?
My radiance has earned me a rank second only to Him.
My name is Lucifer!
Your light is many times brighter and more beautiful than God's!
You should sit upon His throne at once!
All Heaven belongs to you and me!
Behold! The power of God is now mine!
Kneel before your true sovereign!
This is clearly...
Lèse-majesté! Make them cease at once!
Northumberland, leave them.
But...
Show us the rest.
What folly!
Fall into Hell and be bound there forever!
God loves me no more!
I envy humans, who have God's love!
Yes, this certainly is Richard.
Or at least it was.
I shall reward you for that fine diversion.
Catesby, show them the finest hospitality.
Actor, you are invited to tomorrow's banquet.
I'll show you the sequel to your play.
But in Richard's world this time.
Change everything about tomorrow's banquet.
Make sure no one could mistake it for Edward's.
My banquet will show them that Richard's new age has come!
Edward.
Mother. Father.
I wanted to bid you goodnight.
Your Royal Highness.
Pardon me; I've never had the chance to properly introduce myself before.
I am delighted to see that you have grown into a splendid youth.
Th-Thank you very much, Duke of Buckingham.
Buckingham, may I have a moment? I wish to speak with you.
I'll sleep with Anne tonight.
I'm king, and spending nights with the queen is a king's duty.
Naturally.
Do you mind?
Our pact has been fulfilled.
Become a perfect king.
That is my wish.
The royal apartments.
Will you drink?
Yes.
What?
Well, it's strange, but I'm nervous.
I've never been in your room before.
Although we've been married so long.
Get used to it.
As should you.
If only we had always been so close,
like I dreamed of back then.
Maybe for us, this is...
It's all too late.
The queen is the king's other half.
We must support each other to survive.
Richard, are you hurt?
Richard?
Sorry. I'm tired tonight, and there's another feast tomorrow.
It's fine.
Am I drunk on my newfound light?
Without the crown's radiance to hide in, I'm only a demon--only Richard.
Am I more frightened now that I've obtained it?
Now that I know what it's like to be "permitted" warmth?
In this hazy world,
the path my soul showed me was always clear and bright.
I created a king-- an ideal king--and yet...
Are my feelings for Richard...?
I was scared stiff tonight.
I always said it was a bad idea.
Thank goodness King Richard was the forgiving sort.
Yeah,
but you never know when a king will change his mind.
Let's make ourselves scarce before we end up hanged for--
I can smile and murder while I smile,
and cry, "Content!" to that which grieves my heart,
and wet my face with artificial tears.
I'll deceive more slyly than Ulysses could
and slay more gazers than the basilisk.
Can I do this...
...and cannot get...
...a crown?