It's not that strange to see directors adapting Shakespearean works to a different era. Indeed, contemporary elements in films such as Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet and Joss Whedon's more recent Much Ado About Nothing have certainly brought new and valuable readings to the text. Embracing this trend, Richard Loncraine's Richard III (1995) shifts its backdrop to 1930s Britain. With Ian McKellen in the role of Richard, the film creates an undeniable connection to Nazi Germany; Many details include costume design, set design, and props, and cinematic choices closely link Richard to Hitler, an equivalent villain from modern history. The choice to conflate Hitler with Richard now puts viewers in the shoes of the audience of Shakespeare's time to better understand Richard's wickedness; although Richard III is quite ancient, Hitler is still a new scar. The déjà vu of the Nazi dystopia becomes interesting if you compare the general context of the film with the original work. Richard III (1995) came out during the last decade of the twentieth century, which, for many individuals, represented ten years of compounded fear; the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 ruins millions of people's faith in socialism, while the global economic tsunami in 1998 also downplays capitalism as problematic. At worst, rumors of doomsday 2000 remain haunted. This typical collective fear also takes root deeply in England when Shakespeare creates Richard III: Elizabeth I was aging rapidly without any heir. In both cases, the fear of social stability provides no promised solution. Therefore, in similar circumstances, it is necessary to remember living demons such as Richard and Hitler to remind people of the horror of war. For starters, Richard and Hitler are such charismatic figures full of... middle of paper... ...to help the audience in attendance better recognize Richard's monstrous mind. Even McKellen himself admits that “Shakespeare is up to date. I don't consider him an old playwright. […] Once you change costumes, you are simply borrowing the period. […] We were not pretending that Shakespeare anticipated modern tyranny, but only saying that he would understand it” (Crowdus, 47). Indeed, Shakespearean classics are eternal because they are, like the stories of the Bible, stories about humanity. Extending Hitler's motives to Richard, Loncraine and McKellen's 1995 adaptation of Richard III is primarily making efforts to make Richard more tangible so that people can relate to, for example, and digest Richard's characteristics by listening to their grandparents talk about Hitler, like how audiences in Shakespeare's time hear about Richard III.