Far Out Magazine identifies Philippe Mora’s 1996 adaptation of Richard III as the first film made specifically for internet viewing, citing Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive. The production is presented as an early example of filmmaking shaped by the technical limits and emerging possibilities of online distribution, long before streaming became mainstream.

The one-hour film covers only Act One of Shakespeare’s play because a full version was too large to show online at the time. It involved 20 largely unpaid actors, was funded by internet entrepreneur Peter Sterling, and cost about US$50,000, largely due to specialist internet equipment. Mora set the adaptation in a pop-art style and incorporated Third Reich footage alongside scenes filmed in West Hollywood.