Macbeth (1971)

lady macbeth is a girlboss i said what i said

The nastiest adaptation of the nastiest Shakespeare play. Macbeth looks crazy not for wanted to be a king above all else, but for wanting to be king of this fetid shit pit.

Foiled by the ol' "born of woman" loophole. The oldest trick in the book.

As everyone knows, this is the dark and violent movie Polanski made after Sharon Tate's murder. It's impossible to think that the Manson killings didn't directly inspire the merciless way Polanski handles the killing of Macduff's family here, no matter how much he discourages this sort of 1:1 comparison. I remembered that scene well from my last viewing many years ago, but had forgotten the extent to which death and violence permeate the rest of the movie. For example, there's a scene early on where Macbeth walks past a hanged man in the background, and neither he nor the movie really bat an eye. Polanski's The…

I was positive I'd watched this in high school, but there's no way a teacher could get away with some of the material in here. Looking back, I think we were just shown clips of the witch scene and the last five minutes. Killer clip reel.

As a film, Polanski’s Macbeth is an accomplished adaptation; remaining true to the source material while still retaining the authorial stamp of its director. The story behind the production reveals Macbeth to be filmmaking as therapy. A coping mechanism for a real life tragedy.

Without Charles Manson, Roman Polanski’s Macbeth does not exist. It’s a tragic case of cause and effect, in which the grizzly murder of actress Sharon Tate — Polanski’s pregnant wife…

Well this certainly is a new direction for Playboy to go into

I will go on a stretch and claim Macbeth has been the most adapted play by Shakespeare... and it doesn't come as a surprise. Probably even more than Romeo and Juliet, the themes and characters are among (if not the) best of the whole William's repertoire.

This time its one of Letterboxd public enemy number one director Roman Polanski (seriously I don't think in my fee, Woody Allen or Weinstein gets as much shade - which, I can't blame any of you) to take on the classic tale. And immediately you can't help but to appreciate the great and epic scope both on its cinematograhy and its production design - I loved how they in many ways feel cinematic, while…

Auteur cinema. This is Polanski's transition to tragic narrative, and probably represents his peak in visual and storytelling balance, patient in pacing and tense in suspense. The environment is of a fantastic craft and Francesca Annis shines before making a long TV career. I still prefer Welles' superior rendition; however, adapting Shakespeare successfully has always been a remarkably difficult feat in my books and this is certainly a triumph, with two inevitable genuine horror scenes to add to the macabre-ness of it all and consecrating the director as one of the strongest exhibitors of psychological terror.

92/100

Nailed it. No need for any other MACBETHs.

Truly a masterpiece and absolutely a great visual representation of the truly classic drama. One of the best adaptations of Shakespeare's drama. This movie, in my opinion , is the definition of cinematic experience. The main thing attracted mostly in this movie was the way they portrayed the violence. Even Shakespeare's drama faced lot of limitations in portraying the violence. The best example was the scene in which Macbeth kills the king. Drama didn't showed it because they have some limitations at that time. But in this movie, Polanski successfully captures the violence. Movie successfully makes the spectators understand the role of violence and betrayal in shaping the history and politics. The beauty of this movie lies in the portrayal…

'the witches must have tits fully out'
- william shakespeare probably

A wicked adaptation with striking visuals and over the top violence, sometimes bordering on comical, but never in bad taste. Loved how nasty the witches look and how much hotter Macbeth gets when he puts on the crown, both really great touches.