Michael_Elliott Macbeth (1971) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Three witches see Macbeth (Jon Finch) becoming King and this along with the help of Lady Macbeth (Francesca Annis) inspires him to do just that. After assassinating the King, Macbeth slowly rises to the top but once there he has only one place to go.Many people consider Roman Polanski's MACBETH to be the greatest version of that classic play. It has been told dozens of times on the screen but it seems most point to this version as the greatest. There's no question that it's a visually stunning picture that manages to be realistic in regards to its graphic violence but it also does the hardest thing that any Shakespeare adaptation could do and that's appeal to those who normally wouldn't enjoy Shakespeare.I think it has to be pointed out that this here was Polanski's first movie after the murder of his wife Sharon Tate and their unborn child. It's certainly fair to say that the brutality of that crime played its way into this film as there are some really graphic scenes of violence here. I'm not sure how true it is but apparently the director referred to the Manson murders when people commented that this film was too bloody. These scenes of violence is where the film truly comes to life because they are extremely believable and realistic and especially when you consider this was made in 1971.The film is technically flawless as the cinematography, the score and all technical sides have no issues. I'd also say that all of the performances were wonderful. This is especially true with Finch who just keeps getting better and better as the picture goes along and he's able to get into the mental condition of the character. The assassination of the King and the aftermath is certainly the greatest part in the film and one could argue that it's one of the greatest scenes from any Shakespeare movie.

jacobjohntaylor1 This is one of the scariest movies of all time. It is one of the best witch horror movie I have ever seen. The 1948 version is a little bite better. This it is a great movie. 7.5 is underrating. William Shakespeare was one of the best writers of this time. And this is his one of his best. See this movie it is a great movie. Jon Finch was a great actor. Francesa Annis is a great actresses Roman Polanski is a great film maker. This movie has a great story line. It also has great acting. This a great movie. It is a must see. Great movie great movie great movie. I give it 10 out of 10. See it see it see it see it see it see it see it.

Red-125 The Tragedy of Macbeth--shown in the U.S. as Macbeth (1971)--was scripted and directed by Roman Polanski. Shakespeare's great play can be readily adapted to the screen, but it takes a master director like Roman Polanski to bring something more to what Shakespeare has written.Polanski has done some obvious things--opened up the play with vast, gloomy vistas along the coastline and the heath, and expanded the fight scenes. However, he's done some unpredictable, creative things as well. For example, the scenes with the "weird sisters" and their coven are brilliant. The scene of the murders at Macduff's castle are horrifying, and probably inspired by the brutal murder of Polanski's wife Sharon Tate by the Manson gang.Many directors can depict medieval scenes with the requisite mud, filth, and primitive objects. But, in my opinion, Polanski is a genius at this. The settings don't look carefully created with just the right amount of mud, animals, and slop. They look as if they exist in reality, not just for the purposes of the camera. This realism really worked for me, and enhanced the plot and the acting.The acting is excellent--especially by Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth. (Annis performed the sleepwalking scene in the nude, which was considered noteworthy in 1971, but appears pretty tame in 2014.)Special note: Paul Shelley plays Donalbain, King Duncan's younger son. Donalbain disappears from Shakespeare's play after Duncan's murder. Polanski depicts Donalbain as having a pronounced limp. Polanski did this for a reason, which will become clear when you see the movie.We saw the film on Criterion DVD, where it worked well. However, if you can see it in a theater, it will be even more rewarding.

revival05 While watching his frighteningly dark and nihilistic take on Shakespeare's Macbeth, I think of just what a fascinating story the life of Roman Polanski is, and has become. It is with the most pitch black sense of irony I realize that the film he made, in part one must assume, to deal with his own tragedy today mirrors his future lawsuit - towards the end of the movie it was scarily easy to draw the connection line between Polanski himself and Macbeth who, despite his frustration and angst, cannot escape the consequences of his crime.If justice truly is blind - and Polanski certainly doesn't express any other point of view in this film - then anyone with blood on his hands will get what's coming to him. I still have a hard time though, to feel any greater feeling of proud anger towards a 76 year old man who got his wife gutted while she was eight months pregnant, now facing a 30 year old case that nobody cares about anymore, and that nobody involved with wants to have any more to do with.That becomes even clearer when you see Macbeth. You can only imagine Polanski's mindset when he decided to make this movie. It seems as if he was inclined on not making anything false or half-hearted, he drew a sharp line with co-writer Kenneth Tynan and seems to have held the course all throughout production. The spectator tone, of distant coldness, is never broken. Never does it seems like Polanski interferes with the action that takes place. Never do the characters plea to the audience, never is there a message being presented. It all lacks rhyme and reason, the tragedy takes place before our eyes but it only "occurs". A child is murdered, a good man gets an axe in the back, witches cackle, Macbeth himself is so afraid, his experience of fear is vastly greater than any of his other - yet none of these things are dealt with in any different fashion. Many have tried to make Macbeth into a human story - where Macbeth's follies and illusions of grandeur do assure his fall, but are also what makes him human. Maybe it is what makes Polanski's Macbeth human too. This word "human" though, comes off as meaningless and Polanski's portrayal of humanity as a whole, seems to be that of an endless chain of commitment and detachment, promise and betrayal, and murder upon murder upon murder. This is by far one of the most pessimistic and depressive films I have ever seen. The most disturbing part of it is probably towards the end where you watch killings and unspectacular executions and you as a viewer experience nothing. Whereas many modern moral tales or anti-war movies - like Requiem for a Dream or American History X - use excessive violence to shock and stir an emotional catharsis, there is a detached numbness to the excessive violence in Macbeth that makes is truly and utterly disturbing. In a way, watching the movie feels like having a lobotomy.Naturally, much of this comes from the murder of Sharon Tate, which echoes throughout the entire movie, but while there are many obvious details making the movie so hauntingly personal, there is also a lot in the movie that simply tells Shakespeare's tragedy in an even more depressing light. After all, despite the many attempts to make sense and sensibility out of the Macbeth story, the overall message of the story seems to be that life is a cold and meaningless affair, you live until you die, nothing matters and surrounded by beautiful landscapes men kill and kill again. It seems like Polanski is simply doing the play as literal as possible. Who's to say Shakespeare himself wasn't in the same state as Polanski when he wrote the play? Who's to say Polanski's Macbeth isn't the most accurate?