robinson_wilson I didn't really know what to expect, but......wow! No wonder most kids in English class hate this play! This is easily the WORST production of this play I have ever seen, and I love the play very much, so was this ever hard to watch.SHAME on everybody involved!There are just so many things wrong with it:1) Terrible production values 2) Horribly overdone scene gnashing (acting) 3) What's with the hair? 4) Totally garbage sword fightsAll I can say is, rent Polanski's version, or Throne of Blood.STAY AWAY!

boudica10 I agree that it is one of the worst versions of Macbeth ever made. Perhaps the worst. Brett overacts and Laurie is just ludicrous. The one good feature is the choreography for the three Witches. I had to preview this for inclusion in a college curriculum. All of us in the small audience (admittedly of English teachers) were laughing hysterically by the middle of the film. I am a strong admirer of Jeremy Brett, though even as Sherlock Holmes, he sometimes was over the top. His performance here is embarrassing. The Trevor Nunn video with Dench and McKellan is by far the best Macbeth ever put on film. I first saw it in the 1980's and have never forgotten it. Now if only some producer would pay to have Patrick Stewart's recent Chichester Macbeth on DVD, we would have two great productions to enjoy.

suzyart123 I find that the worst rating is totally inaccurate. Jeremy Brett performed MacBeth in a grand Shakespearian style. His performance out did all other movies and plays of MacBeth. The plain set with limited props was able to create Macbeth in a true Shakespearian style. Those who may not have liked the performance might not have expected the movie in play form. It was outstanding and I would consider it excellent.

PhiFitz With a high school student struggling through the text, we found two stageplay versions on film, this one with Jeremy Brett (RIP, Sherlock Holmes) and Piper Laurie, and the McKellen/Dench version. I have seen three ways to film a stageplay. (1) Put up a few cameras with an audience present (never works). (2) Take a cast used to performing before an audience and reblock for cameras and shoot with no audience (this version). (3) Forget audience, block and perform entirely for film (McKellen/Dench).So this Brett/Laurie version features actors who project as though they must entertain people 100 feet away, and they move through a paragraph of lines as one would truly read a paragraph. Well enough.But the McKellen/Dench is much more gripping, despite a minimalist set. Lines and characters were omitted for the sake of an overall vision. Characters stopped dead in mid-paragraph for effect. I'll never remember who Ross was in the Brett; I'll remember Ross/Porter in the McKellen. No spoiler here, but in the two versions one sees radically different Lady Macbeths -- not merely in execution but in conception. The Dench Macbeth being absolutely thrilling.This Brett/Laurie, however, tracks Shakespeare. So the high school student should begin here. Then move on to the McKellen/Dench.