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GoldLyrics.com - Macbeth (1971)
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List Price: $19.98
Our Price: $39.99
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Starring: Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw, Terence Bayler, John Stride
Directed By: Roman Polanski
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302424881
Format: Color
ISBN: 6302424887
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Release Date: 1994-06-28
Running Time: 140
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: 1971-10-13
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Editorial Reviews:
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Roman Polanski's adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy remains one of the most infamous for a number of reasons: the copious amounts of bloody gore, its expert use of location settings (filmed in North Wales), and Lady Macbeth's nude sleepwalking scene. Despite its notoriety, though, this does remain one of the more compelling film adaptations of the Scottish tragedy, if one of the more pessimistic takes on the story of Macbeth and his overreaching ambition. If you think the play is normally a bit of a downer, you haven't seen Polanski's bleak version of it, made in reaction to the murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson "family." Jon Finch (Hitchcock's Frenzy) is an forceful Macbeth, bringing out the Scot's warrior instincts, and Francesca Annis is a memorable Lady Macbeth, but the main thrust of the film belongs to Polanski's and noted British playwright and critic Kenneth Tynan's take on the play: extremely violent, nihilistic, and visceral; this is down-in-the-dirt, no-holds-barred Shakespeare, not fussy costume drama. Pay close attention to the end, a silent coda that puts a chilling twist on all the action that has come beforehand and foreshadows more tragedy to come. --Mark Englehart
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: dark, dark, dark, dark
Comment: Will's play is pretty good. Polanski's film, not so much. Yep, the Scottish play was meant to be a dark one, and Polanski gives us lots of glowering skies, but I just didn't feel much depth of character in this rendering. I'd love to see what Zefferelli would do with Macbeth... or the Cohen brothers....
Customer Rating:
Summary: Horrible
Comment: I wathced this movie expecting it to be great becasue of all tne good reviews. I maybe to young (27) but this film was very slow hard to understand and very boring. The fight scene at the end looked so cheesy that it made me laugh hystericaly. Its not that I dont like old movies because I do. But this movie was just plain BAD. Although the story was interesting, I think that this film should be revisited and should be improved.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Roman Polanski's MacBeth
Comment: I love MacBeth, and I particularly love Polanski's MacBeth. It is difficult to find at video rental outlets, however, so I want it for myself and for students. My high school students in the past enjoyed this version of MacBeth and occasionally squealed with excitement. One warning: If you show this to young people in school, you may have to skip over the nudity in a couple of places. It is not pornographic at all, but some parents could disapprove. Polanski takes advantage of what film can do, so his Shakespeare comes alive and does not appear stilted. Shakespeare himself would have loved film, I suspect, and would have appreciated what Polanski did with his work.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fine adaptation and easy to follow.
Comment: Roman Polanski's screen adaptation of the Shakespeare classic was well received by some and loathed by others. On a personal level I thought the film was not only extremely well done but beautifully shot. Filmed on location in North Wales in England, Polanski not only researched his subject well but spared no cost in the production of the film. The actors costumes and the sets were lavish for its time and it provided a rich and colorful tone for the viewer. The tragedy of MACBETH, one of the Bard's greatest and toughest plays to understand and come to terms with fared remarkably well on this film version. As an English Literature major in college years ago, my professor required the we choose one of Shakespeare's plays and do a complete and thorough analysis on the work, I chose Macbeth and I found it not only challenging but quite difficult to understand the exact meaning of Shakespeare's beautiful old english language. It was a blessing that Polanski's film was available in the college library and I checked it out and saw the movie a couple of times before writing my paper on this complex character. I found the movie a lot easier to understand than the play itself and it helped me tremendously when I started to write my paper.
Although this version is quite bloody and shocking it doesn't diminish from the striking elegance and beauty that the film clearly shows. The movie has a bleak, dark and morbid feel to it and that is exactly as it should be I think. This is not a happy and sappy tearjerker or a comedy but a frightening, compelling, chilling and almost horror story of obsessive power, deceit and overbearing jealousy by Macbeth himself when he kills the King of Scotland so that he can take the crown and throne all for himself which is when his troubles begin and it consequences lead to his eventful downfall. I recommend this film adaptation not only to Literature majors but to everyone who has ever had a love of Shakespeare. The acting is splendid and the cast is first-rate and the language which Polanski adpated from the play makes it failry easy to follow and understand the plot and what each character says. That said this version of MACBETH is not for the faint of heart but then again the other versions of the play are not either. It was clearly to see that Shakespeare never intended for his Macbeth to be a subtle and forgiving character. The grotesqueness of the film is I believe an indispensable ingredient in understanding the complexity and darkened soul of this disturbing and unremorseful king. I recommend that you read the play before watching the movie just so that you have a general understanding of the plot and therefore will appreciate the film all that much more.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Some "adult" content, but an excellent classroom tool!
Comment: As a high school English teacher, I have shown many different versions of Shakespeare's outstanding play to my classes. Of all the versions I've used, this one seems to capture my kids' interest the most. I love the fact that all of the dialogue is almost word-for-word from the play, and the acting is first-rate by everyone in the film. (I do wish someone could tell me, though, why all the "Scottish" characters speak with a British accent? :))
While the other reviews point out some obvious areas for concern, such as brief nudity and some blood and gore, I believe this adds some realism to the film, and 17-18 year old students (this is usually included in the senior-level curriculum) should be able to view it objectively if warned of the adult content. (However, I fully understand and respect any students' wishes not to view these scenes, and only show them if there are no objections.) That being said, it is a fine adaptation of the classic play, and a very good enrichment activity if used after, or even during, the reading of the play.
BTW, I also recommend the Unabridged Audio CD version of "Macbeth" by the Arkangel Company-- I found that here on Amazon as well, and it really helps the kids understand the dialogue if they hear it as they read. The actors even use a Scottish accent, which adds more realism to the reading.
Overall, Polanski's sweeping film is a very useful and interesting accompaniment to the play itself. (One last thing-- that's Banquo on the cover, not Macbeth. Just an observation....)
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