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Macbeth (1971 film)
Encyclopedia
Macbeth is a 1971 British-American drama film
directed by Roman Polanski
, based on William Shakespeare
's The Tragedy of Macbeth, about the Highland
lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. It features Jon Finch
as Macbeth
and Francesca Annis
as Lady Macbeth
. For cinematic purposes, passages from the original play were cut for time and some soliloquies
changed to inner monologues for the sake of psychological realism.
's pregnant wife, Sharon Tate
, and several of his friends were all senselessly murdered by members of the Charles Manson
cult at the director's house in Beverly Hills on the night of August 9, 1969, he quit his current film project, The Day of the Dolphin
, and sank into deep psychological depression
, blaming himself for the tragedy.
After months of grieving Sharon's death, he set to adapting Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, but major Hollywood studios
refused to finance it. His financial savior was friend Victor Lownes
, a senior VP of Playboy Enterprises
in the U.K. who persuaded Hugh Hefner
to finance the film. Some construed Playboy's involvement as the reason for Lady Macbeth's nude
sleepwalking scene
; however, Polanski and co-scenarist Kenneth Tynan
said they had written the scene before their association with Hefner. British producer Andrew Braunsberg also provided financial support and executive guidance.
Macbeth was filmed on location in Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd
, in northwest Wales
, U.K. This North Wales location is cited on the DVD release of the film but it is clear that a considerable amount of location shooting also took place in Northumberland
on the northeast coast of England. (The BBC Tyne website devotes a section to films that have been made using Northumberland locations, and it includes two by Polanski — Cul-de-Sac and Macbeth.) Location sites listed for Macbeth include: Lindisfarne Castle
, Bamburgh Castle
and beach, St. Aidan's Church and North Charlton Moors near Alnwick
. An extensive list of both the Welsh and Northumberland locations can be found at the IMDb [The Internet Movie Database].
The production suffered delays caused by chronic bad weather and malfunctioning special effects as well as by Polanski's own perfectionism and his stubborn insistence on shooting multiple takes of difficult and expensively mounted scenes on colour film stock
. The shoot went over schedule, ultimately taking six months to complete and exceeded its $2.5 million budget by some $600,000.
) is developed far beyond that of the play. Along with the jarringly downbeat ending and the unconventional portrayal of Lady Macbeth, this embellishment takes considerable liberties with Shakespeare's original work. In the play, Ross is a relatively insignificant and innocuous character; but in Polanski's revision
, he is made into an amoral, opportunistic
courtier
and henchman
who becomes a knowing accomplice in Macbeth's schemes once the latter has murdered Duncan and attained the crown, but later betrays his master.
In the film, Ross is first brought to the attention of the audience during Macbeth's coronation ceremony at Scone
when he shouts "Hail Macbeth, King of Scotland!" in a very ostentatious manner, and this causes Banquo
to look upon him with suspicion. Ironically, in the penultimate scene of the film, when the tables have finally turned, Ross removes the crown from the head of the slain Macbeth and presents it to the victorious Malcolm, loudly hailing the latter as the new king in precisely the same ostentatious manner as before. The implication is that Ross is totally unprincipled and self-seeking, and his only allegiance is to the one who holds the most power at any given time.
In addition, there are several other notable departures from Shakespeare's text with regard to Ross throughout the course of the film:
Also, in the film, Ross eventually betrays Macbeth only because he is not honored with Macbeth's former title of Thane
of Cawdor
, a rank symbolized by a ceremonial necklace which the king chooses to bestow upon Seyton instead.
narration and without the unambiguous emotional subtext of a conventional musical score. Instead, the actors' voices are heard sotto voce
accompanied by the atonal
wails and drones of the Third Ear Band
. As in his earlier Repulsion
(1965), Polanski employs ominously unnatural silences and amplified sounds to create a sense of enveloping discomfort and dread.
When Macbeth confronts the Witches a second time and is invited to gaze into their cauldron
to glimpse his future, the scene becomes a cryptic, hallucinatory set piece in which Polanski makes a rare use of cascading montage imagery. Macbeth is warned by his Doppelgänger
of the dangers to hand, culminating in a surreal
visual allegory
of the eventual, dynastic triumph of Banquo's heirs as each king is seen holding up a looking glass which contains the image of his successor. This mise en abyme
effect is repeated eightfold until, ultimately, young Fleance is seen grinning and crowned in the final, eighth looking glass—an allusion to Shakespeare's original stage direction that the last Banquo appear holding a looking glass, as well as the historical myth that King James I of England was descended from Banquo by eight generations.
's view, ultimately "[reduced] Shakespeare's meanings to the banal theme of 'life is a jungle'".
Many were particularly disturbed by the lurid manner in which Polanski depicted the bloody slaughter of Macduff's wife and children. Kael went so far as to say that Polanski seemed to stage the scene as a deliberate evocation of the Manson Murders.
Other critics, however, praised the film for its technical excellence, vivid atmosphere, fluid cinematic narrative and compelling modernistic
interpretation of Shakespeare's tragedy. The U.S. National Board of Review named Macbeth the Best Film of 1971.
The film was screened at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival
, but wasn't entered into the main competition.
The film currently holds an 83% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes
, with the consensus "Roman Polanski's Macbeth is unsettling and uneven, but also undeniably compelling."
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
, based on William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Tragedy of Macbeth, about the Highland
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. It features Jon Finch
Jon Finch
Jon Finch is an English actor noted for many Shakespearean roles. Perhaps his most notable role was the title role in Roman Polanski's 1971 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. His other famous role was as a down-and-out ex-RAF pilot wrongly accused of murder in Alfred Hitchcock's...
as Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
and Francesca Annis
Francesca Annis
Francesca Annis is an English actress, known for her film and television appearances, most recently in the BBC series Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Deceit.-Early life and education:...
as Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth (Shakespeare)
Lady Macbeth is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Macbeth . She is the wife to the play's protagonist, Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman. After goading him into committing regicide, she becomes Queen of Scotland, but later suffers pangs of guilt for her part in the crime...
. For cinematic purposes, passages from the original play were cut for time and some soliloquies
Soliloquy
A soliloquy is a device often used in drama whereby a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters, and is delivered often when they are alone or think they are alone. Soliloquy is distinct from monologue and...
changed to inner monologues for the sake of psychological realism.
Cast
- Jon FinchJon FinchJon Finch is an English actor noted for many Shakespearean roles. Perhaps his most notable role was the title role in Roman Polanski's 1971 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. His other famous role was as a down-and-out ex-RAF pilot wrongly accused of murder in Alfred Hitchcock's...
as MacbethMacbeth (character)Macbeth is the title character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth . The character is based on the historical king Macbeth of Scotland, and is derived largely from the account in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of Britain. Macbeth is a Scottish noble and a valiant military man. He is portrayed... - Francesca AnnisFrancesca AnnisFrancesca Annis is an English actress, known for her film and television appearances, most recently in the BBC series Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Deceit.-Early life and education:...
as Lady MacbethLady Macbeth (Shakespeare)Lady Macbeth is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Macbeth . She is the wife to the play's protagonist, Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman. After goading him into committing regicide, she becomes Queen of Scotland, but later suffers pangs of guilt for her part in the crime... - Martin ShawMartin ShawMartin Shaw is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in shows such as The Professionals, The Chief, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently.-Theatrical background:...
as BanquoBanquoBanquo is a character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play Macbeth. In the play, he is at first an ally to Macbeth and they are together when they meet the Three Witches. After prophesying that Macbeth will become king, the witches tell Banquo that he will not be king himself, but that his... - Terence BaylerTerence Bayler-Early life:Bayler was born in Wanganui, the son of Amy and Harold Bayler, a stagehand. His first film appearance was in the New Zealand film Broken Barrier ....
as Macduff - John StrideJohn StrideJohn Stride is an English actor best known for his television work during the 1970s. Stride was born in London, the son of Margaret and Alfred Teneriffe Stride...
as Ross - Nicolas Selby as King DuncanKing DuncanKing Duncan is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Macbeth. He is the father of two youthful sons , and the victim of a well-plotted regicide in a power grab by his trusted captain Macbeth...
- Stephen Chase as MalcolmMalcolm III of ScotlandMáel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...
- Paul ShelleyPaul ShelleyPaul Shelley is an English actor.Shelley trained at RADA and has mainly worked in the theatre as a classical actor...
as DonalbainDonalbain (Macbeth)Donalbain is a character in Shakespeare's Macbeth . He is the younger son of King Duncan and brother to Malcolm, the heir to the throne. Donalbain flees Scotland after the murder of his father for refuge in Ireland. The character is minor, has few lines, and is sometimes completely cut in... - Keith ChegwinKeith ChegwinKeith Chegwin is an English television presenter, former child actor and singer.-Early career:Chegwin's early roles were in works of the Children's Film Foundation, appearing as Egghead Wentworth in The Troublesome Double Egghead's Robot . He also appeared as a stowaway in Doomwatch episode...
as FleanceFleanceFleance is a figure in legendary Scottish history. He was depicted by sixteenth century historians as the son of Banquo and the ancestor of the kings of the House of Stuart. In reality both Banquo and Fleance are likely fictional. Fleance is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play... - Mark Dightam as Macduff's son
Production
When Roman PolanskiRoman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's pregnant wife, Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...
, and several of his friends were all senselessly murdered by members of the Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
cult at the director's house in Beverly Hills on the night of August 9, 1969, he quit his current film project, The Day of the Dolphin
The Day of the Dolphin
The Day of the Dolphin is a 1973 American science-fiction thriller film directed by Mike Nichols and starring George C. Scott. Loosely based on the 1967 novel, Un animal doué de raison , by French writer Robert Merle, the screenplay was written by Buck Henry.-Plot:A brilliant and driven scientist,...
, and sank into deep psychological depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, blaming himself for the tragedy.
After months of grieving Sharon's death, he set to adapting Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, but major Hollywood studios
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
refused to finance it. His financial savior was friend Victor Lownes
Victor Lownes
Victor Aubrey Lownes III An executive with Playboy Enterprises in various capacities, various vice-presidencies, always a close confidant of Hugh Hefner. Headed Playboy Europe and the UK Playboy Clubs from the mid-sixties until his dismissal in the early eighties...
, a senior VP of Playboy Enterprises
Playboy Enterprises
Playboy Enterprises, Inc. is a privately held global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Marston Hefner to manage the Playboy magazine empire. Its programming and content are available worldwide on television networks, Websites, mobile platforms and radio...
in the U.K. who persuaded Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
to finance the film. Some construed Playboy's involvement as the reason for Lady Macbeth's nude
Nudity in film
Nudity in film is any presentation in motion pictures of people while naked or wearing less clothing than contemporary norms consider modest. Many actors and actresses have appeared nude, or exposing parts of their bodies or dressed in ways considered provocative by contemporary standards at some...
sleepwalking scene
Sleepwalking scene (Macbeth)
The sleepwalking scene is a theatrical tour de force and a critically celebrated scene from William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth . The first scene in the tragedy's 5th act, the sleepwalking scene is written principally in prose, and follows the guilt-wracked, sleepwalking Lady Macbeth as she...
; however, Polanski and co-scenarist Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Peacock Tynan was an influential and often controversial English theatre critic and writer.-Early life:...
said they had written the scene before their association with Hefner. British producer Andrew Braunsberg also provided financial support and executive guidance.
Macbeth was filmed on location in Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, in northwest Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, U.K. This North Wales location is cited on the DVD release of the film but it is clear that a considerable amount of location shooting also took place in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
on the northeast coast of England. (The BBC Tyne website devotes a section to films that have been made using Northumberland locations, and it includes two by Polanski — Cul-de-Sac and Macbeth.) Location sites listed for Macbeth include: Lindisfarne Castle
Lindisfarne Castle
Lindisfarne Castle is a 16th-century castle located on Holy Island, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, much altered by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1901. The island is accessible from the mainland at low tide by means of a causeway.-History:...
, Bamburgh Castle
Bamburgh Castle
Bamburgh Castle is an imposing castle located on the coast at Bamburgh in Northumberland, England. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:...
and beach, St. Aidan's Church and North Charlton Moors near Alnwick
Alnwick
Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....
. An extensive list of both the Welsh and Northumberland locations can be found at the IMDb [The Internet Movie Database].
The production suffered delays caused by chronic bad weather and malfunctioning special effects as well as by Polanski's own perfectionism and his stubborn insistence on shooting multiple takes of difficult and expensively mounted scenes on colour film stock
Film stock
Film stock is photographic film on which filmmaking of motion pictures are shot and reproduced. The equivalent in television production is video tape.-1889–1899:...
. The shoot went over schedule, ultimately taking six months to complete and exceeded its $2.5 million budget by some $600,000.
The characterization of Ross
The character of Ross (played by John StrideJohn Stride
John Stride is an English actor best known for his television work during the 1970s. Stride was born in London, the son of Margaret and Alfred Teneriffe Stride...
) is developed far beyond that of the play. Along with the jarringly downbeat ending and the unconventional portrayal of Lady Macbeth, this embellishment takes considerable liberties with Shakespeare's original work. In the play, Ross is a relatively insignificant and innocuous character; but in Polanski's revision
Revisionism (fictional)
In fiction, revisionism is the retelling of a story or type of story with substantial alterations in character or environment, to "revise" the view shown in the original work. Unlike most usages of the term revisionism, this is not generally considered pejorative...
, he is made into an amoral, opportunistic
Opportunism
-General definition:Opportunism is the conscious policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances, with little regard for principles. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term can be applied to individuals, groups,...
courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
and henchman
Henchman
Henchman referred originally to one who attended on a horse for his employer, that is, a horse groom. Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a subordinate official in a royal court or noble household...
who becomes a knowing accomplice in Macbeth's schemes once the latter has murdered Duncan and attained the crown, but later betrays his master.
In the film, Ross is first brought to the attention of the audience during Macbeth's coronation ceremony at Scone
Scone, Scotland
Scone is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The medieval village of Scone, which grew up around the monastery and royal residence, was abandoned in the early 19th century when the residents were removed and a new palace was built on the site by the Earl of Mansfield...
when he shouts "Hail Macbeth, King of Scotland!" in a very ostentatious manner, and this causes Banquo
Banquo
Banquo is a character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play Macbeth. In the play, he is at first an ally to Macbeth and they are together when they meet the Three Witches. After prophesying that Macbeth will become king, the witches tell Banquo that he will not be king himself, but that his...
to look upon him with suspicion. Ironically, in the penultimate scene of the film, when the tables have finally turned, Ross removes the crown from the head of the slain Macbeth and presents it to the victorious Malcolm, loudly hailing the latter as the new king in precisely the same ostentatious manner as before. The implication is that Ross is totally unprincipled and self-seeking, and his only allegiance is to the one who holds the most power at any given time.
In addition, there are several other notable departures from Shakespeare's text with regard to Ross throughout the course of the film:
- In the play, Macbeth has a conversation with an unidentified person who he tells the king of Macduff's refusal to present himself in the Scottish court. However, in the film, Macbeth is directly informed of this by Ross.
- In the play, the identity of the third murderer who is sent by Macbeth to kill Banquo is never specified by Shakespeare. Whereas, in the film, Ross is clearly the third murderer of Banquo, sent by Macbeth separately from the first two murderers. Not only that, but it is Ross who eventually dispatches the two hired villains in a dungeon when they have outlived their usefulness to the king.
- During the banquet scene when Banquo's ghost appears and frightens Macbeth, the brief lines of dialogue each specifically attributed to Lennox and Ross in the play are spoken by exactly the opposite characters in the film — thus making Ross appear somewhat fawning and insincere in his stated concern for the king's health.
- In the play, Ross is apparently unaware of the slaughter of Macduff's household at FifeFifeFife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
— even though he is the one who takes the news to Macduff claiming he heard about it from trustworthy sources. But in the film Ross is an active conspirator who has prior knowledge of the raid on Macduff's castle and deliberately leaves the doors wide open for the assassins to enter and massacre Macduff's family and servants.
Also, in the film, Ross eventually betrays Macbeth only because he is not honored with Macbeth's former title of Thane
Thane
Thane , is a city in Maharashtra, India, part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, northeastern suburb of Mumbai at the head of the Thane Creek. It is the administrative headquarters of Thane district. On 16 April 1853, G.I.P...
of Cawdor
Cawdor
Cawdor is a village and parish in Nairnshire, Highland council area, Scotland. The village is situated 5 miles south south west of Nairn, and 12 miles from Inverness.-History:The village is the location of Cawdor Castle, the seat of the Earl Cawdor....
, a rank symbolized by a ceremonial necklace which the king chooses to bestow upon Seyton instead.
Technical style
The soliloquies are presented naturalistically as voiceoverVoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
narration and without the unambiguous emotional subtext of a conventional musical score. Instead, the actors' voices are heard sotto voce
Sotto voce
Sotto voce means intentionally lowering one's voice for emphasis. The speaker gives the impression of uttering involuntarily a truth which may surprise, shock, or offend...
accompanied by the atonal
Atonality
Atonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Atonality in this sense usually describes compositions written from about 1908 to the present day where a hierarchy of pitches focusing on a single, central tone is not used, and the notes of the chromatic scale...
wails and drones of the Third Ear Band
Third Ear Band
Third Ear Band evolved within the London alternative and free-music scene of the mid 1960s.-History:Members came from The Giant Sun Trolley and The People Band to create an improvised music drawing on Eastern raga forms, European folk, experimental and medieval influences...
. As in his earlier Repulsion
Repulsion
Repulsion is a 1965 British psychological thriller film directed by Roman Polanski, based on a scenario by Gérard Brach and Roman Polanski. It was Polanski's first English language film, and was shot in Britain, as such being his second film made outside his native Poland. The cast includes...
(1965), Polanski employs ominously unnatural silences and amplified sounds to create a sense of enveloping discomfort and dread.
When Macbeth confronts the Witches a second time and is invited to gaze into their cauldron
Cauldron
A cauldron or caldron is a large metal pot for cooking and/or boiling over an open fire, with a large mouth and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger.- Etymology :...
to glimpse his future, the scene becomes a cryptic, hallucinatory set piece in which Polanski makes a rare use of cascading montage imagery. Macbeth is warned by his Doppelgänger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
of the dangers to hand, culminating in a surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
visual allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
of the eventual, dynastic triumph of Banquo's heirs as each king is seen holding up a looking glass which contains the image of his successor. This mise en abyme
Mise en abyme
Mise en abyme is a term originally from the French and means "placed into abyss".The commonplace usage of this phrase is describing the visual experience of standing between two mirrors, seeing an infinite reproduction of one's image, but it has several other meanings in the realm of the creative...
effect is repeated eightfold until, ultimately, young Fleance is seen grinning and crowned in the final, eighth looking glass—an allusion to Shakespeare's original stage direction that the last Banquo appear holding a looking glass, as well as the historical myth that King James I of England was descended from Banquo by eight generations.
Reception
Upon release in October 1971, Macbeth received mixed critical reviews. Some found the film's graphic violence and nudity distracting, complaining that such blatancy and literalness diminished the complexity and ambiguity of the original text. Moreover, the single-minded bleakness and unrelenting brutality of Polanski's vision was faulted by less sympathetic commentators as being a crude and monotonous oversimplification of the play which, in Pauline KaelPauline Kael
Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career, her work appeared in City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
's view, ultimately "[reduced] Shakespeare's meanings to the banal theme of 'life is a jungle'".
Many were particularly disturbed by the lurid manner in which Polanski depicted the bloody slaughter of Macduff's wife and children. Kael went so far as to say that Polanski seemed to stage the scene as a deliberate evocation of the Manson Murders.
Other critics, however, praised the film for its technical excellence, vivid atmosphere, fluid cinematic narrative and compelling modernistic
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
interpretation of Shakespeare's tragedy. The U.S. National Board of Review named Macbeth the Best Film of 1971.
The film was screened at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival
1972 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Joseph Losey *Bibi Andersson *Georges Auric *Erskine Caldwell *Mark Donskoi *Miloš Forman *Giorgio Papi *Jean Rochereau *Alain Tanner...
, but wasn't entered into the main competition.
The film currently holds an 83% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with the consensus "Roman Polanski's Macbeth is unsettling and uneven, but also undeniably compelling."