IslandGuru Who payed the critics

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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.

TigerShark 90 Only Roman Polanski could do an adaptation of William Shakespeare's unflinching play that is so vivid, so atmospheric, and so masterful. It's a stunning film that creates images and a general world that lingers with you as it goes above and beyond with the epic nature of the story. This really captures what Scotland must have actually been like during the medieval times. Whether it is the style of combat, the ways in which people were killed or slaughtered, the type of dress or attire that they wore, the appearance of how the castles were, or just how people slept, it is very rich and brutally frank in its details. The photography by Gilbert Taylor is both dreamy and pristine while the sets, props, and costumes are outstanding. There is gore and nudity as many have stated but it is never gratuitous (if it had it would have degenerated it into pure X-rated fare). What this film captures is genuine realism. However, this does not detract from the strength of Shakespeare's story. On the contrary, its style if nothing else, only enhances the overall narrative and drama. It is a visualization that is pretty compelling.Being that it is done on film instead of stage, it also allows Polanski to add things to it that were suggested or mentioned in the play but never shown. This includes the capture and execution of the Thane of Cawdor or the murder of King Duncan, just to give a couple examples. We also see his surreal side in scenes such as "the Dagger of the Mind", the appearance of Banquo's ghost, or when the witches show Macbeth what they see from their masters. Another great technique he employs is that the soliloquies of Lord and Lady Macbeth are done as voice narration as if it is inner dialog they have with themselves in their own mind. The film is very much a directorial piece while still remaining faithful to Shakespeare. Jon Finch is excellent in the lead. His Macbeth is one who becomes more and more sick with each violent deed developing a foolish sense of arrogance. This is one version where you feel that the bloody usurper gets what he deserves. Yet Polanski shows the true ugly nature of many other characters too. Lady Macbeth (Franseca Annis in a superb performance) is depicted as a woman who is gradually losing her mind rather the one who manipulates Macbeth's actions. Even the supposed hero of the story, Macduff, revenge on Macbeth is thuggish and workaday as if that is all he cared about. Polanski gives us a world of delusional savages. The inability to connect in any meaningful way with the characters is actually what makes it powerful. It approaches things from the point of view of Macbeth, a film on the level of an idiot's tale "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing," It is a draining and unflinching experience as a result.If you are a movie buff or someone who has any interest in Shakespeare at all, you will not be disappointed. This definitive celluloid version of "The Scottish Play" has yet to be surpassed and probably never will.

gavin6942 Roman Polanski interprets MacBeth like only Polanski can. While the plot follows the play very, very closely, some stylistic flourishes are added (especially when MacBeth sips the witches brew) and the violence is increased.People have tried to say this film had some influence from the Manson murders. Apparently when the violence was complained about, being called too bloody, Polanski said, "You should have seen my house last summer." Whether or not he truly said this (which seems bizarre), this was a reference to his wife and friends being slaughtered. Regardless, the violence helps the film a great deal and makes it adult and believable.The film has an iconic witches scene ("something wicked this way comes") done as best as humanly possible, in a way few directors would dare to do. Terrence Rafferty praises Polanski for "probing the murky depths" of the story and giving it a "sense of claustrophobia" in line with his earlier (1962-1968) work.Screenwriter Kenneth Peacock Tynan (1927-1980) was the perfect choice to help Polanski streamline the plot and language to fit into a Hollywood film. Tynan was a theater critic and had worked extensively with Laurence Olivier, one of the greatest Shakespeare actors.Amateurs might have a bit of trouble with the Shakespearean language, but that is the viewers' fault and not the film's. Once one gets into it, the language becomes organic and went smooth; the movie definitely picks up as it goes. A familiarity with the story cannot hurt, either. Of Shakespeare's main works, this is one perhaps well known. Some might say its overdone, but it is hard to complain when Polanski is at the helm.For a dramatically different take on the same story, one should also seek out Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" (1957). Though not as literal in its presentation of the story, these two films would make a good pairing and great double feature.

Prof_Lostiswitz I remember being taken to see this, and I didn't like it - the approach seemed too gory and sensational, whereas Macbeth demands the creepy and Gothic.I just went and watched it again - I still feel the same way, in fact I only made it half-way through. Polanski has chosen to go for cheap thrills and gore, not dealing with the deeper themes. He did a much more profound job with Repulsion, which I consider to be his masterpiece.As for Macbeth, the best version is Kurosawa's Throne of Blood (Kumonosu Jo), which is a masterpiece in every way.