Themes: Rise and Fall Stories, Crowned Heads, Rise To Power
Main Cast: Terence Bayler, Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw, Nicholas Selby, John Stride, Vic Abbott, Stephen Chase
Release Year: 1971
Country: UK
Run Time: 140 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Perhaps William Shakespeare meant to have Lady Macbeth perform her sleepwalking scene in the nude -- it was this X-rated scene and the film's much-publicized spurts of violence, rather than the brilliant performances of Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as his Lady, that lured crowds to Roman Polanski's 1972 adaptation of Macbeth. Only a few critics glommed onto the most impressive aspect of Polanski's version: as Macbeth and his wife sink deeper and deeper into the morass of their murderous ambitions, they age and wither before our eyes (Shakespeare's play does cover several years, but this is usually forgotten or ignored by many actors and directors). Macbeth was financed and released by Playboy, which naturally necessitated a fold-out spread on "the witches of Cawdor." The original Shakespearean text was adapted for the screen by Polanski and Kenneth Tynan. Despite an excellent first week, Macbeth ended up in the red, compelling Hugh Hefner to think twice about future motion-picture projects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Roman Polanski filmed William Shakespeare's grisly and nihilistic play as his first project after the horrifying murder of his wife Sharon Tate by the Manson family. Polanski's Macbeth taps into a deeply rooted literary tradition -- a hero flawed by ambition and tempered by conscience -- while using seedy cinematography to suggest the nasty brutishness and grimly expedient violence of this pre-medieval Scottish world. Jon Finch's Macbeth, who bears a creepy similarity to Charles Manson, offers an appropriately bipolar performance, swinging wildly from swaggering bravura to paralyzing guilt. The infamous Lady Macbeth is portrayed in a curiously muted and demure way by Francesca Annis, who gets stuck inside the role of a hysterical Victorian heroine and fails to show her character's development from doting wife to fiendish schemer. Polanski adds such non-Shakespearean scenes as the execution of Cawdor, the murder of Duncan, and the final duel between Macbeth and Duncan's avenger, Macduff -- all helping to portray, brutally and convincingly, the cruelty of a world run by savage despots, and making for an unforgettable film that is almost ceaselessly riveting. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide
Bernard Archard - Angus; Michael Balfour - Murderer; Josephine Barstow; Terence Bayler - Macduff; Sydney Bromley - Porter; Keith Chegwin - Fleance; Noel Davis - Seyton; Mark Dignam - Macduff's Son; Keith Erwen; Ian Hogg - 1st Minor Thane; Howard Lang - Old Soldier; Andrew Laurence - Lennox; Maisie MacFarquhar - Blind Witch; Andrew McCulloch - Murderer; Kostas Paskalis; Richard Pearson - Doctor; Bruce Purchase - Caithness; Geoffrey Reed - 2nd Minor Thane; Noelle Rimmington - Young Witch; Paul Shelley - Donalbain; Elsie Taylor - 1st Witch; Frank Wylie - Mentieth; John Gordon - Dancer; William Hobbs - Young Seyward; Alf Joint - Old Seyward; Diane Fletcher - Lady Macduff; Aud Johansen; Roy Jones - 2nd King's Groom; Jane Kells; Terence Mountain - Soldier; Christina Paul
Credit
Fred Carter - Art Director, Kenneth Tynan - Consultant/advisor, Anthony Mendleson - Costume Designer, Roman Polanski - Director, Hercules Bellville - Second Unit Director, Alastair McIntyre - Editor, Hugh Hefner - Executive Producer, Wilfred Shingleton - Production Designer, Gilbert Taylor - Cinematographer, Andrew Braunsberg - Producer, Timothy Burrill - Producer, Victor Lownes II - Producer, Roman Polanski - Producer, Bryan Graves - Set Designer, Ted Samuels - Special Effects, Simon Kaye - Sound/Sound Designer, Jonathan Bates - Sound Editor, Kenneth Tynan - Screenwriter, Roman Polanski - Screenwriter, William Shakespeare - Play Author
