How is the version of Macbeth created by Orson Welles similar to the original Macbeth?

Answer 1

You can't, because Shakespeare did not "interpret" Macbeth, he wrote it. If by "interpreting" Macbeth, you mean playing the part of Macbeth, Orson Welles certainly did that in his 1948 film, but Shakespeare probably never did, since he did not play lead roles. He more likely played Duncan or Siward or both; Richard Burbage would have played Macbeth. If you mean directing, again, Welles did that in his 1948 film and also did so for the stage in 1936 (the famous "Voodoo Macbeth"). Whether Shakespeare directed the King's Men is debatable--even if they had a director "interpreting" the script, and they may not have, it is more likely to have been the company director and lead actor Burbage. In any case, we have only one account of a performance of this play during Shakespeare's lifetime, the "Book of Plays" of Simon Forman, and it doesn't give us much help as to the "interpretation" of the actors. Maybe the most help comes from the line

• "And when Mack Beth had murdred the kinge the blod on his handes could not be washed of by Any means, nor from his wiues handes which handled the bluddi daggers in hiding them By which meanes they became both moch amazed & Affronted."

Well, there you have it: they played Act II Scene ii as "amazed and affronted".

Or, are you suggesting that Shakespeare and Orson Welles both "interpreted" the original story of Macbeth (as found in Holinshed's Chronicles) by making separate and distinct plays out of them? Well, Orson Welles never wrote an original work "interpreting" the original story of Macbeth. He did adapt Shakespeare's play for the screen, but you cannot compare Welles's screenplay with the play it was adapted from except in the usual way that you can compare screenplays with the works they are adapted from, which mostly show up differences between stage and screen.

Answer 2

Orson Welles's version of Macbeth remains faithful to the original play in terms of plot and characters, while also retaining the dark and ominous atmosphere. It explores themes of ambition, power, and guilt just like the original text, and Welles's adaptation maintains the tragic tone and essence of Shakespeare's work.