Macbeth Movie

Macbeth
Rating:
Run Time: 140 min
MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1971
Directors: Roman Polanski
Genre/Type: Drama
Period Film
Tragedy
Producers: Andrew Braunsberg
Timothy Burrill
Victor Lownes II
Roman Polanski
Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson
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.

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Macbeth tells of a man who is deceived by himself and his wife. There are three witches who predict Macbeth's future. ChaCha on!
Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. go to the link and it will tell you much more...
Macbeth was written in the 18th century
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Cast

Actors Character Born
Jon Finch Macbeth Mar 2, 1941 in Caterham, Surrey, England
Francesca Annis Lady Macbeth May 14, 1944 in London, England
Martin Shaw Banquo
Nicholas Selby Duncan Sep 13, 1925 in London, England, UK
John Stride Ross Jul 11, 1936 in London, England, UK
Vic Abbott Cawdor
Stephen Chase Malcolm
Josephine Barstow
Terence Bayler Macduff Jan 24, 1930 in Wanganui, New Zealand
Aud Johansen
Alf Joint Old Seyward
Paul Shelley Donalbain
Bruce Purchase Caithness Oct 2, 1938 in Thames, New Zealand
Geoffrey Reed 2nd Minor Thane
William Hobbs Young Seyward
Kostas Paskalis
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Back to the topReview

Review by Dan Jardine
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.
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