Comparing Films of Macbeth Essay

Shakespeares Macbeth, was send-off performed before King jam I at Hampton Court in 1606. Since then, Macbeth has gone on to be an ever-popular play, endlessly produced by a sea of theatre directors. Having recently watched two of these productions, the premiere by the Polish director Roman Polanski and the other British director Gregory Dorans production for the Royal Shakespeare Company. It is apparent that there are spacious differences in how the two directors chose to portray the divisions in the play. One of the interperative differences is in the character of brothel keeper Macbeth.In the Royal Shakespeare Companys version we first meet Lady Macbeth in Act1 Scene5. She has black long hair, real ill skin, a slim figure and is dressed in black. Many critics cast off commented that her appearance is rather witch like and this is exactly what most community expect her to be. We witness her reading a letter when she suddenly looks up. This is of fertilize the letter sen t by her husband telling her of the witches prophecy of Kingship.She looks straight into the camera and although she maintains a blank expression we can smack from her acuate eyes that her mind is already over flown with ambition. As she folds the letter and looks up, shame intentions are in her eyes. The next shot we go over is of her in the lav and although she does not show a business deal of emotion her eyes get wind that she is still thinking deeply ab emerge the letter. She then begins to beg aversion spirits to Unsex me here before ducking her head into the water. This is through with(p) through a narrative voice. We begettert actually see her lips move.In the Polanski version we meet Lady Macbeth in Act1 Scene5. The similarities end here. In Polanskis version we see Lady Macbeth with long golden hair. This is ofttimes associated with innocence and femininity. But in Dorans version she has black hair. This is slackly associated with evil. It is also important to note that she is dressed in white. This is again associated with innocence and purity, which we know Lady Macbeth is not. Lady Macbeth is genuinely calm and gentle in the modal value she talks. Once again this contrasts with Polanskis version in which she speaks instead cunningly. In Polanskis version you could almost say she looks lifeless in this diorama. We see her stand upon the battlements without any compassion for what she is thinking. This is strikingly different from the way she is depicted in the RSC version.Lady Macbeths final scene is Act5 Scene1. This is of racetrack anastrophe as the first scene we met her in was Act1 Scene5. Doran uses further inversion in this scene as the last time we met Lady Macbeth she was habiliment black. She is now wearing white. Doran, deliberately wanted us to notice this as he uses a black background to emphasise what she was wearing.In this scene we see her as a completely different person. When we first met her she looked very power ful and in control of herself but here we see her as totally out of control and insane. We also see that she depends a lot on the candle she is holding. This is ironic as in the Unsexing Scene she called on darkness to fall on her. We also see her rub her hold hysterically to get rid of the blood. This is also ironic as she prior said, A little water will clear us of this deed. At the end of the scene she finally stops crying, looks up, and with a sense of realisation in her face, says her last words. What is done, cannot be undone.In Polanskis Act5 Scene1 we see Lady Macbeth as she awakens. Looking down she screams as she sees blood on her hands. Terrified, she cries, benign Duncan is dead. We then witness her walk about her chamber naked. (Hugh Hefners pact of nudity has been realised.) We see her open a box and pull out a now well-worn letter and read it aloud. This provides a full-circle sense to the tragedy. It takes the viewer back to the beginning of the story and reiter ates how the horrible chain of events was started. This was very clever of Polanski through Lady Macbeths sobbing she reads it, in the indentation of the letter implies many repeated readings, Polanski shows her as, not so much nauseated but consumed by remorse for what they have done.I believe the two versions are very different, mainly because of the media they have been designed for. When Hugh Hefner promised at the sling of the film, a movie full of sex and violence I dont think it would have particularly appealed to Shakespeare lovers. Conversely the RSC production is unconvincing to appeal to the stereotypical playboy reader. This is reflected in both films and as a result they were very different. The Polanski version, is very good in its own slump but my personal favourite is Gregory Dorans simply because it has a more(prenominal) typical approach and is a lot truer to the text.