Macbeth [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Overview

"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."

Product Details

Release Date:	06/30/2014
UPC:	0715515125918
Original Release:	1971
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	2:20:00
Sales rank:	10,516

Special Features

Toil and Trouble: making "Macbeth," a new documentary featuring interviews with Polanski, producer Andrew Braunsberg, assistant executive aproducer Victor Lownes, and actors Franscesca Annis and Martin Shaw; Polanski Meets Macbeth, a 1971 documentary by Frank Simon featuring rare footage of the films' cast and crew at work; Interview with coscreenwriter Kenneth Tynan from a 1971 episode of The Dick Cavett Show; "Two Macbeths," a segment from a 1972 episode of the British television series Aqarius featuring Polanski and theater director Peter Coe; Trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jon Finch	Macbeth
Martin Shaw	Banquo
John Stride	Ross
Nicholas Selby	Duncan
Stephan Chase	Malcolm,Malcolm
Paul Shelley	Donalbain
Noel Davis	Seyton
Terence Bayler	Macduff
Richard Pearson	Doctor
Andrew Laurence	Lennox
Bernard Archard	Angus
Sydney Bromley	Porter
Ian Hogg	First Thane
Diane Fletcher	Lady Macduff
Bruce Purchase	Caithness
Frank Wylie	Menteith
Maisie Farquhar	Blind Witch
Elsie Taylor	Second Witch
Noelle Rimmington	Third Witch
Keith Chegwin	Fleance
Roy Jones	2nd King's Groom
Patricia Mason	Gentlewoman
Michael Balfour	First Murderer
Andrew McCulloch	Second Murderer
Geoffrey Reed	2nd Minor Thane
Mark Dightam	Macduff's Son
Bill Drysdale	King's Groom #1
Vic Abbott	Cawdor
Nigel Ashton	Third Thane
William Hobbs	Young Seyward
Alf Joint	Old Seyward
Paul Hennen	Doctor's Apprentice
Christina Paul	Dancer
David Ellison	Old Soldier
Aud Johansen	Dancer
Anna Willoughby	Dancer
Josephine Barstow	Actor
Keith Erwen	Actor
Kostas Paskalis	Actor

Technical Credits

Roman Pola¿ski

William Shakespeare

Roman Pola¿ski	Director,Screenwriter,Director,Producer
Andrew Braunsberg	Producer
Victor Lownes	Executive Producer,Producer
Hugh Hefner	Executive Producer
David Thewlis	Director
Marion Cotillard	Director
Paddy Considine	Director
Michael Fassbender	Director
Hilton McRae	Director
William Shakespeare	Screenwriter
Timothy Burrill	Producer
Jonathan Bates	Sound Editor
Simon Kaye	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

The dark side of ambition runs amok in Roman Polanski's 1971 Macbeth, a grim and blood-soaked adaptation of Shakespeare's violent tragedy. It's a simple story: Spurred on by witches' prophecies and by his young wife (Francesca Annis), Macbeth (Jon Finch) gains the Scottish throne through ruthless butchery and assassinations, only to lose it in a similar fashion. Polanski's approach is equally simple and straightforward. Macbeth’s locations and sets realistically evoke a dark, murky medieval Scotland, and the cast’s low-key performances are clean and unembellished. This is muscular, cinematic Shakespeare in which significant sections of soliloquies are dispatched in voice-over, a device that works surprisingly well. Many have attributed the film’s abundant onscreen violence to the fact that Macbeth was Polanski’s first film after the grisly murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson family; and while the mayhem is brutal and plentiful, it's never gratuitous. In fact, there are no gimmicks here: Even Lady Macbeth's nudity during her most famous monologue suits the voyeurism of the scene perfectly. In the end, despite the film's somewhat racy reputation (resulting in large part from the fact that it was financed by Hugh Hefner's Playboy Productions), this Macbeth smacks of true classicism. It is a stark and compelling gem.