Macbeth / McKellen, Dench (1978)

this swelling act of an imperial theme...

Two major things going on in the world right now (4/08) are the Bush Administration's mishandling of the Iraq War and the Presidential campaigns. Two major themes that arise while seeing this production of Macbeth are blind ambition and lust for power. By the end of Act I, scene iv, (about a half-hour or so into this film) just after Macbeth eyes the crown as it's being elevated from the King's head, and utters, "Stars hide your fires, let not light see my deep and black desires...", you know what the rest of the play will be about. And, so, there lies two choices for the viewer: endure the rest of the film as a sort of waste of time and `Shakespeare isn't all that great a writer', or, for example under the two aforementioned pretenses, give the movie a chance and see how the story is going to play out...

The power behind this minimalist production combined with the deeply precise action within the poetry of the language is so very well put together.

Looking at the events that happen shortly thereafter in the play, somewhat realizing how he had been bewitched into the temptation to "become King, hereafter", he proceeds to talk himself out of what he just refers to as "this business" (committing murder and treason); then, he gets talked back into reconsidering it and agrees to go ahead with it after all; then, ultimately, has to re-convince himself outside of the King's chamber (in an chilling scene, the famous `dagger' soliloquy). Regarding the last of these scenarios, if he had been able to actually hear himself he would've certainly been reminded how such a person as he would've absolutely not been cut out to overcome the potential obstacles within his conscience, for he was bound by virtue to King, country, and valiance as a soldier, friend, and general (as well as possibly God-fearing, although that's not 100% clear). And, from any potential natural obstacle that can arise uncontrollably from a simple plan, both an instance end up sealing his fate.

Great actors and directors are necessary to pull off Shakespeare. The scene between Macduff and Malcolm's soul-searching/testing the characteristics of a hero versus a villain, is terrific. Judi Dench is just terrifying as Lady Macbeth. The dvd's special features with Ian Mckellen are good. He discusses some of the realities toward which some of the actors' performances and the play relate, the actor's different styles, among other interesting things. And, this film has a better, more thought-provoking ending than the play, as it was written.

...Unless WMDs are mysteriously found, we the people are left to support the troops and innocent Iraqi civilians in the midst of a White House that has had as high a turnover as your local McDonald's--for at least a couple of years there--with still no justifiable reason for our military incursion. And, along the home front, we have a Democrat incomprehensibly going negative against another Democrat whose ambition just isn't nearly quite as personal, as he aims for a progressive leadership.

It would be nice in this or any time when our favorite Shakespeare play could be A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth was an antique. I have sort of what I would call a punk-ethic when it comes to understanding things that are undeniably strong and honest in their depiction toward a greater good. Such things as widely seen and read as Macbeth--"...a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"--I would think should be well understood throughout most if not all of our worldwide community, by now. April 10, 2008

Far Better than Orson Welles Version

My daughter made 1st witch in her 6th grade school play. In my youth I did Hamlet and Richard III, so I KNOW the difficulty and skill to do Shakespeare correctly. This is done WELL. Short of Lord Olivier's performances, which are rare at best, there is no better production company of those that really do define the best trained Shakespearean actors available.
And while my daughter is not Lady Macbeth...yet...lol....Judy Dench is outstanding. March 4, 2008

Mostly excellent!

My 2 cents: I found this version gripping. Ian McKellan and Judi Dench really made me feel the agony of the Macbeths' foolish and self-imposed moral degeneration, and consequent madness. Dench's performance of the famous "sleepwalking scene" has got to be one of the finest-ever. Ian McDiarmid (later Star Wars' "Emperor"), as Ross and as The Porter, was a fun surprise and excellent in both of those small parts. Seeing all these wonderful actors when they were younger was fun. And the minimalist sets and dark, dramatic lighting worked for me.

A few criticisms:
-- McKellan and Dench had no sexual chemistry, which made their attempts to kiss and nuzzle (in some scenes) just annoying.
-- The actor who played Macduff was flat and unconvincing.
-- A "Subtitles" option would have helped. As with all Shakespeare, language is an issue and I had to refer to a written _Macbeth_ often.
-- The costumes were a senseless jumble. December 27, 2007

A pity that it has no subtitles!

I love Shakespeare and I collect DVDs with adaptations of his plays for TV or Cinema. Macbeth is one of my favorite plays but, with the exception of the amazing THRONE OF BLOOD, of Kurosawa, not quite Macbeth but an adaptation of the genial Japanese director of the immortal play, the adaptations of Welles and Polanski are not just quite the thing!Don't think I am too exigent, because I loved Branagh's Hamlet, and the Othello with Laurence Fishburne, but I have a thing with Shakespeare and it is the TEXT!!! A good shakesperian adaptation cannot mutilate the words and condense the scenes for the sake of making the story more easily filmed. That was what I loved in Branagh's Hamlet, he did not omit one single word from the original text. And this Splendid adaptation of Macbeth keeps the text intact! OK, the format is like a stage-play, not many visual effects but the text is COMPLETE. Regretfully, NO SUBTITLES OR CLOSED-CAPTIONS!!! Shakespeare IS complex and the plot is very subtle , the actors for the sake of the acting cannot speak slowly, of course, so I did the best I could, I opened my book of Shakespearean plays and listened the movie reading the lines in the book!!! Only then I could be astounded and marvelled by the very best performance of Macbeth that i HAVE ever seen. Judy Dench is THE BEST LADY MACBETH I have ever seen, is chilling her rendering of the ambitious lady that became queen after stimulating her husband to murder the former king and gets mad in the process. Ian McKellen begins as a vacillant thane that desires the throne but in the end his cruelty makes even his wife shudder! Reading the play and watching the performances was a extremely satisfying experience because I never had perceived the nuances of the relationship between Macbeth and his wife, how ambitious she was, and how she was instrumental for his first crime. And it is a crime that this extraordinary play has NO Subtitles. A crime against the average spectator that is not fluent enough in the English language, especially 16th century English! I reccomend this adaptation to everybody, but have your Macbeth play written nearby for reading while you are watching the movie. Even with the extra work, is worthwhile. I have never seen a best MACBETH performance, and I have seen all the MACBETH versions that have been filmed !
Deniza Futuro-Brazil December 10, 2007

No Close Captioning, Not Useful in the Classroom!

Shakespeare is all about the words. Without close captioning, this video is unusable with high school kids. For that reason, I returned it to Amazon for a refund. December 2, 2007

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