Comparing Films of Macbeth Essay

Shakespe argons Macbeth, was first base performed before King James I at Hampton Court in 1606. Since then, Macbeth has gone on to be an ever-popular play, remnantlessly produced by a sea of directors. Having recently watched two of these productions, the first 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 great differences in how the two directors chose to portray the characters in the play. One of the interperative differences is in the character of wench Macbeth.In the Royal Shakespeare Companys version we first meet maam Macbeth in Act1 Scene5. She has black coarse hair, in truth pale skin, a slim figure and is dressed in black. Many critics have commented that her behavior is rather witch like and this is exactly what most people expect her to be. We witness her reading a letter when she suddenly looks up. This is of course the letter sent by her husband telli ng her of the witches prophecy of Kingship.She looks directly into the camera and although she maintains a blank expression we can sense from her piercing eyes that her mind is already over flown with ambition. As she folds the letter and looks up, evil intentions are in her eyes. The next shot we see is of her in the bath and although she does not show a lot of emotion her eyes reveal that she is still view deeply about the letter. She then begins to beg evil spirits to Un call forth me here before dousing her head into the water. This is done by a narrative voice. We dont 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 often associated with innocence and femininity. But in Dorans version she has black hair. This is by and large associated with evil. It is also important to note that she is dressed in white. This is again associated with inn ocence and purity, which we know Lady Macbeth is not. Lady Macbeth is very calm and gentle in the way she talks. Once again this contrasts with Polanskis version in which she speaks quite cunningly. In Polanskis version you could almost say she looks lifeless in this characterisation. We see her behave 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 examination scene is Act5 Scene1. This is of course inversion 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 wearing black. She is now wearing white. Doran, deliberately cherished 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 powerful and in reign over of herself but here we see her as totally ou t of control and insane. We also see that she depends a lot on the candle she is holding. This is dry as in the Unsexing Scene she called on darkness to deterioration on her. We also see her rub her hands hysterically to get rid of the blood. This is also ironic as she earlier 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, skillful Duncan is dead. We then witness her walk about her chamber naked. (Hugh Hefners promise of nudity has been realised.) We see her reach 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 reiterates how the horrible chain of events was started . This was very clever of Polanski through Lady Macbeths sobbing she reads it, in the raggedness of the letter implies many repeated readings, Polanski shows her as, not so much mad 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 launch 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 tall(a) 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 right but my personal favourite is Gregory Dorans simply because it has a more typical approach and is a lot truer to the text.