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MacbethRating:
Release Date: 07 May, 2002 Retail Price: $29.95 OUR Price: $26.99 You SAVE: $2.96! Cast: Complete Cast (10 total) |
Macbeth Reviews
Turned me off
I had to force myself to give this two stars intead of one because, to be fair, there IS a great cast, meaningful scenes, and gorgeous cinematography. However, there were many things that totally turned me off this movie. Let me confirm that I am an avid fan of Shakespeare and love many of his plays as well as certain movies that have been made of them. In this one, however, I rather felt that Polanski took Shakespeare's play and ran wild with it. Yes, Macbeth is disturbing and depressing, so the fact that these elements turned my stomach may be considered by some as a success on Polanski's part, but there are plenty of other things the play didn't include that the movie had unnecessarily. For example, the nudity. I'm no prude, but there was plenty of unnecessary nakedness in this film and some of it seemed to add to the idea of the characters taking advantage of each other (maybe this was Polanski's plan, but I doubt it). The scene with Lady Macbeth wandering naked and mad around her room wouldn't have bothered me so much if a male "doctor" hadn't been standing there oogling at her. I wanted to smack him as well as Lady Macbeth's maidservant who stood there letting her mistress walk around naked in front of a man; how many of the notoriously protective and prudish maidservants back then would have allowed such a thing? The inaccuracy of this scene made me think Polanski might've just wanted an opportunity to prove that Lady Macbeth was just as attractive without her clothes; I think the males in the audience guessed that much already. Most disturbing to me, though, was the disgusting scene showing a woman bathing her AT LEAST eleven or twelve year-old-son! He wasn't sitting in a tub, either, but standing and baring all in front of the camera. Thanks, Polanski; perversion wasn't supposed to be the main topic of the film, but who remembers these things? I'm not sure how I should rate the violence; I didn't like it, but some would certainly deem it necessary for the story, so I guess that's a matter of opinion. The movie altogether, though, gave me a feeling of dirty depression. Shakespeare may be partly to blame for this, but it was definetly Polanski's additions to the story that decided me against a second viewing. This would have succeeded as a moving film without a great deal of the nastiness that it contained; substituting gratitious shock-value junk for quality always fails. Next time, try relying a little more on the pathos of the story, Polanski. And please, let's keep parents out of the room when their pre-teens are taking baths, shall we?
Bloody, extremely violent, cynical rendering of Shakespeare....
I never really liked cinematic adaptations of Shakespeare until I saw this masterpiece. Many have commented on the background of the film instead of concentrating on the film itself. Everyone mentions that it was financed by Playboy Pictures; it had a long and arduous shoot; the Manson murders figured prominently; there were the nudes scenes. Regardless of the making of the film, it's a magnificent film, one of Polanski's most underrated films. The violence to me seems accurate. We're talking about mediveal times here. It's ugly, it's remorseless, and its attitude towards mankind is brutally cynical. Finch's performance is excellent. He plays a little over the top, but it suits the atmosphere of the film. The scene where he kills the king seems so real. Many have said the Tate murders hang over this film. That's highly probable. However, it's still a brooding, strikingly atmospheric film. I saw this on VHS in a pan and scan print. The DVD is 2.35:, and you have to see the film in that ratio to really appreciate it.
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