Macbeth

This is one of the most unique, fascinating films ever made from the Scottish play. The film was made for Hungarian TV, and it was shot on old fashioned, analog video. Yet Bela Tarr (one of the greatest filmmakers working today) made an incredible film. There are a mere 2 shots in the film. The pre-credits shot runs five minutes, the post credits shot runs 62 minutes. It's incredible that Tarr composed a 62 minute take, but that he does it so well, and you find yourself forgetting about the length of the shot, and are drawn into Tarr's world. Tarr is a master filmmaker, one of the greatest ever (certainly the best ever to emerge from Hungary), and this is one of his most fascinating films.

The film is available as a bonus feature on Facets's DVD of Satantango.

This is really more of a live performance record and a curio than a significant element in Tarr's filmography. It's almost entirely composed of one shot, but as the TV production is shot on hand-held video, you can't expect anything approaching the great visual care of the director's later films, particularly once he found his mature style with "Damnation" and "Satantango." The text is a drastic if effective-enough condensation of Shakespeare's play, the acting is decent, and it's interesting to see the lead in this role--I'd mostly seen him previously in Miklos Jansco films, where he certainly got a lot of practice performing for an endlessly moving, in-your-face camera. Still, this production just isn't technically accomplished or atmospheric enough to be a memorable interpretation of the story, and it has no special angle beyond the one-shot novelty. (There is a much shorter 2nd shot, but I guess I blinked and missed the editorial transition.) For Bela Tarr enthusiasts, it's a footnote worth seeing...once. As far as screen "Macbeths" go, it's just one more pretty-good version--I don't think there's ever been a truly great one, not even Orson Welles' or Polanski's.