Macbeth

Don't look for Renaissance conventions here -- no swords, no head-on-a-pike at the end, no evil Lady Macbeth. The witches are true to the bard -- wither'd, wild, familiar enough to make them approachable, strange enough to make you wonder if you saw what you saw. I like Pertwee's Macbeth - even though I wanted more dogged intensity and 'aw-the-hell-with-it' doomed bravado. Scacchi is perfect as Lady Macbeth -- all blind Blond Ambition who, ironically, becomes sapped by constant blood-drenching (and they're they same blood-drenching that put that damned spine into Macbeth as the end draws near). Could have used a stronger Macduff -- I dunno, just call me a sentimentalist; I wanted to see that tough man reduced to tears.

All in all, a fine version -- much less silly than the Polanski tommyrot that so many people hold up as the ideal film of this play. I don't think that the definitive film version has been been made yet. Until then, this bare bones approach is best.

This bare-bones and inspired version of 'Macbeth' appeared on Channel 4 Schools programming in instalments before being shown in its entirety for a wider audience. Michael Bogdanov's film puts the action strictly in the here and now, in the rough and violent world of an apocalyptic estate, with Macbeth himself as an unrepentant maniac heading straight for hell.

Macbeth is perhaps the best Shakespeare play to give a shot in the arm - its the shortest and perhaps the easiest of the tragedies to manipulate any which way you choose. So this version works completely in what it intends to do, i.e. speak to a younger audience and flip this play on its head.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are admirably played by Sean Pertwee and Greta Scacchi, while others making a strong impression in the cast include Philip Madoc as Duncan, Michael Maloney as Banquo, and Lorcan Cranitch. Fans of the UK series 'Coupling' can see Jack Davenport and Richard Coyle in there too, alongside 'Birds of a Feather' star Lesley Joseph as one of the witches.

This is a trimmed-down version of Macbeth (running at less than 1.5 hours) presented by a group of lesser-known but extremely competent actors. The cuts mean that the action is fast-paced with little chance to breathe.

The setting is modern-ish and slightly surreal and surprisingly sunny and bright for this usually dark and murky play. Even the garbage dump which represents the "heath" where the witches hang out is set amid green fields and a placid lake.

On the upside is the performance of Greta Scacchi who is a frighteningly intent and edgy Lady M. The scenes between the Macbeths are breathtaking: her energy seems to infuse Pertwee who is subdued without her.

On the downside, Pertwee cannot get past a kind of manic anger in the final scenes. There is no sense that Macbeth realizes the depth to which he has sunk, that his soul is irredeemably compromised. In the end he should be like the figures in Michaelangelo's Last Judgement, being dragged to Hell while realizing what they have lost and cannot now get back. Pertwee's Macbeth keeps on heading straight for Hell as fast as he can get there. In the end we experience no regret or sense of tragedy in his demise.

Notwithstanding this flaw, this is a gripping and watchable film which is well worth the effort.

This shortened version of Shakespeare's Macbeth, which my English class has affectionately named Motorcyle Macbeth, is incredibly modernized, with the addition of guns and grungy apartments. The actors are literally speaking word-for-word what is written in the book our class has, and we enjoy watching this a great deal. We shout out funny things when something funny happens, and have nicknamed the lead actor "Blondie." The ending was a little- okay a lot- different from the play version, and the even the witches seemed a little out there. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Motorcycle Macbeth and was the first to recognize Malcolm from Pirates of the Caribbean.

I saw this version of Macbeth in an interesting format. Someone took this movie and broke it up into chunks of about 15 or 20 minutes for use in the classroom. And I couldn't think of a better version for that purpose.

Though clearly of modest budget, it is not cheap. Rather it skillfully uses available resources to create a stark, clear (and trimmed down) production. It does this by being strangely, yet coherently, anachronistic. The nature of the characters and the scenes determine the prevailing time period of the props, costumes and setting; so they are more than mere set dressing and non-verbally communicate information about who the characters are. Usurper Macbeth never rises above his castle in an abandoned factory, which contrasts with the elegance of the rightful heir Malcolm's pristine English manor.

The delineations aren't strict... the witches' Mad Max post-apocalyptic world sits in the midst of contemporary warfare. The banquet shows Macbeth's futile attempt at legitimacy in a clash of period and style. But rather than creating chaos, this mixing keeps the characters visually consistent throughout the production.

The performances are excellent, but not outstanding, and fall into the standard British Shakespearean rhythms which can take some acclimatization for people not accustomed to it. But the acting fits the context of the setting while staying true to Shakespeare. Though not a definitive Macbeth, it is one I can watch with pleasure whenever the local public broadcasting channel broadcasts it as a teacher's resource. And I wouldn't mind having the complete version without the breaks.