A Performance of Macbeth

Ian MacKellen is quite possibly the greatest Macbeth ever to appear on film. He is absolutely brilliant in this record of the RSC's Other Place production, which chops up the text and does magical things with it. He knows when to use the verse Shakespeare gave him, and what to do with it. Perfectly complementing him is Judi Dench (great in the sleepwalking scene), a small and fragile she-devil. John Woodvine is a majestical Banquo - you truly believe he is the head of a long line of kings - while Ian MacDiarmid is a memorable Porter/Ross. Roger Rees is good value as Malcolm (despite the awful pullover), and Bob Peck is a calm Macduff, only stirred into action by his personal tragedy.

We can get under the skin of these characters, we believe in them. Although this is sourced from a stage production, it uses film to a great advantage and adds layers of atmosphere in its simple and effective setting. Highly recommended.

This is about as spare a production of a Shakespeare play as you are likely to get. It is really more of a reading of the play than a performance. It is listed as being in color, but the colors are so muted that I had to check that my TV was not broken, since it looked pretty much like black and white to me.

Anyone coming to this production cold is going to be quite confused and will most likely abandon the effort.

The acting is stagy - you might say that this film sets the standard for the definition of that word. This will definitely not be for all tastes. As good an actor as McKellen is I could never connect with him in this performance, though he does do a great job on some of the soliloquies, particularly the one ending with "it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing." I was much more engaged by McKellen during his talks about the performance on the DVD extras than I was by his performance in the film. Dench's Lady Macbeth was too shrill for me.

There are some interesting innovations, like "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble," being sung as a Gregorian Chant throughout most of Act IV, Scene 1. Other scenes did not work as well for me, such as the opening shot where the camera pans around the circle of actors. Having some text describing the characters that the actors were portraying would have been helpful, but I saw little significance to this as it is. And the loud organ music I found distracting and inconsistent with the production.

There are some casting problems. Roger Rees as Malcomb, dressed in his knit turtleneck sweater, looks more like he just came out of a fraternity party than being the leader of a large army.

Purists will hurl stones at me for saying it, but I much prefer Polanski's cinematic. "The Tragedy of Macbeth."

McKellen is quoted as saying that this is Shakespeare on the cheap. I think that the statement "You get what you pay for," might apply here.

I was looking forward to this, everyone was raving about it. Then there was a short documentary before it about Trevor Nunn's vision for the play and I got worried. He said that he wanted to get away from the Blasted Heath and Witches that had become linked to the play. I hate to point this out to an important director but Shakespeare wrote them in. So I watched with fear as to what would be done to the play. The witches were there in an altered form, and Macbeth himself says something about it being a blasted heath, so I'm supposing that passed through Nunn's cuts.

Other than a director who messed with the play, it was indeed quite good, the actors were very good, especially Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Macduff, Malcolm, Donalbain and Ross, but I couldn't shake off the fear of what the director would do next.

As for Lady Macbeth's famous scream, yes it conveyed the horror of what was going on but it also sounded like a kettle boiling. Judi Dench was very good though.

Trevor Nunn has done somthing I never dreamed could be possible.He has staged the perfect Macbeth! Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judi Dench, (in my opinion the world's greatest actors)have given the performances of a life time. McKellen's slow decent into Madness is so emotionally powerful that you wonder if anything can equal it,the only thing that does is Dench's own mad scene. Nunn has taken Shakespeare's text and stripped it to its bare emotions,the film is one raw nerve after another from the appearance of the witches and their well acted trances,to the image of the saintly,almost pontifical King Duncan praying after battle. Ian McDiarmid also deserves high praise for his dual role of the austere Thane of Ross and the drunken,almost effeminate Porter. This film is an experience that,once seen,you will never forget.In fact you will want to watch it over an over again. In short,this is Perfect Shakespeare.

Dame Judi and Sir Ian McKellen are unforgettable in their roles as MacBeth and Lady Macbeth. It is the best version and I plan to show this film to high school students in the future. It is amazing at how little props can mean and scenery. The actors have chewed it up to focus on the tragedy of Macbeth. Also performing is TV Cheers actor, Roger Rees in one of the supporting roles. Griffith Jones who is still kicking in his 90s plays the old King Duncan. This low budget version was first shown on British television which caused Dame Judi Dench to stop watching herself on television because she would only criticize herself for not being good enough. I don't know what that means to an accomplished actress like Dame Judi Dench. How good do you have to be to remembered in the same category as Dame Peggy Ashcroft, her mentor, Damme Ellen Terry, and Sarah Siddons?