Macbeth (1971)

Directed by

Roman Polanski

Genre

drama film

Country

Australia, United Kingdom, United States

Runtime

2h 20m

Rated

R

Rating

7.1 of 10 from 301 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A Scottish lord murders his king and takes the throne. He becomes paranoid and violent as he tries to keep power, leading to more bloodshed and his own downfall.

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What happens

Macbeth (also known as The Tragedy of Macbeth or Roman Polanski's Film of Macbeth) is a 1971 historical drama film directed by Roman Polanski, and co-written by Polanski and Kenneth Tynan. A film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name, it tells the story of the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. Jon Finch and Francesca Annis star as the title character and his wife, noted for their relative youth as actors. Themes of historic recurrence, greater pessimism and internal ugliness in physically beautiful characters are added to Shakespeare's story of moral decline, which is presented in a more realistic style. Polanski opted to adapt Macbeth as a means of coping with the highly publicized Manson Family murder of his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate. Finding difficulty obtaining sponsorship from major studios, Playboy Enterprises stepped in to provide funding. Following troubled shooting around the British Isles mired by poor weather, Macbeth screened out of competition at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival and was a commercial failure in the United States. Initially controversial for its graphic violence and nudity, the film has since garnered generally positive reviews, and was named Best Film by the National Board of Review in 1972. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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