Macbeth is Shakespeare's most produced play; it is also the play that has been interpreted the most by actors, directors, and artists around the world. Its themes of ambition, guilt, and fate are universal, and translate well into other languages and cultures. Some say this is the origin of the Dreaded Curse, that because it is performed so often, more things are likely to go wrong with Macbeth than any other play (Those people are wrong; it's witches).
As we read the play, we get images in our minds of what the characters are supposed to sound or look. Macbeth is supposed to look like this, and Lady Macbeth is supposed to act like this. We have this idea in our heads of how they sound and look, usually based on our own experiences of film and fiction. In III, iii, I always imagine the first murderer portrayed by an action star. That way, when Banquo says, "It looks like rain tonight," I can imagine Gerard Butler, or Jason Statham, or even Jean-Claude Van Damme, stepping out from the shadows, drawing his sword, and shouting, "Then LET - IT - FALL!!!" Of course, that's just me.
In class today we watched two different film versions of the play: Roman Polanski's Macbeth (1971) and Akira Kurosawa's Kumonosu Jo (Throne of Blood) (1957). The setting for these two fims were very different - medieval Scotland and feudal Japan - but the story remains the same, more or less. What is interesting is how the directors interpreted some of the characters based on their understanding of the play. The character of Lady Macbeth, for instance, was very different in these two films, and both might even be different from how you envisioned her yourself. For this entry, choose one of the four characters of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Duncan, or the witches. Which of the two films did a better job of interpreting the characters, based on what you thought they were like? Were there any changes that you thought did not fit with your interpretation of the play? Was there anything unique about how these characters looked or acted that really caught your attention? Please begin your comment with your student number.
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ReplyDeleteI think both films did very well in their portrayal of the characters of the play, however a stark contrast could be noticed between the two lady Macbeths. I would imagine Lady Macbeth to appear womanly and gentle on the outside, while having the vicious, masculine personality with which she tortures Macbeth on the inside. In this regard, I believe Polanski's interpretation was truer to what I imagined. However, Kurosawa's version of Lady Macbeth deserves a note as well. It showed Lady Macbeth's terrifying character in a more visible manner, with her scary face paint and her inhuman stillness. Certainly, attention-catching.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that the witches from Macbeth were portrayed better in the movie Macbeth (1971) because there were actually three witches, they acted very creepy and weird, there are three of them like there should be, and they more or less resembled of how I thought they should look just like I read from the book. Some changes that I felt did not fit with my interpretations of the play were that none of the witches had beards, and one of the witches seemed much to young and pretty to be a witch. I think that the most unique thing was that when I was watching the movie, the witches all seemed to be very in touch with each other, they would help each other out, listen to each other, and all act as one; they were like true sisters of the dark.
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ReplyDeleteI liked how they made Lady Macbeth and the witches in Roman Polanski's Macbeth, but Macbeth himself looked really young in that film. The Japanese Macbeth was more masculine compared to the Scottish one. I was really freaked out when in the Japanese film the witch that sounded and looked like a man was a women. Also i was freaked out how calm Lady Macbeth was in Japanese film, she was so white and looking at one spot, moving only her mouth and eyes sometimes.
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ReplyDeleteI think Lady Macbeth was best interpreted in the Japanese film because she used guilt to persuade Macbeth into killing the King as does the Lady Macbeth in the original story.Although I still think that both of the Lady Macbeth's seem to sweet and passive. I imagined Lady Macbeth to be more aggressive and demanding.I think it was interesting that the Japanese Lady Macbeth didn't move; which made he seem more passive.
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ReplyDeleteI think Roman Polanski's version of Macbeth did a better job of interpreting King Duncan. While Akira Kurosawa's Kumonosu Jo interpreted most of the other characters better by making them seem stronger and in the expected age group, Kurosawa's version of Duncan seemed too vicious and emotionless to be the man described in the book. Polanski's Macbeth showed a much kinder Duncan, who often smiled and interacted with others as one would imagine him to do.
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ReplyDeleteFor the character, Duncan, I think Roman Polanski's version was more fit to my interpretation of the person. The 'Duncan' in Throne of Blood was far too demanding, in my opinion the Duncan in Shakespeare's Macbeth was a kind man that did not yell at his subjects to get what he wanted.
Some of the characters were a bit off, like Lady Macbeth, she was either too loving or too unemotional, otherwise there wasn't much that ruined my interpretation of the play.
One of the things that I found unique was the way 'Macbeth' looked in the Japanese film. He seemed extremely disturbed the whole time and always alert, his eyes were always wide open as if an enemy could come out at any moment. I thought of Macbeth as a much calmer character.
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ReplyDeleteThe Japanese one had the best disruption of the witches, but there was only one. The Macbeth movies gives a good discretion for every other character.
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ReplyDeleteRoman Polanski's Macbeth did a better job of interpreting the witches. I thought the witches would be more like the ones at Halloween, green with black overthrows,though. There wasn't really anything unique that really stood out to me.
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ReplyDeleteRoman Polanski’s Macbeth did a better job of interpreting the witches. Both movies had very different ideas of what the witch or witches looked like. Roman Polanski’s Macbeth showed the original trio, with long messy hair, dirty clothes and the disturbing voices, while Akira Kurosawa’s Kumonosu Jo, represented the witches as only one. When reading Macbeth, and imagining what the witches would look like, I imagined them almost like the ones in the play we went to see. The only thing I pictured differently was their clothes and hair. I would not have thought of it being white, as witches usually have very messy back hair. Also, I would have imagined them as being the same age. Two seemed to be older, as the third younger one was helping them get around.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that the film Throne of Blood did a better job of interpreting the witches.It was mainly due to the fact that the witches were supposed to look scary and hideous. Roman Polanski's Macbeth portrayed the witches as ladies in robes but the film Throne of Blood's witch had both masculine and feminine features and looked extremely creepy. The witch in Throne of Blood was really disturbing as it looked like a man when it was supposed to be a woman and he/she spoke in monotone. My only complaint was that none of the witches had beards.
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ReplyDeleteRoman Polanski's Macbeth (1971) did a better job interpreting the play. The storyline made more sense, and I was able to identify the characters more than the other film. In this play, there were three witches, just like in Shakespeare’s version. In the other movie, there was one which, or sprit, and it was very unclear as to who was who. All in all, I believe the first movie did a better job.
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ReplyDeleteRoman Polanski’s Macbeth did a better job of interpreting Lady Macbeth. It’s just that the character looks a little younger than what I though Lady Macbeth would be like, but that is better than Throne of Blood’s Lady Macbeth that looks like Macbeth’s grandmother. What really caught my attention in Roman Polanski’s Macbeth is that it shows Lady Macbeth as a woman that looks innocent, kind, and virtuous. It shows her as a woman that looks so pure, but her words shows the serpent behind the perfect woman.
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ReplyDeleteMacbeth, was better interpreted in Roman Polanski's version. He seemed more like the macbeth I envisioned throughout us reading the play in class. He was brave, noble, not to mention courages. In the other film macbeth looked and acted differently, he was more of an angered tyrant who was out to seek the crown. The traditional outfits in the Throne of blood caught my eye is was an interesting change.
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ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth is a character that is quite different in these two movies. I believe that Roman Polanski's version of the movie did a better job of interpreting Lady Macbeth. I believe this because in "The Throne of Blood" Lady Macbeth was shown as a character with very little movement and this was far from my idea of this character. In Roman Polanski's version she moves around and is much more life like. However if I were to change anything about this version of Lady Macbeth I would make her older and more serious because that is how I believe Lady Macbeth should be. The fact that the Lady Macbeth in "The Throne of Blood" is so still and never looks her husband in the eye is very interesting and it definitely catches your attention.
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ReplyDeleteFor the character Lady Macbeth, I think that the Japanese film Throne of Blood did a better job of interpreting her personality. Of course, many parts her personality seemed different, but the director managed to pinpoint the key components of her personality that are portrayed in the play. Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth is quite outgoing, aggressive and blunt.
The Japanese Lady Macbeth possesses these qualities, but is much more subtle in expressing her thoughts. This is most likely because of the difference in culture and role of women in feudal Japan.
I found it very interesting how Lady Macbeth (Japanese) almost never moved when she talked; not even her eyes. She was almost like a ghost and barely moved her mouth to speak. She made silent and deadly decisions, and came and went as if she did not exist.
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ReplyDeleteI have not seen the Roman Polanski's Macbeth (1971) film so I will be basing my answer only on the second film Akira Kurosawa's Kumonosu Jo (Throne of Blood) (1957) and my opinion from the play in class.
In the movie what struck as really different was the interpretation of Lady Macbeth. In the play she seems to be more of an outgoing forward persona while the Lady Macbeth of the film just sat around and looked really scary. She barely moved until further into the film and let off a different vibe than the play’s Lady Macbeth.
Macbeth in the filmed seemed to have a lot more emotions and appeared more frustrated. Otherwise he seemed like a typical Macbeth.
Other than the obvious time, place, setting, and cultural differences of the two, Macbeth seemed to get the message across. It didn’t seemed to matter that one Macbeth took place in early Scotland and the other traditional Japan but the intentions of the play came through. The only thing that caught my eye was how scary Lady Macbeth was in Kumonosu J.
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ReplyDeleteThe film that best interpreted the characters of the witches was the Throne of Blood. Back then, witches were portrayed as women that looked like men, and were meant to be scary and mysterious. In the Throne of Blood, Banquo and Macbeth seemed to be startled to see this creature in the forest, while in the Roman Polanksi version they seemed to be comfortable around the witches. Also in the Japanese version, the witch acted and felt more mysterious like they should. Some changes that I believe that did not fit, was that there was only 1 witch in the scene, and that she was sewing during the converstation they had with Macbeth. Why would a witch be sewing?
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ReplyDeletei think that the film Roman Polanski Macbeth did a better job interpenetrating Macbeth. One thing i would change about this Macbeth is that he should look more Macho and handsome. Macbeth caught my attention because of his fearless fighting skills and for being loyal to his comrade.
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ReplyDeleteFrom what we saw of the movie, I think that Roman Polanski's Macbeth interpreted the characters better, but since we didn't see the entire movie I wasn't exactly sure.
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ReplyDeletei think in the (THRONE OF BLOOD) movie their could have been three whitches to make it more like the original and actually make the whitches look scary, instead of being an old lady knitting.