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I read a lot of Shakespeare, MACBETH included, when I studied English at the uni way back in 1997. Unfortunately, I haven't read much since; I've never really gotten into him -- and it has less to do with the complex language as the intrigues themselves. Maybe I'll "get" him at some point.
The Shakespeare movies are a good place to start. Two of the best are Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet and Branagh's Henry V. The 1996 Richard Loncraine-directed Richard III (with Ian McKellen) is also outstanding.
I think Polanski's version from '71 has a lot going for it - quite underrated, especially in terms of cinematography and production design - although I can't remember much of the music by Third Ear Band.
Polanski's Macbeth is one of my all-time favorite movies. I turned-off the Fassbinder version after about ten minutes though. Looking forward to the Cohen version however -- assuming it uses the original dialog and isn't "updated for modern audiences".
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Has a Scot ever played
Macbeth? Just wondering.
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Posted: |
Apr 15, 2021 - 11:00 AM
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By: |
joan hue
(Member)
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Thank you, gentlemen, for chiming in.
Despite being a local lad ... we were born about 30 miles apart ... I've struggled to understand anything ... and everything ... he wrote ... I only understood the Scottish play because we had to study it at school (many of my worst lessons ...)
I get it, Mitch. I can’t get into Shakespeare’s comedies nor into some of his dramas.
Damian, I don’t know that answer to your question.
I admit I haven’t seen Polanski’s version of Macbeth
.
I do agree with Paul that seeing a movie like Romeo and Juliet helps understand his play. However, I do try to read a play like Henry V (great movie) before I see the movie.
I’m sure most of you, like Mitch, had to study one or two Shakespearean plays in high school. As a teacher, I found that Romeo and Juliet was a play that engaged a lot of students. R and J were only 13 and 15, so teens could kind of relate. Engaging students into Macbeth was also fairly easy because sadly our often violent society kind of likes the gore, blood and fights in Macbeth. Maybe Macbeth was “The Godfather” of his plays.
Hamlet was best reserved for Advanced Placement students. I hate to admit it, but I find parts of Hamlet rather boring. Other parts are fine. I once had to teach Julius Caesar to students. Impossible! They were so bored.
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I'm excited for this. I thought Denzel Washington was fantastic in Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (don't know if I'd calli it "the best", but it's my favorite Shakespeare film). I was shocked to learn at the time that when Branagh cast him he had absolutely *zero* experience ever performing Shakespeare. It seems like most actors do at least one in high school, if they were acting at the time. But Washington made Shakespeare's dialogue sound perfectly natural, understandable, and engaging even though he had never performed Shakespeare before. He made me realize that one didn't need to be British or a trained "Shakespearian" in order to give a great performance of his work.
Yavar
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Posted: |
Apr 16, 2021 - 12:14 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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As a teacher, I found that Romeo and Juliet was a play that engaged a lot of students. R and J were only 13 and 15, so teens could kind of relate. Engaging students into Macbeth was also fairly easy because sadly our often violent society kind of likes the gore, blood and fights in Macbeth. Maybe Macbeth was “The Godfather” of his plays.
Hamlet was best reserved for Advanced Placement students. I hate to admit it, but I find parts of Hamlet rather boring. Other parts are fine. I once had to teach Julius Caesar to students. Impossible! They were so bored.
"Julius Caesar" was the first (and only) Shakespeare play I studied in high school (or college for that matter). We covered it in sophomore English class. Back in the 1960s, it wasn't too hard to get students interested in a play about political assassination. I still think it's one of the easier Shakespeare plays to follow, which is the real reason it was probably chosen. These days, I'm not sure that a play like "Romeo and Juliet," about teenage suicide, is a particularly good choice for high school students.
"Macbeth" has been done as a gangster film several times.
In 1955, Paul Douglas and Ruth Roman starred in JOE MACBETH. In the film, "Lily MacBeth" (Roman) pushes her husband "Joe" (Douglas) to rub out the reigning crime boss and become the new "kingpin" himself. The film was shot in England, and written and directed by Ken Hughes (CROMWELL). Trevor Duncan scored the film, which has never been made available on any video format.
In 1991, John Turturro and Katherine Borowitz starred in MEN OF RESPECT. Turturro plays a hitman named "Mike Battaglia," who heeds a spiritualist's prophesies that he will rise to the head of his family. Borowitz is his wife "Ruthie." Peter Boyle plays a character named "Matt Duffy" (Macduff). Dennis Farina plays "Bankie Como" (Banquo). And Rod Steiger plays "Charlie D'Amico" (Duncan). The film was written and directed by William Reilly, his only directorial credit. Misha Segal scored the film, which was available on a now-out-of-print DVD.
I've seen MEN OF RESPECT, and I thought it was pretty well done.
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I'm still pondering what "untethered from reality" means. Huh? Guess we won't see big outdoor fights.
I’m assuming it’s like “Little Shop of Horrors” where they want the slight staginess of the studio setting to give it a timeless feel and not burden it with real-world geography, real-world props, etc.
“Rope” and “Rear Window” also come to mind where every element of the set is controlled so that it is perfectly in the world of the story/film.
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I've seen MEN OF RESPECT, and I thought it was pretty well done.
I agree. This is the way to update Shakespeare, really update it, the dialogue, the setting - just like West Side Story it can really work. I think this one does, and wish it were more available.
Adapting is what Shakespeare did in most of his plays.
Certainly more interested in this than the Fassbender one, which I initially had hopes for but gave up on from the trailer and what I read about it.
I'm really fond of the Orson Welles production. Time to watch the Polanski again, I don't really remember it. And I still love best Nicol Williamson's turn with the BBC when they did all of Shakespeare's plays in the 70's/80's.
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... I only understood the Scottish play because we had to study it at school (many of my worst lessons ...)
