Lovely, thoughtful and insightful review of (as you say) a flawed but powerful film version....maybe the closest film to Shakespeare's vision of the play I've yet seen. I agree, the slowness of the cues and the dialogue is a HUGE problem throughout, and it makes me wish that there had been an actor-friendly Shakespeare nerd on set to keep poking Kerzel about it as it was directed and cut. The editing exacerbated the problem even more. Too often, it deflates the tension at key moments HOWEVER.....like you, I thought the characterizations were mostly brilliant, and the scenes of the massacre of Lady Macduff and her children, and Fleance watching his father butchered, both brought me to tears, and will haunt me forever. And you're right: the "full of scorpions is my mind" moment is as perfect as it gets. As impatient as I get with the slowness of the pace, I keep coming back to this film. I've now seen it three times since its release. It has an aura of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness about it. "The horror! The horror!" Now on to Polanski's version....? :-) Thanks for sharing your passion, Shelby. As always, it's contagious!
Thank you dear David!! (And not JUST for agreeing with me on all points 😂) I figured we would have similar reactions, but you articulate it so well in this eloquent, thoughtful comment. Thank you for taking the time to write our your insights 🙏😌 I agree that I would come back to this film. The Lady Macduff scene haunts me as well... Excellent suggestion! 1971 Roman Polanski's Macbeth IT IS! 😘
Thank you Shelby for your wonderful passion for ' The Bard ' and a very insightful review of this version of Macbeth!!! This is by far my favorite film adaptation and like you I loved the Scottish feel of the film. I respectfully disagree with your assessment of Lady M. though. I don't think she's really underwritten at all. It seems to me that it's almost popular to down play the evil , premeditated murder plot of Lady Macbeth & Macbeth. I understand the desire to take a deeper look at what their motivation may-or may not have been but the act itself was evil to the core. By the way, Lady M's 'out dam spot' line is reminiscent of Pontius Pilate's when he asked for a water basin to be brought to him so he could ' wash his hands of the responsibility ' of Christ's crucifixion. I really appreciate & love your channel.
I am your new subscriber from India and I just want to say please do not give up just keep making video soon your chenel will have a lot of subscribers . I am with you my elder sister
Thanks so much for the sweet support 😍🙏 Very glad to have you as a subscriber. I shall never give up! Because of comments like this 🙃 Thank you for making my day.
Wow, what beautiful, generous words Deborah 😌🙏 I created this channel hoping to take everyone on such a journey, whether they're brand new to Shakespeare or fell in love with his words long ago. So grateful to hear that you're enjoying this video and all my others. And indeed... Scorpions! Ha!
Thank you so much Deborah 🤩 That would be a D.R.E.A.M. Well, any project with David Montee is a dream. Ooo great question... if I could pick my Macbeth... it'd probably be Tom Hiddleston. For every Shakespeare role. Ever. 😁 Thanks for watching and commenting!
To see why Lady Macbeth snapped upon seeing the Macduffs' death by burning, go watch Game of Thrones, a kid got murdered by her father by burning at the stake in season 5 and the main fallout lasted through the end of season 6.
Even though I’m not at Shakespeare nerd, I’m always curious to know more about his work and you do a fabulous, interesting job with this channel. Thank you.
Thank you for your sweet, supportive words Jane! 🥰 So glad to hear that my fun approach to Shakespeare is resonating with you. I really appreciate you watching and commenting. Looking forward to more and more videos!
I couldn't agree with you more on Francis McDormand's portrayal of Lady Macbeth. She being one of my top five favorite actresses to watch on film is well deserving of her accolades and Oscars, but I must admit and agree with you that she was not a good fit here as Lady Macbeth, though when watching the film I hadn't focused that much on her. But also I must be fair to say that at that time neither did she detract nor distract me from enjoying the film. Only later after reflecting on her performance did I come to this conclusion. One thing about Francis McDormand is that she's very "stoic". In that I mean to say there's not very much range of expression coming from her "facially speaking" as a role such as this should require. I'm sure you know what it is I'm talking about. McDormand to me has flat features (for lack of a better term) along with eyes that seem always wide open as if in a search; and a mouth seemighly shut as if a lock when not speaking. She has that look in many of her films. But please don't misconstrue, I am not saying that she's un-attractive. An "automaton"? You said it, perfect analysis! Facially in my mind this was not a role best suited for her due to this aspect now that I've thought about it. But I must admit from what I see of you, I think your range of expression (facially) is broader. I think you would have been a better Lady... in my opinion. Maybe you agree? Keep up the good work... you are a joy! 🌷
Thank you for this eloquent analysis Lester! And very sweet of you to say that I would be a good Lady M 🥹 I did indeed play her in 2018, which was a joy and a challenge and so rewarding to dive into a woman who is deeply misunderstood. After that deep character dive and having the opportunity to embody her onstage, I am sure that’s why I am bursting with so many opinions on her character in particular 😁 I would love the chance to play her again in the future. And yes… “expressive” is certainly a good way to describe my performance style. Sometimes overly so, ha! But luckily my training has allowed me to control it. When I played Goneril in King Lear, for instance, I was given the direction to embody her physical life as “cold steel” as if I were “uncomfortable with emotion.” It was an immense challenge for me because I naturally express myself with a lot of physicality. Through that role, I proved to myself that I could portray a wide range of emotions without flailing my hands about. It was one of my most rewarding roles to date! Though Lady Macbeth is high on the list as well 🙂 Thank you again for watching and commenting! So lovely to chat with you. Grateful to have you on my channel 🙌
@@ShelbyLovesShakespeare Not too familiar with the characters in King Lear. Sounds interesting since you've mentioned it. Have to look into it and later check it out. ✌🏿🌷
Morning. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the 2011 version starring Patrick Stewart Kate Fleetwood. Or maybe I don't, since I liked it quite a bit in my naive eyes.
Thank you for this FABulous suggestion Rick! 😍 I completely hear you about having apprehension on requesting someone else's opinion of a film you liked. But fear not! I remember that I saw it many years ago while preparing to play Lady Macbeth myself, and (don't worry) I don't remember hating it! 😅 I mean, I'll see anything Patrick Stewart or Ian McKellen or Kenneth Branagh touches in general, so I'm happy to put this version in my queue! I really appreciate you watching and commenting. So glad you're here in this Shakespearean-loving community 🙃💙
I really enjoyed this version of Macbeth. Its always fascinating to see how Shakespeare is adapted in cinema. How malleable it becomes to the form. Incidentally I just listened to the Folger library podcast interview with Ian McKellen and he mentions how Shakespeare's scripts are almost cinematic, in that they have jump cuts and continuities that are quite cinematic technically, as well as there being a scope that is cinematic. By the way McKellen's Richard III is a great, great cinema adaptation of Shakespeare
Thanks for watching this Jay! YES Ian McKellen's interview on Folger was lovely. I'm so glad they did both episodes so that we got more of the full conversation. I did very much enjoy his Richard III, but I haven't seen it recently... Another one for the list to review!
