Macbeth

Director: Arthur A. Seidelman Arthur A. Seidelman

Overview

"Known to superstitious actors the world over as ""The Scottish Play,"" MacBeth is widely considered one of Shakespeare's masterpieces. This particular rendition of the tale of a power-hungry Scottish general and his loyal, cold-hearted wife differs from

Product Details

Release Date:	02/06/2001
UPC:	0032031215498
Original Release:	1981
Source:	Kultur Video
Sound:	[Dolby Digital]
Language:	English
Time:	2:30:00
Sales rank:	49,746

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jeremy Brett	Performer
Piper Laurie	Performer
Simon MacCorkindale	Performer
Millie Perkins	Performer
Barry Primus	Performer
Johnny Crawford	Performer
Alan Oppenheimer	Performer
Jay Robinson	Performer

Technical Credits

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Act 1: Opening Credits [1:03]
2. Three Witches [4:39]
3. "Where Hast Thou Been Sister?" [25:54]
4. Act 2: "How Goes the Night?" [6:03]
5. "I've Done the Deed" [9:47]
6. "Oh Horror!" [9:22]
7. Act 3: Rebuk'd Genius [14:24]
8. A Ghost [12:07]
9. Secret Meeting [3:06]
10. Act 4: "...Toil and Trouble" [8:43]
11. "What Has He Done?" [8:06]
12. Act 5: Sleep Waking [17:33]
13. "Lay on MacDuff" [8:12]
14. Ending Credits [2:22]

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Editorial Reviews

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a somewhat uneven filming of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays. A great deal of the problem comes simply from the fact that this is essentially a "point the camera and shoot" adaptation of a stage production, albeit filmed without an audience. This kind of approach is laudable for its faithfulness to the text and often for capturing performances that would otherwise go unrecorded. But it also can make for viewing that includes very little that is visually interesting. In the case of this Macbeth, it also results in a very hollow, distanced production; rarely does the audience actually come to feel anything for Macbeth or Lady Macbeth, two characters who should grab the audience and keep them enthralled throughout. The performances of Jeremy Brett and Piper Laurie also suffer a bit from this approach; live, they were probably gripping, but here they occasionally lose the audience, especially when declaiming in a style that suits the theater but does not translate well to film. Still, there are undeniable highlights from the pair, including the "is this a dagger" speech, the banquet scene, and the "tomorrow and tomorrow" monologue. Simon MacCorkindale is a good Macduff, Barry Primus an excellent Banquo, and the Witches are used very effectively throughout. Despite its flaws, the wonderful source material and a great deal of the leads' performances make this a worthwhile, if up-and-down, effort.