Macbeth is my favourite of all the Shakespeare plays (that I have seen/read so far anyway!), and this is by far my absolute favourite production.
Macbeth is a Scottish soldier, played by Sir Ian McKellen, and his wife Lady Macbeth by Dame Judy Dench. With names like these at the top of the ... Read review
Shakespeare's classic tale of the Scots nobleman whose ambition, spurred on by his ... more
alluring wife and an evil prophecy, leads him to treachery, murder and damnation.Trevor Nunn's highly acclaimed MACBETH for the Royal Shakespeare Company, has been prais...
Roman Polanski presents his nightmarish vision of Shakespeare's classic tragedy about the ... more
lust for power-and its bloody consequences. Jon Finch is Macbeth the Scottish war hero whose insane ambition unleashes a cycle of violence. Prompted by the supernatural prophecy of three witches Macbeth is goaded by his Lady (Francesca Annis) into slaying King Duncan (Nicholas Selby) and assuming his throne. Macbeth plunges further into murder and moral decay to keep the unsteady crown on his head. While his wife crumbles away in guilt and madness the haunted Macbeth fights to prevent another dark forecast which may doom him. Filmed in rugged North Wales Polanski's MACBETH is a tale told by a master full of sound and fury-and genius!
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The Melbourne underworld present time. Macbeth a loyal henchman to his crime boss ... more
Duncan is told by teenage witches that he will one day assume great power. Driven by their prophecy he plots with his wife to kill Duncan and takes the leadership of the gang for himself. Maintaining his power will require more murders and violence finally driving his surviving enemies to unite and destroy him.
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Macbeth is my favourite of all the Shakespeare plays (that I have seen/read so far anyway!), and this is by far my absolute favourite production.
Macbeth is a Scottish soldier, played by Sir Ian McKellen, and his wife Lady Macbeth by Dame Judy Dench. With names like these at the top of the cast list you instantly know this just has to be quality!
Both characters are ambitious creatures, so when Macbeth receives a prophesy ... ...he will be king, Macbeth and his wife believe the prophesy is taking too long to reach fruition!
So they decide to help things along a little, with a touch of murder here, and a hint of madness there, there are battles, ghostly apparitions, and the whole thing is tense and gripping, helped along greatly by the sheer quality of the performances of the whole cast.
The costumes are pretty good, this is a 1970's production (1978 ... more
Macbeth is my favourite of all the Shakespeare plays (that I have seen/read so far anyway!), and this is by far my absolute favourite production.
Macbeth is a Scottish soldier, played by Sir Ian McKellen, and his wife Lady Macbeth by Dame Judy Dench. With names like these at the top of the cast list you instantly know this just has to be quality!
Both characters are ambitious creatures, so when Macbeth receives a prophesy from three witches (hubble, bubble, toil and trouble...hehe!) telling that he will be king, Macbeth and his wife believe the prophesy is taking too long to reach fruition!
So they decide to help things along a little, with a touch of murder here, and a hint of madness there, there are battles, ghostly apparitions, and the whole thing is tense and gripping, helped along greatly by the sheer quality of the performances of the whole cast.
The costumes are pretty good, this is a 1970's production (1978 to be precise), and there are a few small clues to this effect if you look closely enough, however there is nothing which should detract from your enjoyment. This is without doubt the best screen version of the stage performance I have seen yet.
The DVD runs for around 150 minutes, it will probably cost around £6-£7, and is worth every penny.
Advantages: Understanding and visualising the play and language. Disadvantages: the film is just over 2 hours and the picture quality is not great.
I really enjoyed this, I am not one to pick up a Shakespear play for interest, the reason I needed to watch the DVD was because I was doing an evening GCSE course, I feel you get more into it and get to know the charactors alot more and understand the story line because you get to actually visualise the play.
I would recommend it for any level of education or for personnal use because I would watch it again.
The picture quality is not great but it is an old film and it actually sets the scene!
The only disavantage is that the film is over two hours long so you do have to make the time to watch it and I do recommend writing note as you go along and to also use the film as a visualisation of the play but refer to the book. ...
prettydaisy01 20.10.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Macbeth (DVD)
** Macbeth **
MacBeth is a brave strong warrior, also a highly respected lord and defends his king from anything. However he does have one weakness, ambition. He allows first the witches prophecy and then and then his wife ambition for him. It is very clear that in the play he is not easily won over to evil ? his conscience is strong, and throws up many objections to him doing the deed. However, he is also too easily influenced in the direction that he secretly desires to go. Once he has decided, he does not deviate, and each step subsequently reaffirms his initial choice.
** Lady MacBeth **
After her husband, Macbeth of Scotland, informs her in a letter about his opportunity to become king, she tells herself that his temperament is "too full o' the milk of human kindness" (Act 1, Scene 5) for the necessary evil to kill ...
mad.man.560 14.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Macbeth (DVD)
Advantages: Acting, characters, storylines, scenery, music - everything! Disadvantages: Some irritating kids in series 3
wonderful. The scenery of the Highlands is always a winner, and Plockton makes for a very attractive setting. In addition to this, the music is brilliant - alternately cheeky and haunting as the story requires.
Earlier this year, I finally purchased the Hamish MacbethDVD Boxset, having thought about it for ages I decided to take the plunge. It only features the shows, no extras, but that's fine - it's the programme I wanted. There is one episode missing, episode 4 of series 1, West Coast Story, which used a lot of excerpts from West Side Story and so there were issues with rights. I thought there might have been a documentary on the appeal of Hamish Macbeth included, as I saw one on TV last year, but there isn't. Still, I have absolutely no complaints about the DVD set - it contains one of the best TV shows ever made, what more could I want ...
A production by Trevor Nunn of Shakespeare's well-loved work, featuring the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
FREMANTLE HOME ENTERTAINMENT; ARVATO SERVICES
Release date
24/05/2004
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
FHED 1776
Barcode
5030697007766
Author
William Shakespeare
Writer
William Shakespeare
Languages
Main Language
English
DVD Description
Trevor Nunn's film of William Shakespeare's tragedy of ambition and witchcraft attempts to recreate his acclaimed 1976 staging of the play. Ian McKellen and Judi Dench play the ambitious pair who murder their way to the Scottish throne. Nunn's film retains the spare, simple look of his stage production, using contemporary costumes and a bare, circular stage to focus attention on the intense imagery of the play's language. The result is an unusual and spellbinding retelling of a classic tale.
![William Shakespeare's Macbeth [1978] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78510876.jpg)
