1. Read the two existing reviews above and compare/contrast. What things do you agree or disagree with, after having seen the film?
The two film reviews both mention Roman Polanski creating a film unlike any other and Macbeth is described as the most gory of the films. The first review talks about how Roman Polanski portrays Macbeth as a more innocent character than it seems because his thoughts are “shown” or made known when making big decisions such as killing the king. And the second review states how the Charles Manson case influenced Roman Polanski’s directing and how the brutality of the film makes it easier for viewers to overlook the sophistication of the film. For the first film reviewing disagree because in the end Macbeth is not an innocent character because he got a bunch of people murdered who were innocent and didn’t do anything wrong because of his hunger for power. And for the second film I agree with the review because now that I think about it the movie was very well done. I think this because even though the Shakespearean language is hard for me to understand I got what was happening because of the visuals.
2. What kinds of things could the medium of cinema provide that a stage production could not?What are the disadvantages of a film version? Comment on use of costumes, sound/music, lighting, character appearance, and locations / sets.
Medium of cinema and stage production are both very different. One thing that the media of cinema could provide that the stage production could not is the soliloquies and how actors/actresses add their own touch to the acting. In a stage production it might seem kind of weird and hard to tell if the actors would have to transition between thoughts and speaking out loud when the play is live but in the medium of cinema it is completely normal. Disadvantages of the film version could be since the actors are not right in front of you, they are on a screen it might make the audience or viewers feel different vs the stage production where it is right in front of you. As well as acting I think that costumes, sound, lighting, character appearance and the set is all very critical and involve a lot of thought from the directors. Use of lighting could make someone feel happy, sad, scared, or mysterious depending on what it is. The music has a role in this too. For example in horror movies they tend to use the same type of music when something is gonna jump out or give you a a scare. Character appearance sis also very important as well. In Macbeth in the “Out Damned Spot” there are multiple different versions, there is one where Lady Macbeth is whispering, a different on she is screaming, and another one she is just crying.
3. What artistic liberties did Polanski take, as you compare the written play with his version?
One artistic liberty Polanski took in his version was adding scenes to make it more suspenseful or just weird. Examples of the artistic liberty is one of the witches scene. In this scene Polanski made the witches all naked and kind of ugly, most of them were old and wrinkly. This was not specified in the original Macbeth script but Polanski added it. Another example is when a scene was added when the new crowned king, Malcom, went to the same witches that Macbeth went to who told Macbeth his fortune. This was not in the script but Polanski added it anyway
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