Orson Welles’ Macbeth Restored
- Alternative title
- Macbeth (1948)
- Synopsis
- Feature film adaptation of the Welles’s B-movie production. The video and DVDs are fully restored versions of Orson Welles’ MACBETH, based on his Mercury Theatre production.
- Language
- English
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Film
- Technical information
- Black-and-white / Sound
Credits
- Director
- Orson Welles
- Producer
- Orson Welles
- Cinematographer
- John L. Russell
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Music
- Jacques Ibert
- Costume
- Adele Palmer; Fred Ritter; Orson Welles
- Art Direction
- Fred Ritter
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Fiction Films
- Historical period
- Medieval
- Plays
- Macbeth
- Subjects
- Drama; Shakespeare
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
- Related items
- Orson Welles Story, The
Notes
- Notes
- 2003 Second Sight DVD version, with 17 scenes, features ‘Orson Welles’ Ghost Story: Return to Glennascaul’; scene selection; interactive menus. Academy aspect ratio 1.33:1.
Released on DVD and Blu-ray by Carlotta Films (France, 2014) [20.06 Euros +P&P; Blu-Ray 25.07 Euros + P&P] (includes both long and short versions) with removeable subtitles. Extras include: "MACBETH MAUDIT" (25 minutes); A personal lecture on the film by Denis Lavant; LES DEUX "MACBETH" D’ORSON WELLES (27 minutes)
An analysis by Welles expert François Thomas; WELLES ET SHAKESPEARE (14 minutes); An analysis by Welles expert Jean-Pierre Berthomé; . LE CHÂTEAU ET LA LANDE... (14 minutes) An analysis of the film’s design and sets by Jean-Pierre Berthomé, using the sketches and drawings of Orson Welles; LE BRUIT ET LA FUREUR (14 minutes). An interview with Stuart Seide, theatre director.
MACBETH VAUDOU (9 minutes) Preceded with an introduction by François Thomas this shows the only four minutes filmed of ‘Voodoo Macbeth’, staged by Orson Welles in 1936 with Afro-American actors; MACBETH: ENREGISTREMENTS DISCOGRAPHIQUE (78 mn) Directed by Orson Welles in 1940, with the actors of the Mercury Theatre.
The Olive Films version is available on Blu-ray (Region A) and DVD (NTSC region 1). Disc features: New High-Definition digital restoration;
Includes 1948 and 1950 versions; Audio commentary with Welles biographer Joseph McBride; ‘Welles and Shakespeare’ - an interview with Welles scholar Professor Michael Anderegg; ‘Adapting Shakespeare on Film’- a conversation with directors Carlo Carlei (ROMEO & JULIET)) and Billy Morrissette (SCOTLAND, PA); Excerpt from WE WORK AGAIN, a 1937 WPA documentary containing scenes from Welles’ Federal Theatre Project production of Macbeth; ‘That Was Orson Welles’ - an interview with Welles’ close friend and co-author, Peter Bogdanovich; ‘Restoring Macbeth’ - an interview with former UCLA Film & Television Archive Preservation Officer Bob Gitt; ‘Free Republic: The Story of Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures’ ; ‘The Two Macbeths" - an essay by critic Jonathan Rosenbaum. - Textual information
- The original length of the 1948 film was 9,633ft. According to Frank Brady in Citizen Welles’ (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1989) the film Welles originally delivered was cut by nearly half an hour to 107 minutes for release in 1948. Following adverse reactions, particularly to the Scottish accents, Welles largely recorded the soundtrack, the film being cut to 89 minutes and re-released in 1951. It is in this form that the film was most widely reviewed and referred to in most reference sources.
- Reviews
- McKernan, Luke and Olwen Terris. Walking Shadows: Shakespeare in the National Film and Television Archive. London: BFI, 1994 (p.
91-2). - ‘what good there is in the film is there in spite of Shakespeare’.
Production Company
Distributor
- Name
Carlotta Films
- Web
- http://carlottavod.com External site opens in new window
- Phone
- 01 42 24 10 86
- Fax
- 01 42 24 16 78
- Address
- 9 Passage de la Boule Blanche
75012 Paris
France
- Name
Olive Films
- customerservice@olivefilms.com
- Web
- http://www.olivefilms.com/ External site opens in new window
- Fax
- + 1 630 444 1759
- Address
- 707 Colomba Court
Suite 109
Saint Charles, IL
60174
USA
- Name
Second Sight Films Ltd
- info@secondsightfilms.co.uk
- Web
- http://www.secondsightfilms.co.uk External site opens in new window
- Phone
- 020 8977 0553
- Fax
- 020 8977 1470
- Address
- 16 Connaught Road
Teddington
London
TW11 0PS - Notes
- A UK DVD distributor of celebrated classics and cult cinema from around the world, as well as some television titles. Sale via retail outlets.
Distributor (Hire)
- Name
BFI Film Bookings Unit
- bookings.films@bfi.org.uk
- Web
- http://www.bfi.org.uk/about-bfi/help-faq/film-bookings External site opens in new window
- Phone
- 020 7957 8938 / 8935
- Address
- 21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
Distributor (Sale)
- Name
Retail outlets
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Orson Welles’ Macbeth Restored". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/12951 (Accessed 27 Dec 2024)