Macbeth
- Alternative title
- Tragedy of Macbeth
- Synopsis
- Feature film. Haunting and unsparing in the realism, Polanski’s unique and pessimistic vision confronts both the dark comic elements and terror of the play’s violence. Jon Finch and Francesca Annis are the Macbeths.
- Language
- English
- Country
- Great Britain
- Medium
- Film
- Technical information
- Colour / Sound
- Year of release
- 1971
- Duration
- 140 mins; 12,639 feet
Credits
- Director
- Roman Polanski
- Producer
- Andrew Braunsberg
- Cinematographer
- Gilbert Taylor
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Screenplay
- Kenneth Tynan; Roman Polanski
- Music
- Third Ear Band
- Costume
- Anthony Mendelson
- Art Direction
- Fred Carter
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Fiction Films
- Historical period
- Medieval
- Plays
- Macbeth
- Subjects
- Drama; Shakespeare
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Polanski, Roman
- Related items
- Macbeth / Hamlet
- Polanski Meets Shakespeare
- Power and Corruption
Notes
- Notes
- Budget $2.5, c60% came from the executive producer Hugh Hefner.
The Criterion Blu-Ray edition (2016, UK Region B) features extras, including: ‘Toil and Trouble: Making Macbeth,' a new documentary featuring interviews with Polanski, producer Andrew Braunsberg, assistant executive producer Victor Lownes, and actors Francesca Annis and Martin Shaw; ‘Polanski Meets Macbeth’, a 1971 documentary by Frank Simon featuring rare footage of the film’s cast and crew at work; Interview with co-screenwriter Kenneth Tynan from a 1971 episode of The Dick Cavett Show; ‘Two Macbeths,' a segment from a 1972 episode of the British television series Aquarius featuring Polanski and theatre director Peter Coe. Also includes an essay by critic Terrence Rafferty - General
- Filmed on location in Snowdonia National Park and at Bamburgh Castle and Lindisfarne Castle.
- History
- Released on Blu-ray as part of Criterion Collection 2016.
- Awards
- BAFTA Film Award 1973 - Best Costume Design
- Reviews
- Interview with Polanski on the making of the film, and his reactions to its critics, in Playboy (December 1971), pp. 33-5.
The Folger Shakespeare Library holds a photocopy of a screenplay (copy made 28 February 1972).
Production Company
- Name
Caliban Films
Distributor
- Name
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Web
- http://www.sonypictures.co.uk/ External site opens in new window
Distributor (Sale)
- Name
Retail outlets
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Macbeth". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/12952 (Accessed 12 Nov 2024)