Macbeth Oper von Rosa von Praunheim

Synopsis
Film director and gay rights activist von Praunheim was given 40 000 Deutsche Mark by the West German public broadcasting station WDR to produce a television opera. Von Praunheim’s operatic take on Macbeth is shot in black and white on location in Berlin, Plymouth, and Cornwall (Stonehenge, Corfe Castle, Menac Theatre). Intense static images are coupled with unusual perspectives and shrill recitals. Lynn French, a secretary from Stratford-upon-Avon, provided the voice-over for Magdalena Montezuma’s Lady Macbeth.
Language
English
Country
Germany
Medium
Television
Transmission details
18 Dec 1971 (Channel: WDR 3)
Duration
43 mins
Availability
No archive copy known (10/2008).

Credits

Director
Rosa von Praunheim
Producer
Josef Anweiler
Writer
Rosa von Praunheim
Editor
Josef Arweiler
Cast
Volker EschkeMacbeth
Magdalena MontezumaLady Macbeth
Josef AdamczewskiMacduff
Berryt BohlenKing Duncan
Rainer KranichRoss

Additional Details

Production type
Operas and Musicals
Plays
Macbeth
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

History
The film was shown on television together with Werner Schroeter’s version of Macbeth (see separate entry). It premiered at the Anthology Cinema, New York on an unknown date in Autumn/Winter 1971.
Reviews
Praunheim on his production: "Macbeth is a fascist film. The cinema hall turns into a concentration camp. The spectator is made familiar with a historically savage structure and becomes violated in a psychological sense. ... For me the film means speech analysis, words without sense and meaning that question any form of tolerance." Translated comment; for original quote in German see Dietrich Kuhlbroth’s article on ‘Macbeth Oper von Rosa von Praunheim’, cited in www.filmzentrale.com/rezis/macbethopervonrosavonpraunheimdk.htm (accessed 10/2008).

Production Company

Name

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Macbeth Oper von Rosa von Praunheim". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av71477 (Accessed 12 Nov 2024)