Voodoo Macbeth
- Synopsis
- Feature film. Fictionalised telling of the true story of the 1936 Orson Welles production of Macbeth in Harlem with an all-Black cast, the action relocated to the 19th century in a country reminiscent of Haiti.
- Language
- English
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Film
- Technical information
- Colour / Sound
- Year of release
- 2021
- Duration
- 108 mins
Credits
- Director
- Agazi Desta; Christopher Beaton; Dagmawi Abebe; Ernesto Sandoval; Hannah Bang; Roy Arwas; Sabina Vajraca; Tiffany Kontoyiannis; Victor Alonso-Berbel; Zoe Salnave
- Producer
- John Watson (2)
- Cinematographer
- Bash Achkar
- Music
- Jongnic Bontemps
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Fiction Films
- Plays
- Macbeth
- Subjects
- Drama; Shakespeare
Notes
- Notes
- Made with a grant from Warner Bros, this ambitious student film from the USC School of Cinematic Arts was co-directed by ten people.
- General
- The film includes a number of fictional elements and historical inaccuracies. The lead actor, Jack Carter, is shown being replaced during rehearsals but he in fact starred in the production in Harlem throughout; the actor Canada Lee is not mentioned and replaced by a fictionalised version named ‘Cuba Johnson’; the film focuses on the role played by actor Rose McClendon, founder of the Negro People’s Theatre, and suggests she was present throughout the entire production when in fact, due to serious health issues, she had to curtail her involvement from late 1935, several months before the play opened.
- History
- Released in the US on Blu-ray in January 2023.
- Reviews
- Reviewed by Ray Kelly on 2 March 2021 on the Wellesnet website: https://www.wellesnet.com/voodoo-macbeth-review/
Production Company
Distributor (Sale)
- Name
Lightyear Video
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Voodoo Macbeth". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av79375 (Accessed 26 Nov 2024)