This version is one of the best I've ever seen, filmed in a wonderful setting and well-acted, with Finch taking Macbeth from a likeable, reasonable human being to a seething, greedy creature goaded by his avaricious wife. Together, they plan and commit murder most foul. However, as the Moon and the Sun and the Truth will eventually reappear from the clouds, so will end Macbeth's treachery.

Shakespeare's play as a violent fever dream. This concept for "MacBeth" has been tried a few times but only Polanski seems to have pulled it off, likely because he cast professionals who didn't need direction on the language, leaving him to focus on the imagery.

To be honest I'm always bored by Shakespeare adaptations, and this is not an exception, but this is among the most decent and pure adaptation.

Shakespeare's play as a violent fever dream. This concept for "MacBeth" has been tried a few times but only Polanski seems to have pulled it off, likely because he cast professionals who didn't need direction on the language, leaving him to focus on the imagery.

The perfect rendition of MacBeth! From breathtaking Scottish landscapes to realistic renaissance battles this movie has everything anyone could ask for. I was most impressed with its historical background, actors and easy to follow Shakespearean dialogue. Legends, Myths and Pagan superstition were depicted extremely accurately. The 3 Fates also known as the Maiden, Mother and Crone reminded me the way Witches were described in my childhood fairy tales. Each Characters role was portrayed strong enough to captivate the audience with dazzling enchantments. No detail was spared during combat scenes or withheld any shocking aspects of ruthlessness. The never-ending conquest for power, Greed and ultimately the throne has never been retold quite as well as Roman Polanski's version of MacBeth. This is a true Masterpiece classic!

This is a wonderful adaptation of a timeless tragedy that so many other filmmakers have fumbled. The portrayals from the unknown actors are engaging, the sets look like actual lived-in locations and the score is fittingly modern and unsettling.

Not gonna lie, it's weird as fuck, but so DAMN effective. That final battle is pure bliss.

Macbeth: This uneven work from Polanski is rather dull and tedious and does not capture the magic of it’s source material.

Best adaptation of Macbeth I have seen

William Shakespeare play filmed by nearly as legendary in filmmaking terms Roman Polanski from 1971. Called The Tragedy of Macbeth in some territories the film has a dark tone and explores Macbeth's mental demons. What better director at the time. Polanski reeling from the 1969 murder of his wife Sharon Tate Polanski by the Manson family. Perhaps Roman Polanski was projecting some of his own angst in the tormented character of Macbeth? The location's (of which there were many) include several sites in Northumberland and Wales and are photographed to full effect. Macbeth is one of my favourite Bard plays and Polanski does a good version which has stood the test of time. Features some trademark Polanski quirks including some scenes of nudity and a beheading at the end. Indeed the film was financed by Playboy. The cast is very British including the late stage actor John Finch as Macbeth, Martin Shaw as Banquo and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth. Look out for a very young Keith Chegwin as Fleance, the son of Banquo. All hail Macbeth!

Polanski channeled his personal grief for this dark violent and erotic take on "The Scottish Play". It holds it's own compared to Wells' version and my favorite Kurosawa's " Throne of Blood".

im not much of a shakespeare lover, but i was very impressed by this picture

This movie is shit for a macbeth movie im not seeing alot of macbeth and the witches are described has horrible beings but in the movie they are regular joes. the audio sounds like they are on a sound stage an d for a movie they do a lot of telling and alot of showing i wouldnt recomend it to everyone i would give it a macpass 10/10

Already this looks beautiful. The locations, the characters, the attention to detail. It all looks amazing. The violins throughout the movie give it a wonderfully eerie and creepy tone. Makes you feel uneasy. Woah, wait a minute, Hugh Hefner was executive producer? What?! That's insane lol! Hold up, did Polanski just do one whole take between the three witches and the battle on the beach during the opening credits? Incredible, impressive, brilliant. It's amazing the attention to detail that Polanski gives to his films. It really felt like I was there, like I'd been transported to Medieval Scotland. You can tell that this movie was a dream, a vision imagined into real life. Even the landscape and nature shots are gorgeous. The soundtrack really heightens the sense of eeriness and dread. Reminding you that what you are witnessing is a nightmare unfolding right before your very eyes. Macbeth's greed and ambition for power and position will be the death of him, as well as his envy and pride. I already see it happening. The shared greed and ambition for power his wife has isn't helping either, nor is the witches prophecy. It's crazy because his wife seems to be more vile, more evil even going as far as to manipulate Macbeth. One would even say she's more power-hungry and ruthless than him. One could also argue that the witches foresight is like some sort of divine sign. Almost as if God were telling you your path into the future. And with no sign of religion present in the world, one would seek to make this prophecy come true, especially if it pertains to you becoming king. But in the end, the witches were not sent from God, instead, perhaps Satan. They manipulated and twisted Macbeth's thoughts and therefore they're evil. I think it's hilarious how the characters speak in this movie. As if people really spoke this way back in the days, all fancy in riddles, monologues and poetry. This is simply Shakespeare's dialogue making its way into the movie. I will say, I do wish they had used more modern dialogue. Its so bizarre to see Macbeth and Lady Macbeth hatch their assassination plan of the king amidst all their guests as if no one were there listening lol. You can see just how vile and corrupt Lady Macbeth is. She's leading her husband down a dark and dangerous path that's going to get them both killed. Really cool to see where Game of Thrones might've gotten inspiration for the Red Wedding scene where the musicians are on the balcony soaked in shadow. Twas also wonderful seeing the inspiration from Kurosawa with how Lady Macbeth glides through the hallway as if she were floating just like in ‘Throne of Blood'. Her willingness to conspire with Macbeth is quite jarring, but it makes for a fascinating plot and character study. You can see the sort of crazy glint in her eye. She wants power just as much as he does, if not more. It's crazy how Macbeth's guilt caught up to him when he saw Banquo's ghostly corpse haunting him during the dinner feast. Seems like that witches brew had some potent stuff in it lol, acting as some sort of hallucinogenic and psychedelic experience for Macbeth to see into the future. My god, that scene with Macduff's dead children and the soldiers raping the women was so dark and haunting. That was quite the striking imagery when the trees began to move towards the castle with the sun setting in the background. An unforgettable image. That's crazy how everyone fled the castle instead of staying to protect Macbeth. When worst came to worst, everyone abandoned Macbeth, no one stood by his side. I guess that was to be expected since he was an unruly king and only achieved the crown through despicable and unforgivably heinous acts of sin. Macbeth's death is so shocking and sudden, it's definitely the most violent one of them all. It's interesting, if you look at this movie from a realistic standpoint, Macbeth truly is ill in the head. The man talks to himself out loud via poetic monologues, and the crazy thing is that no one bats an eye to this. No one ever questions it or his sanity lol. I wonder if people are just like, "Oh that's just Macbeth being Macbeth" lol. So the lessons learned were: 1. Don't be blindly ambitious and overreach. 2. Be careful of envy, greed, pride, power and crazy wives. 3. Keep your mental health in check and 4. Be wary of witches and their prophecies lol. A truly remarkable and unforgettable film. One of the best Macbeth adaptations ever filmed, right next to Kurosawa's ‘Throne of Blood'. This is by far one of the most grittiest, darkest, creepiest, atmospheric and beautiful Medieval movies ever made. Roman really went all out with this one, he definitely paid no expense. The cinematography is exquisite. There's so much beauty to explore in the world, regardless of its dreary and dark tone. The Criterion remastering makes everything look incredible. The colors, the textures, the lighting, the ambiance. Everything. The locations Polanski used are perfection. I mean, they couldn't have found better castles and landscapes to shoot the movie on. Drenched and rich in ambiance and atmosphere. The only problem I have with this movie is its dialogue. I feel like this is the only aspect of the movie where it could have benefitted from if it wasn't so loyal to the original screenplay. It's very Shakespearean with a lot of poetic monologues and old-timey Medieval dialogue, which will turn a lot of people off, but I say give it a chance. Watch it with subtitles, it'll help lol. It's also worth mentioning that the performances and delivery of dialogue was top tier. Overall, an incredible and striking film. It's a must-watch in my opinion, especially if you like Medieval movies and Shakespeare adaptations.

No me convenció está versión de Macbeth, hay partes interesantes pero muchas otras muy aburridas y lentas, donde los actores no me parecieron lo suficientemente convincentes

An incredible rendition of Shakespeare's classic, there are many ways to adapt Macbeth to the screen, but Roman Polanski takes an incredibly original, psychologically challenging approach and it results in a greatly entertaining, supremely intelligent, and masterfully crafted work of cinema.

Polanski captures one of the most fascinating aspects of Shakespeare's play, its grittiness. There's none of the pomp or spectacle that Shakespeare's adaptations usually rely on. Instead, the film strips the play down to its stark and ruthless core, and succeeds because of it.

Bela e delirante adaptação feita por Roman Polanski.

Definitely surpassed my expectations.

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