Ken's+Outline

Comparing 1971, 2006 McBeth, and the Text ….?
 * Outline**

Introduction Differences in technology to emphasize the themes Blood and Violence – Melee Weapons and Guns, Darkness and Weather – Rain, Mist, Supernatural – Illusions and Magic of the witches

Body Shakespeare Text – During Shakespeare’s time there wasn’t enough technology to change the lighting of the play. Shakespeare uses a lot of descriptions in his play to show how scenes are suppose to appear. Stage directions were written in words and it requires more imagination for audience to understand what the characters are doing. Blood was shown in red cloth (from Shakespeare in Love).

2006 Version – Movies are able to be made during day and night, most scenes appear to be at the right time. Weathers are shown clearly as they are supposed to be described in words. Guns were used as weapons. Special affects are introduced. Only Macbeth knew about the first prophecy in the beginning.

Success and Failure In the 1971 version, the most successful part of the movie was that they keep the original text. Most scenes are very straight forwards where descriptions of the scenes are shown. Added Scene – people fleeing before McDuff’s army reach the Macbeth castle and the ending where the story might be repeated.

2006 Version, they tried to include the original text in the speeches. Story lines were kept the same and also were interpreted in a modern style. Most people like the way a play is kept as they are, overused of technology led to some failures. Fleance reappeared and killed a nurse… Lines are in narrative form, where it is spoken in the background instead of the character saying it Birnam Wood lol.

Conclusion I like the 1971 version more and reasons (Original text kept and clothing).


 * So we are comparing the two movies with the original text?**


 * The Tragedy of Macbeth**

//Macbeth// is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. It is also known as the shortest Shakespeare’s play. //Macbeth// was one of the most famous plays from the Elizabethans period. Several movie directors converted this play into a movie. Roman Polanski version of //Macbeth// was created in 1971. Polanski’s //Macbeth// used every line from the original text, but several parts were added to the movie in order to connect the scenes. A modern version of //Macbeth// was produced in 2006 by Geoffrey Wright. This modern version changed many scenes, but the director tried to keep the plot stabilized. Due to the development of technology scenes of violence, supernatural forces, and environment were interpreted in different ways. Changes are not always beneficial.

During Shakespeare’s time there wasn’t enough technology to change the lighting of the play. Shakespeare uses a lot of descriptions in his plays to show how scenes are suppose to appear. Stage directions were written in words and it requires more imagination for audience to understand what the characters are doing. “**Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?”** is a line from //Macbeth// that tries to emphasize Macbeth’s feeling after the murder of Duncan. This line is saying he’ll never forget about the murder even if he tries to. **"** **If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow and which will not"** is a line that tries to show the use of super natural power. In this scene, the witches power were to able to foresee the future so Banquo asked about his and Macbeth's future. The result of the prophecy was that Macbeth will become king, however Banquo's son will be much greater than Macbeth. **"****Fleance his son, that keeps him company, Whose absence is no less material to me Than is his father's, must embrace the fate Of that dark hour"** this line occur during the order of Macbeth towards the two murderers. It shows the bloody personality of Macbeth who feared that he'll lose his throne. T hese types of description had been shown throughout Shakespeare’s play.

In 1971, Roman Polanski, a movie director, made //Macbeth// into a movie. In Polanski’s movie, the original text was used throughout the whole movie and also many parts of the play were preserved in his movie. The movie began with the three witches standing in a mist while foreseeing the future of Macbeth and his friend, Banquo. Polanski added few scenes to the movie. For instance, the murder of Duncan was a scene of violence which wasn’t shown in the play. In this scene, the guards were tranquillized and Macbeth was supposed to murder Duncan while he is asleep. In the movie, Macbeth went to the King’s chamber and stabbed him several times with a dagger. After the king is dead, Macbeth quickly fled away in horror. The play only showed Macbeth running off the stage and return back after few seconds (This assume that Macbeth has slain the king). One of the things movie can provide is the weather. Rain and thunder are used often in this play to emphasize horror. Even today, thunder and rain are symbols of an evil personality. Polanski also changes the ending by having the Malcolm went to the witches’ cave and leaving an ambiguous ending while the play ended after Malcolm became king. These are several changes that were made in Polanski’s //Macbeth.//

Geoffrey Wright made another movie version of //Macbeth// in 2006. This version shows the modern interpretation of //Macbeth.// Geoffrey tries to keep most of the original text in the movie, while using the developed technology in many scenes. The movie started with a three witches creating curse in a graveyard filled with mist. The fighting of Macbeth against Norwegian was changed into a gang fight. Instead of using melee weapons, the characters used guns. Macbeth finally won the fight and was promoted by Duncan, the gang leader. The interesting part of movie was about the prophecy. In this version only Macbeth knew the prophecy instead of having both Macbeth and Banquo knew. The murder of Duncan was also shown in this version. Lady Macbeth poisoned the guard with a sleeping pill and Macbeth went in to Duncan's room with two daggers. Macbeth violently stabbed Duncan to death. Later on, Macbeth became the gang leader. The death of Banquo in the original play was during horse riding, but this scene in the movie happened while Banquo and Fleance were riding motorbike. Cars were another type of vehicle that replaced horses in this 2006 version. By using the camera's angle, Geoffrey was able to show that Macbeth was frightened. Banquo's illusion at the dinner was where this technique was used. The funniest part of this movie was the Birnam Wood traveling to Dunsinaine. In this version a log was carried by a truck filled with McDuff's people. The ending then was changed by having the reappearance of Fleance. This kid showed up and shot the nurse in terror while watching the Macbeth died on the bed. One of the differences in this version was about the talking. Some scenes were like a narrative form where the description came from the background instead of having a person talking. This might be because they wanted to shorten the movie. Overall, I think that this version did not do very well.

I like the 1971 version of //Macbeth// by Roman Polanski because he kept all of the original text in the movie. He added some scenes throughout the movie in order to show what he thinks happen between certain scenes. Clothing and setting were another details that Polanski took care off. The use of clothing and setting made the movie looked like it took place during the Elizabethan period. The ending of //Macbeth// had the prince road to the witches' cave was not a bad idea. I think he tried to show that everything will be repeated in the future. I think these are some successful technique from Polanski's version. I think that the modern interpretation of //Macbeth// didn't look very well because of the overused to technology. Even though director Geoffrey tried to keep the original plot, but his idea about changing a war into a gang fight didn't fit very well. However, the special effects that were use to show weather, witches' power, and the time of the day were great. Ninety percent of the movie were taken at night. The changes that Geoffrey made were not very critical. It didn't really attracts the audience, but rather destroyed the play itself. Both version did very well on the sound effects and music. The technology of sound help change them mood play. These are some reasons why I like the 1971 version more than the 2006 version. The greatness of technology depends on how you use it.