Joel Coen’s first solo effort without his brother, Ethan, stars Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. The Tragedy of Macbeth is in theaters now and will be available on Apple TV on January 14. Frances McDormand wanted the Coen Brothers to make The Tragedy of Macbeth for years and finally wore Joel Coen down.
Patti Abbott rightly points out that Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are too old for the roles they play in this film. But Joel Coen’s skill in producing this compelling black & white version of The Tragedy of Macbeth despite some of the obvious limitations is a marvel to watch.
I’ve seen more versions of Macbeth than any other Shakespeare play. The first was in an English class in High School where I first read Macbeth and we acted out parts of it. In college, I was required to take a Shakespeare class and once again, Macbeth was on the syllabus along with Hamlet and King Lear. My Professor, Michael McCandless, was a brilliant Shakespearean scholar who would read portions of the plays to us with his wonderful tenor voice.
And then there’s the movie versions I’ve seen over the years:
- Macbeth (US and UK, 1971)
- Roman Polanski, director
- Jon Finch as Macbeth
- Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth
- Macbeth (TV, UK, 1979) – film of the Royal Shakespeare Company‘s Other Place production.
- Trevor Nunn, director
- Ian McKellen as Macbeth
- Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth
- Macbeth (UK, 1981)
- Arthur Allan Seidelman, director
- Jeremy Brett as Macbeth
- Piper Laurie as Lady Macbeth
- Macbeth (TV, UK, 2010) – television adaptation of Royal Shakespeare Company’s stage production.
- Rupert Goold, director
- Patrick Stewart as Macbeth
- Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth
- Macbeth (UK, 2015)
- Justin Kurzel, director
- Michael Fassbender as Macbeth
- Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth
What do you think of The Tragedy of Macbeth? Do you have a favorite performance? I would rank this Coen version very high. Check out the trailer below. GRADE: A-
Haven’t seen this yet, but want to. My favorite film version of Macbeth is the Roman Polanski but then I haven’t seen many of the others.
Steve, I’m a fan of the Polanski MACBETH, too. But the other MACBETHs I’ve seen all have their strengths…and flaws.
Welles’ film, from Republic fascinates me, but the finest MacBeth I ever saw was Sean Connery in a BBC TV production. Connery plays the Thane-turned-King as warlike, virile, and a bit stupid.
Dan, I’ll have to seek out that Sean Connery BBC TV production. Playing Macbeth as warlike, virile, and a bit stupid sounds ideal!
Polanski’s version is the one I remember best. It had some rather bloody images which, given it was filmed not long after the Manson murders, people couldn’t help associating with the deaths of Sharon Tate and others. But let’s not forget “Joe MacBeth,” a movie from 1955, with Paul Douglas as the titular gangster and Ruth Roman as his relentless harpy of a wife. Fascinating more for what it was trying to do than for what it accomplished—and very much of its 1950s era in its presentation of a beautiful, ambitious woman.
Deb, I’ll have to find “Joe MacBeth” and give it a look. I did see a version of Barbara Garson’s MACBIRD! back in the late 1960s.
Deb, my all-time favorite Ruth Roman movie is the classic camp DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977), an ecological (right!) thriller, where the depletion of the ozone layer affects people’s minds, and makes big game hunter Leslie Nielsen go bat-sh!t crazy. He abuses poor Ruth before he decided to “take” what he wants – and what he wants is teenager Beth. But before he can have his way with her, he gets eaten by a grizzly. So, the message is, Global Warming kills!
Try to watch the Riff-Trax version. Hilarious!
Yeah, I remember the Polanski version too, but also JOE MACBETH that Deb mentioned. No Appe TV here so no viewing.
The last show we saw in 2019 before the pandemic hit was off-Broadway, with Patti Abbott, and it was .a musical adaptation of the 2001 “updating” of the MacBeth story, SCOTLAND PA. THe movie starred James LeGros, Maura Tierney, and Christopher Walken. It was set in 1975 Pennsylvania, as the title suggests. The musical version was certainly watchable, if not terribly memorable.
But MACBETH has never been a favorite of mine, to be honest. It’s no HAMLET.
Jeff, my favorite part of MACBETH is the witches!
I’ve only seen the Polanski version, and that was long ago, and this looks interesting. Eventually I’ll give in and get APPLE + even though I already have five streamers with more stuff I want to watch than I’ll ever get to. At least football will be over soon, and that’ll free up a lot of time.
Michael, congratulations to Georgia for defeating Nick Sabin and Alabama! I admire what Saban has accomplished over the years, but I’m not a fan of dynasties.
Although my daughter pointed out to me that wasn’t it interesting to see how an older couple would deal with disappointment. I’ve seen a lot of versions too. This one was elegantly made. Kudos to Coen and the art direction. My last play too, Jeff and I really enjoyed it. Horribly, I missed the first ten minutes so will have to catch it again on Apple. Apple is worth getting if only for FOR ALL MANKIND and TED LASSO.
Patti, I totally agree with you on the age factor. Coen’s version both elegant and artistic. But I had many students who refused to watch ANYTHING in black & white!
For Christmas, my brother’s son-in-law gave him a “gift certificate” that said he’d sit and watch one of the awful black-&-white movies that my brother watches all the time. After running through several choices, Randy decided to go easy on hm and watch North by Northwest. He did not like it. Not enough action, too much sexual innuendo, the quick jump from Mount Rushmore to the train “robbed” him of a good ending.
Jeff, my father bought the first color TV on our street. All the neighborhood kids (including some adults) were fascinated by the color. Of course, back in the early 1960s, most of the TV programs were still black & white, but NBC started broadcasting series like BONANZA in color. Since then, color TV and movies are the Norm and some of my students disdained anything not in color and Panavision!
Jackie’s mother was like George’s father, the first with a color TV. (My father was waiting until it was “perfected.”) Given the choice, I’d take a good black & white movie over color any day. Some of the old movies filmed on the streets of New York in black & white are amazing to watch. Jackie prefers color, of course.
The mind fills in the blanks. Before the advent of videos/streaming/on-demand—when years might pass between movie viewings—there were people who were convinced they’d seen bright red blood run down the drain in PSYCHO. They were stunned when they saw it again—in black-and-white.
Though the Cohens could be wildly inconsistent with their work and the two leads don’t do much for me I’ll probably give this a shot if it ever trickles down to my local library. Macbeth has always been my favorite of the Bard’s work while Kurosawa’s “Throne of Blood” is my favorite take. I also find Welles’s poverty row version pretty compelling. Like you, George, I have a thing for the witches.
I’ll never understand the aversion to B&W. I’ve always preferred it, especially for the richer tones and shadows. Of course I spent a good chunk of my childhood watching in front of a portable B&W set we kept on the kitchen counter so my sensitivity was primed early on. Color cinematography has never done much for me although I do admit a soft spot for the look of color films from the middle to late sixties which is when I think the film stock, processing and lenses were all at their peak.
Byron, I’ll watch anything with a witch in it!
I’ve only seen the Polanski version of Macbeth – and of course all the other Polanski movies too.
Imho the black&white movies left more to your imagination – o course if you don’t have much of that a coloured 3D movie will be beter for you …
Totally OT:
The Smithsonian Institute has an article of David Bowie and his influence on Science Fiction – really interesting!
I have a subscription to their newsletter, really good!
Wolf, I’ll check out the Bowie-SF connection. Thanks for the heads up!
Denzel is a good actor but a black Scot stretches my credulity!
Go Georgia! The only reason they won is because I quit watching the game at the end of the third quarter! Accolades accepted!
Most of the best movies ever made were in black & white! People who refuse to watch them are danged fools!
Bob, I can’t explain why my students preferred color movies to black & white. They are a generation that grew up with color TV and color movies and seem to think black & white is old fashioned.
So…how was your big game last night, between the two best college football teams in the nation? I saw that Georgia won.
Rick, I went to bed early and didn’t watch the game at all. I hear the first half was boring, but the second half was exciting! I was rooting for Georgia.
I’m hoping to talk Tom into watching this with me, but it’s probably a long shot!
Angela, I think Tom would be intrigued by Danzel and Frances. The black & white film is astonishing!