A Comparison of two Macbeth films Essays

A Comparison of two Macbeth films Essays A Comparison of two Macbeth films Essay A Comparison of two Macbeth films Essay but whereas Nunns version doesnt hook the audience, Polanskis does from the very beginning. His film starts with the titles in white against a black background, this is quickly replaced by a landscape shot of a beach at sunrise which has been sped up. At this time the soundtrack is completely silent. The clouds and sand are tinged with red, this gives the impression of violence and blood shed. The only sound at this point is the eerie cries of seagulls, they sound as if they have been put through a synthesizer, this gives an extra edge to the atmosphere. Nunns soundtrack at the beginning of the film is heavy organ music this is quite clever because people normally think of vampire films when they think of organ music, so when the camera focuses on the witches it magnifies their evilness. When the camera focuses on Duncan the organ music serves to emphasize his holiness and goodness. This is a very smart idea because by doing this he very effectively implying the battle between good and evil. After Polanskis shot of the sunrise the camera then focuses in mid shot on the three witches, one of the older witches eyes seemed to have been taken out of their sockets. They then start performing a ritual which involves burying objects in the sand. These objects include a hangmans noose, a freshly severed hand and forearm, so fresh it is still pliable. To an audience of that time it would have been shocking and grotesque. Once the ritual is over the witches then turn their backs on the camera and walk slowly along the beach into the distance. The process of getting the witches from the foreground into the distance has been cut short because of clever editing, so they reach the end of the beach in a matter of seconds. By doing this he avoids Nunns mistake, he avoids boring the audience. As the witches reach the horizon they are engulfed by fog which is also tinged red. Nunn approaches the three witches in a different way, you see the witches in mid shot, two of the older witches are supporting the younger one and they lower her gently to the ground, she is groaning and screaming, the other two are staring intently in the direction of her lap as if she is about to give birth. After a while the camera turns to a close up of Duncan, his hands are joined together in prayer. He is dressed more like a holy man or priest than a king, his robe is of a cream colour in contrast to the witches costumes which are completely black. A very bright light is shining behind his head which makes his hair seem even whiter and makes him appear saint-like. As the camera cuts between Duncan in prayer and the witches, the witches groans get louder and louder and eventually drowns out Duncans prayers, this gives the impression that evil will win over good, this also shows very effectively that the film is about the battle between good and evil. As the witches screams reach a deafening climax they are stopped by a loud clap of thunder, the young witch stops screaming, this gives the impression that she has finished giving birth, and she has given birth to evil. As the witches are engulfed by fog in Polanskis version, for a second the soundtrack goes completely silent, and it is only now that Polanski uses the fog to project the titles of the film. A few seconds later the sounds of battle replace the silent soundtrack you can hear the sounds of a general shouting charge!, the neighing of horses and the galloping of their hooves, weapons clashing against other weapons or shields and men crying in agony from their wounds. Once the titles had finished the fog clears to reveal a wide angle shot of a battle field, you can see soldiers looting corpses. A soldier walks up to what appears to be a dead enemy, he checks for signs of life by kicking his leg, when the corpse moves the soldier swings the mase he is carrying with full force repeatedly into the soldier lying on the floor. This level of violence is shocking, and is quite unnecessary, but makes excellent entertainment for the audience. At a closer inspection of the battle field you can see that it is the same beach as where we met the witches, by doing this Polanski avoids the expense of switching locations by tricking the audience into thinking the setting has changed by just changing the soundtrack. One of the main features that a start of a film needs is to hook the audience and keep their eyes magnetized to the screen. Another thing that needs to be achieved is to introduce the characters and themes well. While Trevor Nunn has cleverly introduced the themes of kingship and power, he fails to accomplish the most important purpose of the start of a film, hooking the viewer. In contrast Polanski has gone out of his way to shock, sicken and revolt his audience with images of violence, thereby making it more realistic, this in affect does hook the audience. The differing approach of each director is due to their different situations, the production values of each director was very different. Trevor Nunn had been paid up front and did not have to make his film popular or have it approved to a wide audience, he could afford to make his priority to faithfully represent Shakespeares original script. Polanskis situation was the exact opposite he had sunk and invested every single penny he owned and had also taken out massive bank loans to make Macbeth. In order for him to pay back the money the film had to be be on general release and had to be very popular. Having made his film popular he had to make sure it remained so. He did this very effectively because he treated everyone to a very enjoyable time and a fantastic cinematic experience, with a film that has stood the test of time, whereas in my opinion Nunns has not.