perhaps the BEST movie I have ever seen

andrfenlon

This movie cemented Polanski as my favorite director. It sickens me that some of the other people who reviewed it called it the worst movie they had ever seen. GET A LIFE! WATCH SOME SITCOMS OR SOMETHING! DO WHATEVER YOU FLAKES DO, JUST DON'T WRITE ANYMORE COMMENTS FOR IMDb! Macbeth is an incredibly dark and violent play. In the beginning of the play, MacBeth is a noble warrior and by the end of it he is a psychotic serial killer. Polanski's interpretation is dark, chilling and frightening--as it should be. Polanski's violence is IN NO WAY GRATUITOUS; it's realistic. Polanski has done Shakespeare a great honor by making a script that was made for the stage seem so unillusory. MacBeth's character is no longer something foreign and detached from us, he is real and plausible. The ties Polanski makes throughout the film to Charles Manson and the Sharon Tate murder are undeniably poignant. Through learning about MacBeth, one can easily develop ideas as to what could drive someone to murder. Also, Polanski has unique interpretations of some of the scenes in the play. For this reason, it is even better watch Polanski's film while reading the play simultaneously. *SPOILER WARNING* Early on in the film, MacDuff asks MacBeth where the witches had disappeared off to. (This is right after one of the witches delivers the prophecy that he will be king.) In the play, MacBeth answers MacDuff by saying that they vanished into the air. This is usually interpreted by directors to mean that MacBeth didn't see where they had gone off to. In the Polanski movie, Macbeth DOES see where they went and subsequently lies to MacDuff. This is the first time Macbeth lies in the movie. Oh how I love this movie so...and the amazing soundtrack by the Third Ear Band.

score 10/10

andrfenlon 1 April 2001

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0117952/