Polanski's Version Of Lady Macbeth example essay topic

Deemed as one of Shakespeare's most tragic plays, 'MacBeth' ventures deep within the dark side of human nature. What makes Shakespeare's plays successful is that the themes behind them are still relevant in today's society. Two directors, Polanski and Freestone, have tried to recapture the story of MacBeth through the use of film. A comparison between the two separate versions can be found in scenes such the 'killing of King Duncan's scene. While Polanski has decided to truly reflect human nature, Freestone wanted to recapture the general storyline without too much manipulation of the text, but creative visuals.

This comparison reflects the director's interpretation of the play, and their view behind the theme of the play. A more political approach was used in Polanski's version of the play. This is highlighted by King Duncan's crown, which he wore in his sleep. When MacBeth first struck Duncan, a cut away of the crown falling to the ground was used. Not until the death of Duncan did the crown stop spinning. This symbolizes the political decline of King Duncan, and the royal beginning for MacBeth.

The impression of MacBeth's motives in Polanski's version is that he was only killing Duncan for Political reasons. Polanski has deliberately intended this to add an 'only business' attitude to the scene, maintaining realism and human nature. Freestone intentions to recreate the general storyline were clear as he uses religion as opposed to politics. As religion was a big part of society back then, he shows Lady MacBeth wearing a cross, and more importantly, gives King Duncan a God like appearance. It is extremely obvious that Polanski's film contains more gore than freestones film. When Polanski's MacBeth is striking Duncan with the dagger, the penetration of the dagger into Duncan's body is not discrete.

More bloody violence is further emphasized with a close up of the dagger going through Duncan's neck and blood spurting all over MacBeth. The blood in Polanski's film is also more red and thick compared to Freestone's. Instead, Freestone conveys a more physiological violence with the aid of Lady MacBeth's red dress. Furthermore, when Lady MacBeth finishes off Duncan, she seems to have enjoyed killing him as she came out with an insane grin on her face.

Perhaps Polanski has made his version gorier because his past experiences of World War Two influenced his view of reality. The director's view of women is expressed fully by the nature and characterisation of Lady MacBeth. Where Polanski's view of Lady MacBeth is portrayed as being a guide to MacBeth, Freestone version of lady MacBeth is manipulative. Polanski's version of Lady MacBeth is more upset when she finds out MacBeth still has the daggers whereas Freestone's Lady MacBeth is angry and implies that MacBeth is useless.

Polanski's view of women is neutral as he keeps the realism of females and how they were expected to act back in that era. Perhaps Freestone deliberately used Lady MacBeth as a manipulative tool and defied the ideology of women in that era because of his opinion of women today. Lighting has a significant effect in helping to reinforce the aim of both films. As Polanski wanted to integrate realism into his film, natural light such as the fading darkness was used to create a realistic version of Duncan's chamber at the crack of dawn.

Freestone's use of lighting was more unrealistic with a distinct blue glow surrounding MacBeth as he opened Duncan's chamber door. Obviously freestone wished to fully emphasize the significance of the scene, as his only intention was to recreate the storyline effectively. Although viewers may dislike Polanski's version of MacBeth after the murder, they still might empathize with him as he hesitates to kill him, and the fact he might not have killed him if Duncan would not have woken up. The impression is that MacBeth killed Duncan through fear and regrets doing it.

Freestone's MacBeth walks straight in the chamber quickly and wounds Duncan in one angry blow with his dagger. Comparing both scenes, viewers will dislike Freestone's version of MacBeth more than Polanski's human nature driven MacBeth. Freestone probable sees the play as a violent tragedy whereas Polanski probably sees the play as a tragedy upon human nature. It is consistently shown throughout the murder scene and the whole play that Polanski and Freestone's versions indeed reflect the director's own interpretation and views of society. It was found that Polanski's film was more of a Didactic version of MacBeth and Freestone's film was a one dimensional storyline emphasizing MacBeth's decent into evil. While Freestone's 'MacBeth' is an effective recreation of the original play, Polanski's 'MacBeth's e ems to be more successful in upholding the main theme Shakespeare placed upon his play.