Jul 25, 2008

William Shakespeare | Macbeth (1948)

When Citizen Kane was released in 1941, Orson Welles was hailed as the new wunderkind, a title previously held by Irving Thalberg in the past, and more recently, Steven Spielberg. Welles set the standard for innovative angle shots, deep focus, non-linear narrative, and tone setting. Welles, however, determined to follow his own path, and among his Shakespeare efforts, he staged a production of Macbeth that became known as the 'voodoo' Macbeth since it was set in the Caribbean. It was to this dark and foreboding atmosphere that film owes much of its own atmosphere and ideas. The film opens with a clay image that could be interpreted many ways, but as the film progresses, the audience realises that it is a symbol of Macbeth's deepening involvement with the witches. Welles' Scottish king (played with a Scottish accent), is visually a man of 'vaulting ambition', and his 'fiend-like queen', Jeanette Nolan, is a politically astute wife. Her descent into madness is entirely understandable, as her husband grows more and more distant. The murder of Duncan is like a vision from a horror film, and as the story moves from Macbeth's crowning to his defeat, the images draw both sympathy and abhorrence from the spectator. What are both a success and a drawback to the film is that its darkness and foreboding are unrelenting: there is no relief in the bleak landscape. The recent restoration of 18 minutes does not change the oppressive tone. And it is this uncomfortable feeling the film engenders in the audience that permits them to understand and internalise the madness of absolute power. Welles knows his Shakespeare, and is willing to trust the text to support his filmic ideas, especially in his portrayal of the witches, truly 'evil hags'. - J.R. Costa

Cast: Macbeth: Orson Welles; Lady Macbeth: Jeanette Nolan; Macduff: Dan O'Herlihy; Malcolm: Roddy McDowall; Banquo: Edgar Barrier; A Holy Father: Alan Napier; Duncan: Erskine Sanford; Ross: John Dierkes; Lennox: Keene Curtis; Lady Macduff/Witch: Peggy Webber; Siward: Lionel Braham; Young Siward: Archie Heuglly; Fleance: Jerry Farber; Macduff Child: Christopher Welles; Doctor: Morgan Farley; First Gentlewoman/Witch: Lurene Tuttle; First Murderer/Witch: Brainerd Duffield; 2nd Murderer: William Alland; Seyton: George Chirello; The Porter: Gus Schilling.

Director: Orson Welles; Writers: William Shakespeare (Orson Welles uncredited);Producers: Charles K. Feldman, Orson Welles, Richard Wilson; Production Companies: Literary Classics Productions, Mercury Productions, Republic Pictures Corporation.

Black and white. Runtime 107 mins. restored version; 89 mins. Original.