Similarity is observed in the number of witches for both films introduced three witches . May be because the number three is usually related to witchcraft . I can see the appearance of the witches strikingly different ; Orsan Welles introduced them as ugly old hags , wore black clothes which draws fear into the heart of the audience.
But in Polanski’s film the witches were more human, they were dressed in rags and looked like poor villagers . Their speech is the only thing that indicate that they are witches , in Roman Polanski’s film the age of the witches differs ; one of them was young and blond, one is a little bit older than the third is so old and has a wrinkled face , they all spoke at the same speed and a steady rhythm. On the contrary Orsan Well’s witches were of the same height , yet each one has her own voice, different from the other which gives them a supernatural look rather than of ordinary people .
Orsan Welles’ witches spoke at various pitches and speeds to create suspense , these speeds were introduced when the witches were forecasting a meeting . the witch said ‘upon the heath’ in a fast way , the witch said ‘when shall we three meet again ‘ in a normal way and the third phrase ‘In thunder , lightning or in rain’ was said in a slow droning way. when the speed of the speech was all the same , slow different pitches were used while mentioning the prophecies . the first prophecy was said in a low voice , the second was mentioned in an even louder voice the gradual increase in the pitches used gives a kind of warning of the future . Here I feel that Orsan’s film is more efficient and terrifying than Polanski’s.
When I examined the voices, words and sounds I could observe many similarities and differences between the two films as mentioned before .Orsan Well’s has combined scene four and while Roman Polanski kept the same division as in the Shakespeare’s arrangement of the play . most of the Shakespeare lines I were kept the same but the following lines were cut by both directors .
“ I come , Graymalkin”
“ Paddock calls anon”
these two lines don’t add to the story development and the vocabulary is unfamiliar to the modern audience . the music played as a background sound was strikingly different in both films ; in Orsan Well’s film a Scottish music was played as an echo of the Scottish spirit whereas Polanski’s film screeching sounds were played as a background music suit the scene .
The tools the witches used to tell the seeds of the future are obviously different in both films . In Orsan Welles’ film witches used a cauldron to cast their spell, flames were set to let the blood bubble in the cauldron then the witches used different instrument , they casted their spell using a both full of blood , the witches held a stick , hand and a dagger .
The element of blood is common in the two films , but the audience feel more terrified when watching Polanski’s film for the colored version had a more frightening appearance than the black and white one . A colored camera shot of blood captures the audience’s attention when the witch pours the blood from the both , this scene creates fear in my heart as an audience and was such a realistic shot , But the black and white appearance in Orsan Welles’ film created a less frightening scene but the blood was dark indicating that it is evil .
I noticed that the two directors had different points of view; Roman Polanski suggested that the witches have only knowledge of the future , they are much more like real people but they have supernatural powers to read the future . But on the other hand Orsan Welles’ witches are actively controlling the events that will happen in the future , they have strange evil spirits.
Roman Polanski’s witches know that Macbeth will kill the king Duncan and shall be the king of Scotland in the future but they are not held responsible for Macbeth’s action so, Roman Polanski believed that Macbeth was responsible for his own actions. In Contrast, In Orsan welles’ film the scene in which the witches mad a voodoo-doll of Macbeth suggesting that Macbeth is a victim of the evil games of the witches. It is also noticed from the way the witches speak if they are involved in situation or not. In Polanski’s film the three prophecies were said in a personal casual way as if they don’t care and they spoke in a gasping voice as if they were having a personal conversation which may seem to the audience that it is a strange way of forecasting the future but actually it isn’t for these witches did not have evil spirits like Orsan welles’ witched who spoke in an echoed voice to create a scary atmosphere.
I, as a modern audience liked Polanski’s film more because it was more realistic; the witches looked like poor villagers their voice wasn’t that weird and wasn’t echoed or droning, they spoke at the same speed. But Oran welles’ witches spoke at various speeds and different pitches of sound, the three prophecies were said in different pitches; their voice gets lower by each prophecy as a warring of the future witch they can predict.
Also the tools used in Polanski’s film emphasizes the idea that his film is more realistic for the witches used a stick, a hand and a dagger; these are all images that we see again later in the film when Macbeth killed king Duncan; this is more realistic and reliable for the modern audience than the cauldron and the blood. This made an echo of the belief of the time when the welles’ film was directed (1948) since witchcraft is a thing that the Elizabethan audience believes in which modern audience sees as unrealistic since nowadays we never believe in witchcraft.
Both films reflect two different views for Macbeth, the hero thought the witches ; one suggested that Macbeth is responsible for his deeds but the other thought he was a victim of the Witches’ evil spirits. Polanski’s film is coloured and creates realistic shots and his Witches are not stereotypes , yet scary while Orsan Welles’ film is melodramatic . I think that Orsan Welles’ film should be played in a theatre because it is not like our real world and the acting style is very old fashioned yet , it is scary and interesting as well as Polanski’s.