Analysis of the Film Version of Macbeth.

Chris Heyes 11k2

Analysis of the Film Version of Macbeth

I have decided to look at the modern version of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Within this play, I will look at the costumes of the actors, the language and the setting of the play.

The director of this film has decided not to go with the normal stereotypical Macbeth - as in the old style looks like costume and character. He has opted for a much more modern version of the play.

Macbeth and the other men are normally draped in the old fashioned 'figure-hugging' tunics whilst clutching swords for their weapons. In this version though, top class suits have been chosen - black jacket and pants, with an ice white shirt. I believe that this outfit has been chosen to reflect the modern day image. When Macbeth becomes covered in Duncan's blood, the white of the shirt makes it stand out a lot more and makes it seem a lot worse. The blood will stain the white shirt meaning that it will be a memento of the evil he has commited. Macbeth will always see the clearness of the white shirt mixed with the darkness of the blood, red, pictured in his mind. The swords have been exchanged for the more recent handgun. The fact that Macbeth always has a weapon at the ready may suggest that he is willing to kill. The handgun reflects the time the play is set in which has branched from the old times and shows we are now in a much more powerful era. Lady Macbeth is dressed like the modern day woman, making her look beautiful and helping to give an innocent image which is a contrast to her personality with which she creates a powerful hold over Macbeth. The light colours of the dress, help to show her as a good, innocent person compared to the black darkness of Macbeths suit. The witches are dressed in dark colours with hints of white, showing their almost pure evilness over-rules the good within them.

The language has hardly changed from the original script of the play. I think this has been done to contrast the modern day to the olden day. I think it worked out rather from coursework.info well. There are certain parts of these acts in which Macbeth is thinking to himself about things. In some versions of Macbeth, the director decided to go with Macbeth thinking out loud. Not in this one though. Instead, the director opted to go for a voice over whilst Macbeth was thinking. I think that this makes the thoughts seem a lot more personal. There is ...

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Due to the play the era that the play is set in, the settings and props are obviously much more modern. Most of it is contained within a huge warehouse compared to the old castles. This is showing that we have this kind of ordeal everyday with our maffia type gangs and not just within the royal ranks. Everyone tries to battle to achieve power and status and there is a continual loop of things like this within our society. The witches are now huddled round an oil drum, bursting with flames instead of the now dated log fire. In all the scenes with the witches, the only colour was the flames. This drew attention to the fire and caused it to stand out. The darkness of the witches and Macbeth shows that they are evil and are likely to side withe the more sinister crowd. Dark colours are often related to harmful things and the fact that Macbeth is always in dark settings could be saying that he is a person who is not afraid to harm people that may get in his way, i.e, Duncan. I also believe that the witches are set in a dark places because witches are supernatural beings and supernatural beings are generally portrayed as being bad. This could be why they are always black and grey as are there surroundings.

I believe that Shakespeare himself would have indeed enjoyed this version of Macbeth. I certainly did and thought that all features came together well to produce a well formed portrayall of the evil and sinister man, Macbeth.