I will be looking at and comparing two different film interpretations of act 3 scene 4 of Shakespeare's Macbeth. It has been adapted into several cinema and television versions

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GCSE English coursework

In this essay I will be looking at and comparing two different film interpretations of act 3 scene 4 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It has been adapted into several cinema and television versions. The two film versions I will be comparing the version directed by Roman Polanski, which was made in 1969 for the cinema. BBC shorts, directed by David Thacker, made the other. The David Thacker version was made in 1998 for a school pack. The two versions were filmed about thirty years apart. The two different directors have interrupted the Shakespearean text in different ways. So in turn have assorted ideas in how to interpret the text.

In Act 3 Scene 4 Macbeth has ordered the killing of Banquo and his son Fleance. He has done this because the three witches said that Banquos’ children would be a threat to the throne. He is told that Banquo is dead at the banquet celebrating that Macbeth is on the throne but Fleance had escaped.

In the Roman Polanski version of Macbeth he sets it in a stone medieval castle in the Scottish highlands. I think he does this because it is a traditional medieval setting, which Shakespeare used when he wrote the play. Also Polanski could have thought that the text would have lost some of its meaning if it was set in a more recent era. Where as the BBC shorts version is set in a military headquarters. I think that the director David Thacker set it in a military headquarters because it refers back to when Macbeth was a soldier and his military links. The director might have also set it in a military headquarters because its more of a modern day setting which younger people can relate more too. It needs to do this because the BBC version was made for schools. In the Polanski version there was bear baiting, a form of Elizabethan entertainment and most probably the same in medieval times. The bearbaiting shows violence, aggression and killing, which symbolize a theme in the play. Macbeth murdering people close to him to get to the throne and doing this in a very bloody and brutal manner. Alternatively in the BBC version there is no such entertainment. There is much more of a formal atmosphere and closed environment.  The director does this to make the audience think that Macbeth is trying to impress important people at the banquet to secure his position on the throne. The agenda for the banquet is very focused. Polanski’s version has a lot of guests at the banquet to make it a more lively and enjoyable. It gives it a more celebratory mood. Yet the BBC shorts version has fewer guests and is much more intimate than the Polanski version. It gives the banquet hall a sense of intimacy to give the impression that Macbeth wants to close other people out of this event and to get the thought of killing his best friend out of his mind. It is nearly as if he is trying to forget what he has done and concentrating on what he wants to don in the future. The decoration is very basic in the Polanski version. The décor of the hall fits in with the era it is meant to be set in. He does this because he wants to make all the set look authentic and make the experience of the audience more authentic. Similarly Thacker makes his set look genuine as a Military headquarters. The set is very ostentatious and is made to impress. The set has candelabras and pieces of art work on the walls. Although they are similar in that they are made to fit the time it is set in, the BBC version is grander. Macbeth is trying to impress and the Polanski adaptation is very basic and simple. Polanski makes his environment much more open and enjoyable for everyone.

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If I were to direct my own version of Macbeth I would set it in a multi-million corporation in central London. The banquet would be geld in the company boardroom. There would one long table with room to seat twenty people. This would give the scene a sense of intimacy and help build up the tension quicker. The small concentrated number of people would be affected more by what happens more quickly. The decoration would be classy and modern. This would subtlety impress the people at the banquet. To show that Macbeth  can do things well and is not pressured ...

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