Macbeth

Production

Columbia Pictures and Playboy Productions co-released Macbeth in October 1971. Roman Polanski co-wrote the screenplay with the British critic Kenneth Tynan, condensing Shakespeare’s text. The film was shot in Wales and Northumberland with Jon Finch and Francesca Annis in the leading roles.

Story

After defeating the Norwegians, the Scottish thane Macbeth meets three witches on a heath who proclaim he will be king. Spurred by his wife, he murders King Duncan, claims the throne, and descends into paranoia, ordering further killings to suppress his guilt and the threat of usurpation.

Reception

Polanski’s Macbeth was made shortly after the murder of his wife Sharon Tate, and the film’s bleak violence was widely read in light of that loss. It received the National Board of Review’s Best Director honor and remains one of the most discussed screen adaptations of the play.