Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Macbeth

haha, i remember i did William Shakespeare's Macbeth at O levels and i loved it.
When asked which of Will's work i like best, i can safely say Macbeth has it all. (i loved The Tempest when i did it at A levels as well.... hard to decide)
Plot intrigue, murder, betrayal... alot of the quotes i can still remember!

Anyway, i just watched Geoffrey Wright's 2006 version of Macbeth on dvd. It was filmed in Melbourne and released in September last year. Typical replacement of swords with guns, like in Baz Lurhmann's R&J, but the lines are said exactly as in the text and... no surprise, in Australian accent! It features King Duncan as a mega crime boss and Macbeth as a loyal drug dealing henchman. Well, it follows the original in every sense of the plot as Macbeth takes the leadership of the gang by murdering Duncan and maintaining his power with his tyrannical but self-destructive rule. I particularly like the portrayal of Lady Macbeth in this version. And we all know she becomes a raving lunatic at the end, and her acting is really good! (actress' name is Victoria Hill, she was co-producing the show with Wright)

okay, my favourite quotes from the play!!

"There's no art
To find the mind's construction in the face" 1.4

"I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself,
And falls on the other. " 1.7

"Out, damned spot! out, I say! All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. " 5.1

And my Favourit-est! (there's a line in The Tempest which echoes this as well!)

"Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing" 5.5

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

woweee I love macbeth too, one of my fav texts as well. The version you saw sounds cool. I'd love to see it on stage again tho. -Lou

Anonymous said...

oh wait. So in what form did the witches take in the movie?-Lou

Mishi said...

HAHa, forgot to mention that! altho i found it most appalling. They are 3 young girls- and beautiful ones. First scene they're dressed like school girls. The scene where they tell Macbeth that Banquo's son will sit on the throne... they wear.. haha nothing. And i also forgot to mention, this show has quite alot of nudity. not for little ones. haha. but interesting how the director chose pretty things to portray witches. Almost a wolf in sheep's skin thing.