What are your thoughts on the 2010 film version of Macbeth? Comment on the change in setting, the portrayals of characters, additional scenes and omitted ones, and etc.
11 Comments
Rachel Coyne
3/23/2016 09:10:18 am
I thought the movie was incredibly creepy and way too long. All in all, it seemed pretty close to the play, however I was disappointed in the scenes with the weird sisters because I thought Hecate should have been included as well as the apparitions. I also thought that Ross was much more present in the movie.
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Ethan DeWitt
3/23/2016 09:15:22 am
I was not a fan of the movie. While the adaptation of Macbeth in a modern setting is interesting, I didn't find it to be effective, and I would have likely enjoyed the movie more if it had taken place in the 11th century, where the entire story is more plausible. I also felt as if the performances were far too dramatic even for one of Shakespeare's works. An example of this is Macbeth's scream upon seeing Banquo's ghost. What is that? There was no taking that scene seriously. The worst part of the film were the Weird Sisters, though; I cannot express how much I dislike the direction of them.
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Jacob Rielly
3/23/2016 09:26:08 am
Though I thought, in some ways, the film adapted to the modern setting well, I agree 100% that the film would have been far more successful if the setting was placed back in the era it was written for. The witches were well changed and the events were more relatable, but aspects such as the whole entire play taking place in the same building took away from the play a lot. The actors were did also take a weird approach on lines and scenes.
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Bailey Manor
3/27/2016 04:42:03 pm
I agree with you, Isaac. I truly believe that the movie would have been much more enjoyable if it would have taken place in the 11th century. I feel as if the modern twist to it made the movie lose meaning. I think the goal of the producer was to make the film more relatable to viewers, but it was very unrealistic for the time period that the play took place in.
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3/23/2016 09:18:36 am
I thought that the 2010 film of Macbeth was trash. I felt like the play taking place in the time of WWII was strange, and it was harder to believe that some of the events took place. I was not a fan of the whole bunker with an elevator shaft thing where it looked like all of Scotland was in the same underground vault. The witches were creepy as to be expected, and one of the two good things about the movie was the witch's rap number. The other good thing about the film was Macbeth's scream when he saw Banquo's ghost. I felt that Macbeth was too old and not masculine enough, but Lady Macbeth was spot on to what I imagined. But overall I thought the movie was garbage.
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Isaac Esanbock
3/23/2016 09:25:37 am
I disagree with your views on the change in setting. I enjoyed the fresh take, and seeing how certain aspects were portrayed in WWII era. While it did make some events hard to believe, I don't think it took away from the its strengths. I also feel all of the actors fit well with their roles.
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Jenn Hayes
3/23/2016 09:19:23 am
The movie was not at all how I expected it to be. I was unaware of the change in setting that the scenes were in. I was thinking it would be very medieval not set in War World II with Stalin taking over Russia. I think it took away from the underlying story a bit. The characters had the same parts and had the same importance as in the play. I was confused in some scenes especially with the witches but I do not know how the movie directors could have made it better.
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Rachel Franzen
3/26/2016 10:15:46 am
I only saw the first day of the movie, but I still was not a huge fan of it. It was really disturbing and a little more gruesome than I expected. With what Jenn said in her post, I thought that the setting of the play was in Medieval times, but the setting in the movie was in World War II. Although I thought the witches being the nurses was super creepy, I thought it added a lot to them as characters, comparing them to just being the three witches in the play.
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Becky Fesenmaier
3/30/2016 06:02:38 pm
Like many other people, I wasn't a fan of the movie either, but at the same time I really didn't hate it either. I really disliked the length and how drawn out the movie was. I also really disliked Lady Macbeth but I'm not sure if it was because of who played her role or if the actress just did a really good job at playing the part. I think she just portrayed Lady Macbeth's psychotic, crazy character so well that I couldn't handle it. I also like many others disliked the weird sister. I understand that they were trying to make it more modern and creepy but I thought it was a little over done maybe. So I guess that really ends up leaving me with mixed emotions about the film. I really hated it but really enjoyed seeing the story put into a movie. I think it would be interesting to see other film versions of Macbeth.
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Jacqueline Dieckman
4/1/2016 04:57:16 pm
I did not like the movie, but there was a few things that made it okay. In the beginning, I didn't even understand that the movie had started because I was confused that they had it take place during World War II. Along with that, there was way too much blood for me. I get that blood was a major part in the movie but it grossed me out to look at it. Some of the things in the movie that were okay were the characters. For the most part, the actors were pretty accurate and represented the characters well; especially Lady Macbeth. Another thing that I did like about the movie was that while I couldn't really understand the language that they used, I could get what was going on by the context of the play. Overall, not the best movie though.
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Jack Hannack
4/4/2016 08:23:48 am
Similar to many people in class, I was not a fan of this film. I applaud the effort to make the movie more modern by making the setting be during World War II. However, I did not think this time period or setting fit the storyline. I thought it made it harder to follow along and the Shakespearian language did not seem to fit. Although the witches being nurses was creative, I wish the movie would have portrayed their change in countenance. One character I really appreciated was Ross. I was happy to see him play a larger role in the film. Banquo and Macbeth's relationship was disappointing though. They are supposed to be best friends but I did not get that feeling at all. The hate and despise between them is supposed to grow throughout the film. However, the pair seemed to not get along right from the start. Overall, I was disappointed with this version of Macbeth.
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