Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Macbeth Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 21, 2014

Winner of BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design, Roman Polanski's "Macbeth" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; exclusive new documentary featuring interviews with Roman Polanski, producer Andrew Braunsberg, assistant executive producer and former Playboy executive Victor Lowner, and actors Martin Shaw and Francesca Annis; Frank Simon's documentary "Polanski Meets Macbeth" (1971); and more. The release also arrives with a leaflet featuring Terrence Rafferty's essay "Something Wicked". In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The new king

It is a dark, gritty and at times genuinely unsettling adaptation of William Shakespeare’s iconic play -- not exactly the type of film one would have expected to see funded by Hugh Hefner.

The story is legendary. The great swordsman Macbeth (Jon Finch, Frenzy, Death on the Nile) is told by three witches that he will become king of Scotland, and that his companion, Banquo (Martin Shaw, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad), will beget kings. Soon after, Macbeth reveals the prophecy to his lady (Francesca Annis, Dune) and the two kill King Duncan (Nicholas Selby, Mata Hari). After he is crowned, Macbeth secretly eliminates Banquo and his sons to ensure that his authority will remain unquestioned. Then, plagued by guilt, he begins his descent into madness.

Completed three years after director Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family, Macbeth has a dark heart whose beating is exceptionally easy to detect. Indeed, the film instantly draws one into its world and then repeatedly and unapologetically tests one’s tolerance for graphic violence.

Polanski scripted Macbeth with the great drama critic Kenneth Tynan, a man who understood perfectly how to introduce a certain lightness and flexibility to Shakespeare’s text while retaining its integrity. The lightness is especially easy to appreciate during a number of the more intense sequences as it never feels like the actors are reciting their lines.

Virtually all of the main characters in Macbeth are played by young actors, as intended by Polanski. Prior to his film other adaptations of Shakespeare plays were typically made with older, more experienced actors. For his film Polanski wanted a cast that would bring fresh energy and ultimately an entirely new organic atmosphere. When comparing Polanski’s film to other adaptations of Shakespeare’s play – most notably Orson Welles’ Macbeth and Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood -- it is quite clear that this is precisely what Finch, Shaw, Annis, and the rest of their colleagues accomplished.

The film’s most distinctive quality, however, is its visual style. Polanski and cinematographer Gilbert Taylor (Repulsion, Cul-De-Sac) chose spectacular locations in Wales and England which are chiefly responsible for its striking authentic appearance. Shooting there with the actors wasn’t always easy or safe – for example, the atmospheric sequence where Macbeth and Banquo are seen galloping across a very narrow ridge was so risky that even the stunt coordinator was concerned about their safety -- but it is precisely this remarkable attention to detail that makes Macbeth such a special film.

The production designs were created by Wilfred Shingleton (David Lean’s Great Expectations, John Huston’s The African Queen). Anthony Mendleson was responsible for the spectacular costume designs (Robert Hamer’s Kind Hearts and Coronets, Charles Crichton’s The Lavender Hill Mob).

Macbeth Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roman Polanski's Macbeth arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Approved by director Roman Polanski, this new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on an Oxberry wet-gate film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative and a 35mm color reversal internegative. The picture was restored by the Criterion Collection using MTI's DRS for debris, dirt, scratches, splices, and warps and Digital Vision's Phoenix for small dirt, flicker, grain, and noise management. Additional restoration work was performed by MTI in Los Angeles and Sony Colorworks in Culver City, California.

The 3.0 surround soundtrack was restored in 2013 by Deluxe Media/Chace Audio in Burbank, California. An original 35mm 3-track composite LCR magnetic element served as the basis for this restoration. Further restoration work was done by Criterion using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX 3.

Transfer supervisor: Grover Crisp.
Colorist: Sheri Eisenberg/Sony Colorworks, Culver City, CA.
Additional color correction: Gilles Grainer/Technicolor Paris."

The film has a solid and very pleasing organic appearance that makes it exceptionally easy to appreciate Roman Polanski's vision. Despite the fact that large parts of the film are rather dark, depth and clarity are excellent. Color reproduction is outstanding -- there is an excellent range of nuanced browns, blues, grays, greens, and blacks. There are minor contrast fluctuations, but they are part of the film's original cinematography. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Overall image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no debris, scratches, cuts, warps, damage marks, or stains to report in this review. All in all, the high-definition transfer is one of the very best that I have seen this year. Superb work, indeed. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Macbeth Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track opens up the film in all the right places. Depth and especially clarity (during the outdoor sequences) are excellent. Dynamic intensity is also very good, though there are some obvious inherited limitations. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. Finally, there are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

Macbeth Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Toil and Troube: Making Macbeth - in this brand new documentary, director Roman Polanski, producer Andrew Braunsberg, assistant executive producer and former Playboy executive Victor Lowner, and actors Martin Shaw (Banquo) and Francesca Annis (Lady Macbeth) discuss Macbeth's unusual production history, the film's initial poor reception and promotion in the United States, its visual design, etc. The documentary was produced by Criterion in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (61 min, 1080p).

• Polanski Meets Macbeth - presented here is Frank Simon's 1971 documentary film Polanski Meets Macbeth, which chronicles the the making of Macbeth. The film contains numerous clips from archival interviews with cast and crew members as well as raw footage from the shooting of the film. In English, not subtitled. (48 min, 1080p).

• Dick Cavett and Kenneth Tynan - presented here is a very entertaining segment from the May 7, 1971 episode of The Dick Cavett Show, in which coscreenwriter Kenneth Tynan discusses some of the controversy surrounding his musical play Oh! Calcutta! and quickly addresses Roman Polanski's Macbeth. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080i).

• Aquarius: "Two Macbeths" - presented here is a segment from London Weekend Television's Aquarius series, in which director Roman Polanski explains what expired him to film Macbeth, some of the unique qualities of Shakespeare's play (as well as other filmed versions of Shakespeare's plays), etc. British theater director Peter Cow also discusses his "Black" theater production of the famous play. The segment was taped on January 27, 1972, and is moderated by Humphrey Burton. In English, not subtitled. (31 min, 1080i).

• Trailers - original trailers for Macbeth. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - featuring Terrence Rafferty's essay "Something Wicked".

Macbeth Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Roman Polanski's Macbeth remains the most violent and genuinely unsettling adaptation of William Shakespeare's iconic play. Recently restored by Criterion in 4K, the film now looks absolutely spectacular on Blu-ray. As usual, Criterion's release comes with some excellent supplemental features. I particularly enjoyed the exclusive documentary which features new video interviews with Roman Polanski, Martin Shaw and Francesca Annis, amongst others. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.