Macbeth

This low-budget, highly stylized 1948 adaptation of Shakespeare's classic play was the last film that Orson Welles directed in Hollywood for 10 years. Working entirely with minimalist studio sets, Welles cast himself in the lead, playing Macbeth as a brutish, brooding medieval soldier in a barbarous Scots culture comprised of tribal kings in a harsh, barren world. While taking an unconventional approach to classic works is commonplace today, it was unheard of in 1940s Hollywood. Welles cast theater veterans (including Jeanette Nolan as Lady Macbeth and Dan O'Herlihy as Macduff), dressing them in heavy costumes of animal pelts and dark robes. The overall result is an almost primordial reading of the material—with the witches representing pagan forces of a pre-Christian world—but at the same time tuned to a post–World War II recognition of the tyranny that can arise from overly ambitious leaders, as it follows Macbeth's bloody path to power. Poorly received in the U.S. but praised in Europe for its boldness and invention, the film's reputation has grown over the years. While it won't help lazy students skip the original—Welles edited the text to fit his interpretation—this remains one of the most dynamic screen interpretations of Macbeth. Edited down and dubbed over for its theatrical release, this is the complete 107-minute version with the original soundtrack, restored in 1980 by UCLA and presented here with a handsome black-and-white remastering. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—Nov. 29, 2016—Olive, 2 discs, 107 min., not rated, DVD: $34.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1948's Macbeth features a fine transfer and a DTS-HD mono soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include both the 1948 and 1950 versions of the film, audio commentary with Orson Welles biographer Joseph McBride, a “Welles and Shakespeare” interview with Welles expert Michael Anderegg (12 min.), a “That Was Orson Welles” interview with friend and co-author Peter Bogdanovich (10 min.), production featurettes on “Restoring Macbeth” with former UCLA Film & Television Preservation Archive Officer Robert Gitt (9 min.) and “Adapting Shakespeare on Film” (9 min.), an excerpt from the 1937 WPA documentary We Work Again (7 min.), “Free Republic: Herbert J. Yates and the Story of Republic Pictures” (7 min.), and the text essay “Orson Welles's Macbeth” by critic Jonathan Rosenbaum. Bottom line: a handsome edition of this classic Shakespeare adaptation by Welles.]