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In this essay I shall be comparing two, media versions of Macbeth one was made for a television audience, another for a cinema audience. The original version of the text was for the stage, and these two media could not have been dreant of by Shakespeare. As Kenneth Branagh says There are so many different ways to match images with words. This four hundred year old play, you could approach it as if it were a completely new script. This statement could explain why there are so many new adaptations of Shakespeares plays, and why they change so much from the original Roman Polanskis version (171) of the play doesnt change too much as it is for a cinema audience, and the people viewing it would have payed and would have been expecting a more conventional, unchanged Macbeth because they made a deliberate choice to view it. On the other hand people watching Macbeth on the Estate may not have wanted, or intended to see a Shakespeare film and may not normally opt to watch Shakespeare. Both versions are made with this in mind, and adapt the play accordingly. The Polanski version opens with a long establishing shot, giving the viewer an idea of the settings. It is set on a beach, which is deserted and lifeless. The soundtrack plays a distorted string instrument with a regular piano note as an accompaniment, making for a very unusual effect, as it is played alongside a speeded up sequence of the beach using time lapse photography. A single seagull flying across the sky signifies the change back into realtime, it sqawks as the nondiagetic sound fades. Traditionally the cry of seagulls have been associated with the cry of lost souls and this has probably been chosen for that reason. In Macbeth on the Estate the beginning is similarly bleak. The first shot is a long shot of a scrap heap, the colours of the landscape are dull and depressing with lots of browns and greys. The colours in the Polanski version are stronger, and probably more significant; red stains the settings at the beginning, using a filter on the camera, signifying blood. This pre-empts what actually happens in the play. This colour rapidly changes from red to white and eventually to blue.
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At this point the diagetic sound of a human cough is heard, preparing the audience for the arrival of the witches. A similar technique is used in Macbeth on the Estate as MacDuff comes into view the crunching of gravel can be heard making the audience aware of his presence. In the Polanski version, its not a human that appears first on the screen. A long twig comes in diagonally from the right, with a distorted unnatural sound. The twig is used by the witches to draw a circle in the sand as they appear on screen. They appear to be frail, and dressed in rags that are colourless. Their faces are made to look ugly, and throughout the whole sequence they never smile once. It is made clear that they are witches, whereas in the Woolcock version, the characters are identified with freeze frames during the fight, freezing an aggresive expressions. It is also a quick and effective way for the audience to be made aware of the characters as they may not be as familiar with the text as a cinema audience. After the establishing shot in the Polanski version it becomes a high angle shot of the witches. Throughout this sequence there is a minimal amout of cuts, in stark contrast to Macbeth on the Estate which cuts frequently, making for a more dramatic introduction. The cuts are used with quick repla from essaybank.co.uk ys to give more of an impact to the fighting, which I believe works very well. The cuts are appropriate because it adds to the excitement, along with the fast non-diagetic sound track. There is very little diagetic sound in this part and there is no dialogue. In the fight sequence the lottery is on the television, suggesting things like what MacBeth is doing is a game of chance, luck and ultimately based on greed. During the fight sequence, the camera cuts to Duncan in a social club. Hes sitting at the bar, and directly behind him is a gambling machine, bringing in the greed issue again. The machine has a light, and for a moment the lights are arranged so that it is almost like a crown over his head. As the witches perform their ritual, their voices make it seem like they have done this many times before, as they are out of time and weary. The speech in Macbeth on the Estate s introduction is a lot of different, almost radical. In the past, Shakespeare has been seen as exclusive for middle class whites. By placing a black actor with a Carribean accent, a gold tooth wearing casual clothes, in the first shot it breaks down these stereotypes of conventional Shakespeare and, in the words of Al Pacino, gets their (the audience) guard down so that they are receptive to Shakespeare. MacDuffs soliloquy is made up of original text, but isnt actually directly from the text. He says it although the events had already took place and it is made to seem like a flashback, and the sequence is shot as an extreme closeup on his face. The closeups in the Polanski version arent as long, and this makes for a different effect and it focuses more on their expressions rather than speech. This is because images can often take the place of words, and be just as effective, if not more so. The Polanski version is very successful in creating an atmosphere of the eerie and supernatural. It achieves this by using different techniques, like the filters mentioned earlier. An interesting technique is used towards the end as the witches leave the scene. They appear to be walking slowly but moving very far, hovering through the fog and filthy air. This is done by slowly bringing the focus out on the camera, making for an extremely uncanny effect. The silhouettes of the witches then become the letters for the title, this graphic suggests the thematic link between the witches and MacBeth. The two versions are very different mainly because of the media that they have been designed for and also because of the time at which the films were made. Macbeth on the Estate raises issues about bringing Shakespeare to different audiences. Some people would say that Shakespeare should be left untouched. Others welcome the changes, as does actor Sir Ian McKellen If an audience enjoys it, it will be Shakespeare that they are enjoying. Changes to the text are done with varying success. I think Macbeth on the Estate would have been better if the language would have been updated, as the Shakesperian language doesnt seem to fit with the modern characters. The Polanski version is a more typical approach to adaptation, and is well edited and presented for a film of its period. However I do prefer the Woolcock version because I believe Shakespeare should be accessible to everybody and eventually original Shakespeare will die out if it is not updated to suit modern tastesTurmoil and disarray are two words that sum up the state of Macbeth's mind. Supernaturally confused by the witches intervention his senses start to conflict with each other.Two key scenes show Macbeth's disillusion compared with his sturdy and solid mental capacity at the start of the play. In the beginning Macbeth was a man in control, a leader of a victorious army and a loyal subject of his King, Duncan. Shakespeare portrays his character as a confident man who is scared of nothing. He addresses the witches as an assured man. Jack Gold and his BBC production of Macbeth show the "Thane of Glamis" joking and making fun of the witches with Banquo. There is little doubt that Shakespeare intended the hallucinations and nightmares that followed to have been as a direct result of the witches actions. In Shakespeare's time it was common for nightmares to be called "night-hag" or "the riding of the witch". It was Shakespeare's intent for these illusions to be pivotal illustrations of Macbeth's crumbling state of mind. This was in turn recognised by Jack Gold who re-presented these scenes vividly in his production. The first significant scene of Macbeth's stumble from mental stability is the famous Dagger scene. Act Scene 1. Whilst reading the play I interpreted this scene to show the dagger receding towards Duncan's room with Macbeth in a transfixed motion of sleepwalking, "moving without his volition." Shakespeare anticipated this scene to show the confliction of Macbeth's senses. Shakespeare's directional intentions are adhered to by Gold with the addition of his own interpretations. In the BBC version the camera recedes away from Macbeth who has his right hand out reached towards the dagger, Gold intends the camera to be the murderous weapon. A strong light shines on Macbeth's head possibly in accordance with line "Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain. " His face is stressed and his movement is minimal concentrating the audience's focus on his words. He is crouched with his with his arm extended towards the dagger, "As this which I now draw." The dagger is initiated as the main prop showing that he is in fact going to commit regicide, that the decision has been made and that he is powerless to stop it. Shakespeare intends Macbeth's eyes to be deluded and, "his other senses are true". The bright light against the background in Gold's production resembles an old interrogation technique that plays the senses against each other in order for the person to confess. This is one of the techniques used by Gold who obviously appreciates Shakespeare's intentions. Scene 's conclusion is Macbeth's journey down the castle's steps that seems to exemplify his walk into the claustrophobic pits of madness from which there will be no ret from essaybank.co.uk urn. "The deed is done!" and Macbeth returns to the waiting Lady Macbeth in Act II Scene after his transgression of regicide. From the onset of this scene we can see the once fierce fighting machine of Macbeth, who could kill a thousand men and not be moved, visibly shaken by his cold actions. Gold's use of a cold castle without any props symbolises Macbeth's feelings of guilt and hatred towards himself. The eye immediately notices his hands, a mean colour of blood red in a fixed state around the daggers. He becomes fixated with his imagined cry of, "Macbeth shall sleep no more," that he is unable to acknowledge or answer Lady Macbeth's questions. This taunt, which he heard three times, echoed the initial witches greetings, suggesting that yet again their intervention was wreaking havoc with his mind.His spasmodic shaking arrests attention, and the spasm that is a movement of which the brain has no control is allegorical of Macbeth's life. Lady Macbeth struggles to free the daggers from her husband's grip, a symbol of the inversion of power in their relationship. This is reinstated moments later when Lady Macbeth cannot physically encourage her traumatically paralysed husband to move. "The murder takes place off-stage. The sight of Duncan being killed would have alienated our sympathy from Macbeth." By this we realise that Shakespeare intended the audience to have sympathy for this ill man. In this scene Gold fails to interpret and reconstruct Shakespeare's sympathy. He is shown to have a cold remorse for the death of Duncan. Likewise he fails to attract attention to the tension in this scene between the spouses. In Shakespeare's version the strange sounds off stage alternate with the tense silences. This part of the scene shows the first signs of rift in their marriage. Through these two scenes studied my feelings on Jack Gold's success of interpreting Macbeth's mind are indifferent. The dagger scene was exceptionally well directed with the use of few props creating various dividends. It was transparent to the audience that Macbeth's mind was in a state of flux. However his interpretation of the second scene directly after the murder, which was detrimental to Macbeth's state of mind through out the rest of the play, compared with my own interpretation and the intention of Shakespeare leaves a lot to be desired. His efforts do not communicate Shakespeare's wishes and thus he fails to interpret this scene. This failure does not comply with the rest of the play, as his direction on a low scale budget proves successful in the other scenes of Macbeth's diminishing state of mind such as Macbeth's illusion of Banquo's ghost Please note that this sample paper on Macbeth: Media comparison is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Macbeth: Media comparison, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on Macbeth: Media comparison will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
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