The first film discussed is Macbeth (Justin Kurzel, 2015), focusing on scenes One to Six of Act One. The film opens differently to the text, with a funeral. Macbeth’s carrying out of a ritual and the long resting of his hand on the body indicates that he and Lady Macbeth (who is crying) have had a child who has died. The ‘desert place’ (1.1) is interpreted as a quiet, windy landscape of mountains. The lighting is natural of a heavily overcast, dark day. In the play however, Shakespeare introduces the witches with ‘thunder and lightning’ (1.1). This creative choice sets a moody and less dramatic tone than in the text, presenting the world which Macbeth inhabits as bleak. The noticeable quiet, with the exception of slow orchestral strings, also makes the cut to witches more eerie than menacing, emphasising their characters as supernatural.
The witches themselves, unlike the play, appear with a young girl and a baby. It may be that this is the dead Macbeth child, therefore implying that they play a role in death and showing them as inhuman. They stand apart and continuously face forward as they speak; this abnormal positioning of the witches makes them appear to be in a trance, further emphasising that they are magical. They wear dark and formless robes and their faces, along with the girl’s, are scarred with patterns. This alludes to some form of forgotten Celtic religious practices that may be part of their apparent magical abilities.
In terms of language used in the first scene, the lines are almost verbatim with a few key exceptions. Firstly, the line ‘Third Witch: That will be ere the set of sun’ (1.1.5) is not present in the film. Such a choice allows the opening lines to form two rhyming couplets, in place of a couplet and a triplet used in the original. As a chant, this change in structure simplifies the rhyming into equal parts and therefore sounds more familiar to the ear. However, as the nature of the scene is unsettling, Shakespeare’s use of a triplet here feels unexpected by the listener and sounds more disconcerting as a result. In place of ‘Second witch: Upon the heath’ (1.1.7), the witch says ‘battlefield’ in the film which is explained by their appearance again in the next scene. The ‘graymalkin’ (a cat) is not present; instead the director concludes the scene with a cut to black and a decisive drumbeat in the score. This precedes a short text explanation of Macbeth’s situation which travels up the screen, which the creators have placed in blood red copy (a colour motif throughout the film) on a black background.
The creators’ choice to depict the battle on-screen demonstrates the reality of the conflict that the characters face. Firstly, the army have no armour except for a few wearing leather. Secondly, the majority of the soldier cast are very young men. Thirdly, the soldiers bind their swords to their hands – an allusion to dying with your weapon in hand in pop-culture. Fassbender’s Macbeth shows no remorse in killing many enemies on the field, reinforcing his character as a killer. This foreshadows the further violence to come (the murder of the King). On the other hand, the film places an additional character, a boy soldier, into focus. He dies in front of Macbeth, who subsequently appears particularly upset upon seeing his corpse after battle and then later personally buries him. This shows a more sensitive or perhaps battle-traumatised side of the character that is not explored in Shakespeare’s play. The account by the Sergeant to Duncan is performed as narration to the action of the battle, which cuts between Duncan’s tent and Macbeth on the field. The action then remains in the tent as Duncan calls for the execution of the Thane of Cawdor and Macbeth to be his replacement. Unlike in the play, the witches are also present at the battle and continuously watch Macbeth. They appear on the edge of the battlefield, and are ignored as if no one can see them. This furthers the feeling of tension in the lead up to Macdonwald’s death as the witches appear to be unfazed by the violence of the battle, suggesting they are more interested in the outcome. Following the battle, they are then present to approach Macbeth and Banquo from thick fog to deliver their prophecies. The obstruction of visibility, combined with the corpses on the field here, causes the witches to appear ghost-like. This once more brings into question if they are in fact human, or a truly supernatural presence.
Neither the palace at Forres, nor Macbeth’s castle are visited until after Duncan’s murder in this interpretation of the play. Instead, the setting remains at the camp and the surrounding wilderness. This change of environment from the text places the action in a less civilised setting, implying that the law and order associated with city walls is less prevalent outside. The Macbeths are able to speak freely about their plot from the safety of the chapel house without the risk of discovery. It also provides Macbeth with an easier opportunity to carry out the murder, in the barely lit camp as opposed to the corridors and chambers of a castle. The original announcement that the Thane of Cawdor has been executed: ‘They are not yet come back. But I have spoke / With one that saw him die’ (1.4.3-4)is replaced by a shot of archers aiming at a figure and Macbeth then delivering a severed head to Duncan, who then pronounces him as the new Thane. In another key change from Shakespeare’s text, Duncan names Malcom as The Prince of Cumberland after the Macbeths have conceived their plot against him. This crucial moment in the play acts as an inciting reason for Macbeth’s treachery as it represents another obstacle to his aim for the throne. Instead, the creators’ choice here pushes the witches’ prophecy into the fore, as the main reason for Macbeth to carry out the murder. This constructs an even more power hungry and fickle character than Shakespeare’s. It is solely upon the cryptic promise of the witches, that he and his wife are willing to sacrifice their way of life for greater power.
The second film discussed is Hamlet (Gregory Doran, 2009), a TV play starring David Tennant as the titular role. Act One opens with a shot of Francisco in a trench coat and beanie, with an old-fashioned rifle, filmed from the implied perspective of a CCTV camera. Bernardo enters in a trench coat and officer’s hat, carrying an electric lantern. The creators depict the ‘platform before the castle’ as an unlit redbrick corridor, with light coming through windows. The creators’ use of varied historical-cultural references here and throughout the film suggests that this interpretation is set in an alternative past, where elements of different periods are intertwined. The exchange between Bernardo and Francisco is verbatim to Shakespeare’s play, with the exception of cutting the line ‘If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, / The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.’ (1.1.12-13) In omitting this introduction, the director instils surprise, making Francisco jump to attack when the two new characters enter. This choice furthers the tense atmosphere of the scene, with the guards on edge following the sightings of a ghost. When the ghost appears, the creators focus in on the characters’ horrified reactions by using a first-person camera shot from the passing ghost’s perspective. This creative choice, also delaying the on-screen appearance of the ghost, intensifies the anticipation for when it does first enter the frame. Another important use of camera by the director is the repeat of the CCTV perspective later in the scene. This time however, the ghost appears in front of the characters as they follow it but when cutting back to the CCTV only the human characters can be seen reacting to the invisible ghost.
To portray a family resemblance, Patrick Stewart takes on the roles of both Old Hamlet and his brother Claudius, differentiated by the large ‘…sable silver’d’ (1.2.239) beard and pale makeup the ghost wears. In terms of wardrobe for Old Hamlet, his armour consists of a breastplate and a kettle-helmet with the visor or ‘beaver’ (1.2.228) open to show his face. The creators have given some credence to the source material but have diverged from Shakespeare’s ‘top to toe’ (1.2.225) description. The creators have also chosen to give him a long cloak which dehumanises the actor’s silhouette and thereby adds to Old Hamlet’s spectral appearance.
The mis en scene of Scene Two appears to be a party environment, set in a palace. It begins with a close up of Claudius in white-tie and a tailcoat, calling for attention with the tap of his wine glass. The camera gradually zooms out as he remains centre frame. Guards with regal armour stand between pillars in the background either side of him. The director positions Claudius here to strongly highlight him as the focal point, both for the viewer and the characters. Queen Gertrude stands beside him wearing a formal evening gown. Behind him stands Polonius in robes and a livery collar, suggesting that he is a mayor. Various other party guests and servants appear in the shot as Claudius paces. Exquisite candle holders and chandeliers encircle the gathering. At the line ‘In equal scale weighing delight and dole, — / Taken to wife’ (1.2.13-14), as the party applaud, Gertrude turns and the camera then cuts to a dinner-suited Hamlet in a corner of the room. He grimaces, openly displaying his disapproval of his mother’s marriage to his uncle. Shakespeare’s ambassador Cornelius has been changed by the creators to a female role, Cornelia. This reflects a more modern social climate, with a woman in place of a man in a position of political power. Claudius’ speech is near identical to Shakespeare with a few exceptions. The creators have removed select single lines such as ‘Colleagued with the dream of his advantage’ (1.2.21). The lines before: ‘Or thinking by our late dear brother’s death / Our state to be disjoint and out of frame’ (1.2.19-20) already provide adequate explanation of Fortinbras’ position. Removing lines such as this improves the pacing of the long scene as it shortens Claudius’ 39 line speech. To a similar end, the creators have altered lines 29-33 (1.2) from the play to be more succinct. For example, they have omitted ‘Who, impotent and bed-rid, scarcely hears / Of this his nephew’s purpose…’ (1.2.29-30) which removes the extraneous description of the uncle to focus instead upon the Fortinbras situation.
In line with the play as written, following Claudius’ speech and dispatch of his ambassadors to Fortinbras, he then turns to address Laertes. Although Laertes has been present in the scene up until this point, the director has positioned him in the background, outside of camera focus. Suddenly, as Claudius calls his name, the camera cuts to Laertes in a full focus close-up shot. His face expresses surprise, indicating both his hesitation at asking for leave and his lack of preparedness to be directly addressed. Laertes proceeds to deliver his request but the director has positioned Polonius in the background who appears to be mouthing Leartes’ lines along with him. The next shot confirms this with a close-up of Polonius prompting Laertes, revealing that the request was planned between them in advance. The creators further highlight Polonius’ character as meddling by having him subtly interject with the phrase ‘And bow’ before his son utters it, originally solely uttered by Laertes, reminding him of its importance in their agreed speech.
Hamlet’s first line in both the film and the play is ‘A little more than kin, and less than kind’ (1.2.66). However, where Shakespeare directs this as an aside, in the film Hamlet utters the line directly to the other characters. This creative change positions Hamlet as less reserved and more explicit in his dislike of Claudius than in the original. Throughout this interaction up until line 97 (1.2) Hamlet avoids all eye contact with his uncle. This serves to illustrate his discomfort in trusting Claudius with any emotion his eyes might show. Tennant gradually raises his voice at the line “Seems, madam! nay it is; I know not ‘seems.’” (1.2.78) which lends insight into his passion about his late father being mentioned in court.
Bibliography
Shakespeare, William, Macbeth, Shakespeare Online. <http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbethscenes.html> [7 December, 2014]
Mabillard, Amanda, Macbeth Glossary, Shakespeare Online. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/macbethglossary/macbeth1_1/macbethglos_graymalkin.html [5 December, 2019]
Shakespeare, William, Hamlet, Shakespeare Online. <http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamletscenes.html> [16 December, 2019]
Filmography
Macbeth, dir. by Justin Kurzel (Studio Canal, 2015) [on DVD]Hamlet, dir. by Gregory Doran (BBC, 2 Entertain, 2009) [on DVD]
Jamie Warren Portfolio 
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