Roman Polanski’s Macbeth may be the best film adaptation of a Shakespeare play. And if you're a Game of Thrones fan or even a Monty Python and the Holy Grail fan, you’ll be predisposed to love this, as both owe a great deal to Roman Polanski’s vision. In a way, Shakespeare's plays WERE the Game of Thrones of their time: gory, tragic, and incredibly popular. Shakespeare (who died 399 years ago today) provided mass entertainment, and Polanski’s tour de force honors that spirit.
The casting of young, beautiful actors—instead of the traditionally more mature Macbeths—is just the first of many revelations. In fact, made in 1971, this was both the sexiest and most violent Shakespeare ever seen. The year is significant because it was the first film Polanski made after the murder of his wife, actress Sharon Tate. You can almost feel him working through that unspeakable violence with this brutal interpretation.
Watch it here.
(With thanks to Mollie Goldstein)
