Friday, May 14, 2010

Orson Welles Macbeth (1948)

I chose the totally creepy Orson Welles 1948 retelling of Macbeth due to it's slightly camp nature and creative use of fog. I wasn't aware that Orson Welles had made a version of the play, and I have to say it's pretty , ahem, different. It looks like Mr. Wells just too artistic liberty with it and cranked up the fog machine to create a creepy atmosphere, yet it looks like it could be set in any weird northern land. Does he mean for it to be set in Scotland as it should? Another clue that Mr.Wells might not have a clear direction with this film is that the costumes look more Viking meets Lady Gaga meets the future. I'll give it to him that the portrayal of the witches are as spot on as I would have imagined them, but then he goes and speaks in an American accent. So I'm not sure what to make of this clip in terms of the clear vision of the director, but I did find it interesting.

Questions
-Did Wells mean to not have his actors speak in Scottish accents to create an air of uncertainty? Like this kind of prophecy and situation could happen in any country?

-What do you think Wells intended by having the witches be disguised in the shadows the whole time they were speaking the prophecy?

-If the film was meant to be set in a more Scandanavian location, how would that change the meaning of the play?


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