Macbeth | |
---|---|
Directed by | John Emerson |
Written by | John Emerson (scenario) Anita Loos (intertitles) |
Story by | William Shakespeare |
Based on | Macbeth (play) |
Produced by | D. W. Griffith |
Starring | Herbert Beerbohm Tree Constance Collier |
Cinematography | Victor Fleming George W. Hill |
Distributed by | Triangle Film Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 8 reels (~7500 feet) |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent film (English intertitles) |
Macbeth is a silent, black-and-white 1916 film adaptation of the William Shakespeare play Macbeth . [1] It was directed by John Emerson, assisted by Erich von Stroheim, and produced by D. W. Griffith, with cinematography by Victor Fleming. The film starred Herbert Beerbohm Tree and Constance Collier, both famous from the stage and for playing Shakespearean parts. Although released during the first decade of feature filmmaking, it was already the seventh version of Macbeth to be produced, one of eight during the silent film era. Although 1916 was the middle of WW1, this film was part of numerous festivities to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. It is considered to be a lost film. [2]
In the companion book to his Hollywood television series, Kevin Brownlow states that Sir Herbert failed to understand that the production was a silent film and that speech was not needed so much as pantomime. Tree, who had performed the play numerous times on the stage, kept spouting reams of dialogue. So Emerson and Fleming simply removed the film and cranked an empty camera so as not to waste film when he did so. [3]
Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, Macbeth most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy.
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.
Macbeth is a 1971 historical drama film directed by Roman Polanski, and co-written by Polanski and Kenneth Tynan. A film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name, it tells the story of the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. Jon Finch and Francesca Annis star as the title character and his wife, noted for their relative youth as actors. Themes of historic recurrence, greater pessimism and internal ugliness in physically beautiful characters are added to Shakespeare's story of moral decline, which is presented in a more realistic style.
Arthur Bourchier was an English actor and theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh.
Macbeth is a 1948 American historical drama directed by Orson Welles. A film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name, it tells the story of the Scottish general who becomes the King of Scotland through treachery and murder. The film stars Welles in the lead role and Jeanette Nolan as Lady Macbeth.
Lady Macduff is a character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. She is married to Lord Macduff, the Thane of Fife. Her appearance in the play is brief: she and her son are introduced in Act IV Scene II, a climactic scene that ends with both of them being murdered on Macbeth's orders. Though Lady Macduff's appearance is limited to this scene, her role in the play is quite significant. Later playwrights, William Davenant especially, expanded her role in adaptation and in performance.
Constance Collier was an English stage and film actress and acting coach. She wrote plays and films with Ivor Novello and she was the first person to be treated with insulin in Europe.
Lord Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis and quickly the Thane of Cawdor, is the title character and main protagonist in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The character is loosely based on the historical king Macbeth of Scotland and is derived largely from the account in Holinshed's Chronicles (1577), a compilation of British history.
Violet Augusta Mary Barnes, known professionally as Violet Vanbrugh, was an English actress with a career that spanned more than 50 years. Despite her many successes, her career was overshadowed by that of her more famous sister, Dame Irene Vanbrugh.
William Shakespeare's Macbeth has been screened numerous times, featuring many of the biggest names from stage, film, and television.
The Real Thing at Last is a "lost" satirical silent movie based on the play Macbeth. It was written in 1916 by Peter Pan creator and playwright J. M. Barrie as a parody of the American entertainment industry. The film was made by the newly created British Actors Film Company in response to news that American filmmaker D. W. Griffith intended to honor the 300th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death by producing of a film version of the play. It was subtitled A Suggestion for the Artists of the Future. It was screened at a charity benefit attended by the royal family, but was not widely distributed, and no copies are known to survive.
The Voodoo Macbeth is a common nickname for the Federal Theatre Project's 1936 New York production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Orson Welles adapted and directed the production, moved the play's setting from Scotland to a fictional Caribbean island, recruited an entirely Black cast, and earned the nickname for his production from the Haitian vodou that fulfilled the role of Scottish witchcraft. A box office sensation, the production is regarded as a landmark theatrical event for several reasons: its innovative interpretation of the play, its success in promoting African-American theatre, and its role in securing the reputation of its 20-year-old director.
Felicity Constance Tree, Lady Cory-Wright, was an English baronetess and high society figure. A daughter of the actors Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and Helen Maud Holt, she appeared regularly in news of the time starting from infancy.
Macbeth is a 1979 videotaped version of Trevor Nunn's Royal Shakespeare Company production of the play by William Shakespeare. Produced by Thames Television, it features Ian McKellen as Macbeth and Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth. The TV version was directed by Philip Casson.
King John is the title by which the earliest known example of a film based on a play by William Shakespeare is commonly known.
The Code of Marcia Gray is a 1916 silent romantic crime drama produced by Oliver Morosco, distributed through Paramount Pictures and directed by Frank Lloyd.
Helen Maud Holt, professionally known as Mrs Beerbohm Tree and later Lady Tree, was an English actress. She was the wife of the actor Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and the mother of Viola Tree, Felicity Tree and Iris Tree.
Macbeth is a 2015 epic historical drama film directed by Justin Kurzel and written for the screen by Todd Louiso, Jacob Koskoff, and Michael Lesslie, based on William Shakespeare's eponymous play. The film stars Michael Fassbender in the title role and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth, with Paddy Considine, Sean Harris, Jack Reynor, Elizabeth Debicki and David Thewlis in supporting roles. The story follows a Scottish lord's rise to power after receiving a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Like the play it was adapted from, the film dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake.
The tragic play Macbeth by William Shakespeare has appeared and been reinterpreted in many forms of art and culture since it was written in the early 17th century.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a 2021 American historical thriller film written, directed and produced by Joel Coen, based on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. It is the first film directed by one of the Coen brothers without the other's involvement. The film stars Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling, Kathryn Hunter, and Brendan Gleeson.