Best version of Macbeth to watch for GCSE

If I remember correctly the Fassbenser one has an additional for the movie scene which one student cane a cropper with when writing their essay because it referred to that scene. So even if she watches to get the idea of how it pieces together make sure she only writes any answer based on the text.

I went to see the one with Christopher Ecclestone in it and I would be being generous to say I thought it was average.

I would agree with this. I thought the idea was a good one, it just didn’t quite work.

Macbeth on the Estate is great.

I hate the Judi Dench one with every fibre of my being.

I went to see the one with Christopher Ecclestone in it and I would be being generous to say I thought it was average.
Really agree with the pp above. Trevor Nunn with Ian McKellan and Judi Dench. They are both perfect. The witches are perfect. Free on YouTube
I looked at it with a kid I was tutoring for GCSE and it really helped.
The gimmicky kid witches in the Ecclestone one were awful.

If you have Audible check out the Macbeth GCSE podcast by William Lloydson. It's about 34 minutes and a bit of fun.

The Patrick Stewart one I use. But if she’s struggling with the plot, you can’t go wrong with the bbc bitesize KS2 animated version as an absolute starter. Clear basics. Frees up brain space then to get to grips with language.

I did this for O Level way back when there were O Levels. Ended up being really geeky about watching loads of versions (including the Orson Welles one!) and being very picky about the ways they diverged from the texts. Watch several OP. Discuss the differences. One of the wonders of Shakespeare is that you can read him in all sorts of ways. Good luck

Horrible history crew do a book that might help her break it down in a young adult friendly way.

This might be a bit off the wall, but my favourite was a 1990s version called Macbeth on the Estate - you can get it on YouTube last time I checked.

It’s set on a 1990s inner city estate in London but completely authentic language; albeit in a Brummie accent!

Have you got this book OP?
www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Shakespeare-Macbeth-Charles-Lamb/dp/095429050X?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

OP - I would actually suggest to DD that she gets some friends together, divides up roles and act out / read aloud macbeth as a group. Have a bit of fun and silliness doing it. It's what we did as a class about 25 years ago when we were studying for O levels. It really made the story stick, and you 'got' the interaction between characters. I see that they tried in on Teams - can't imagine that worked well.
. I watched the Polanski film too in English class ...

The Polanski Macbeth got me through my O level. That's how old I am but without it I think I would probably have failed.

Another vote for the Fassbender version here with the subtitles on! On Amazon Prime
Followed up with the Polanski version
Don’t bother with the ready made flash cards but worth asking the school if they have any. We do and we then work with these in revision lessons.

I thought the RSC Eccleston one was just ok, but I watched 3 Macbeths that year and the one at the Globe (if you can access it with Michelle Terry as Lady Macbeth performed in the Sam Wanamaker) was fantastic and helpful. I wonder if the Almeida have playback of their recent production with Saoirse Ronan - that was magnificent. I agree with everyone Polanski is a good place to start - the BBC adaptations where James
McAvoy played Macbeth were very good. They did bring costume and setting into modern times, but for the story and to ‘get it’ I think those BBC versions are second to none.

Thank you OP! DS is about to study it (Year 10) so I’ve been looking for productions. Whoever posted the Globe link, you are a life saver

I studied it at A Level and I listened to my grandparents’ ancient vinyl LP of a 1950s production full of hammy actors especially Lady M and her “What?? In OURRRR house????????????”

That’s stayed with me all these years. Got an A though.

Once she's nailed the story down (I'd say Polanski, too), she might enjoy Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton - it's a thrlller about a school shooting in a private school, but the students are caught in the school theatre rehearsing Macbeth and there are interesting ideas about the play threaded through it. I always found it useful to read interpretations of texts I had to study through fiction - she might find it helps, too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Macbeth-English-Literature-Grades-Revision/dp/1407183532/ref=ascdff_1407183532/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=430933667917&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=131166623701363308&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006868&hvtargid=pla-923984227858&psc=1&th=1&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=97419296542&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=430933667917&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=131166623701363308&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006868&hvtargid=pla-923984227858

There are ones for other exam boards too.

Does anyone know the channel 4 cartoon versions of many of Shakespeare's plays? Thought these were really good at presenting the story, quite short, about 40 minutes i think.

I'm glad that sold it to you Going off topic I watched an interview with Keith a few years ago and he talked about filming this and said that Roman Polanski wanted him and Martin Shaw to rehearse a fight scene with no pants on but they said no as it was too weird! I think he was so funny and a great actor.

I saw the Roman Polanski version in early 80s when studying Macbeth for O level.

Best one for me. Watched a few for 2 DCs GCSE and not a patch.

Inspector Calls does the rounds at theatres which is always full for children being dragged along by parents purely for GSCE

I did Macbeth for A level many moons ago, and we watched the televised Trevor Nunn version with Judi Dench and Ian McKellen. It’s on YouTube.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=IgEshHhnLqU

If she simply wants to get an idea of how the plot and characters hang together, I would really recommend the animated tales version (available on YouTube). It's an abridged version, only about half an hour or so long, but it has the most important bits of dialogue and is great at giving you a sense of the play as a whole. I use it as an introduction to Macbeth for my GCSE students and it's really useful. She'll get much more out of full productions if she has a good understanding of the plot first. I also agree with watching as many different versions as possible to see different interpretations. The National Theatre has some great filmed stage versions which you can rent online.

I'm an actor, and I've done Macbeth several times. Does she have any specific questions? I might be able to help.

Also, I sometimes work with a company that go into schools and perform the GCSE plays for the students, usually with a workshop afterwards. Might be worth asking the school if they'd consider booking something like that? Doesn't have to be hugely expensive - the director of the one I work with has been known to perform Macbeth with just him and one other actor when schools have wanted to keep costs down.