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Original poster

Best version of Macbeth to watch for GCSE

83 replies

weightandmeasure · 26/03/2022 09:58

I've said I'll sit down with DD over Easter and watch Macbeth with her. It's one of her GCSE texts and she's struggling with it. The school seems to teach it it a very disjointed way and we've come to the conclusion she's not got proper understanding of how it all fits. However there are a lot of different film versions available. Any recommendations on one that will best help a reluctant GCSE student? We think it's between the recent The Tragedy of Macbeth with Denzel Washington (gets great reviews) and the one with Micheal Fassbender from 2015 which is supposed to be pretty faithful to the script. DD quite fancies the Denzel version but has anyone seen it and is it relatively faithful to the play or will it confuse her?

OP posts:
springtimeishereagain · 26/03/2022 10:21

We watched the Fassbender one last weekend! I liked it but it's very dark - literally - lots of candlelit and lamp lit shots - and a lot of the dialogue is in whispers so I had to keep putting the sound up and down. Having said that, it's a good production with lots of imagery - red - and shows the changing relationship between the Macbeths well.

I've also got ds the Macbeth revision cards.

His English teacher recommended watching the new version on Apple TV too, but we don't have a subscription...

Original poster
weightandmeasure · 26/03/2022 10:19

@MrsCobbit

The RSC resources are great. I personally use the RSC Christopher Eccleston version.
That sounds interesting! She loves Dr WhoSmile
OP posts:
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 26/03/2022 10:19

The Polanski one is definitely closest in terms of period and lack of confusion.

The Patrick Stewart one has excellent witches and a brilliant Lady Macbeth.

Original poster
weightandmeasure · 26/03/2022 10:18

Covid put a stop to any possible theatre trips and there's nothing on locally.

Thanks for the link- very helpful. Interesting about the different versions etc. Honestly we're a bit out of our depth here- I'm a statistician, DD is very STEM focused and I think she's just hoping to understand it enough to get her 7 and move on. I remember doing it years ago for O level (I'm that old!) and it was taught more as a whole play rather than these disjointed chunks... she hadn't even been shown a version in class!

She does however have 21 pages of notes on all the characters to learn but no idea about how they interact.

OP posts:
MrsCobbit · 26/03/2022 10:18

The RSC resources are great. I personally use the RSC Christopher Eccleston version.

ChicCroissant · 26/03/2022 10:18

I'd see if you can get any of the old BBC versions from the 1970's, they are usually good. And as the PP said, keep an eye out for theatre productions. It is meant to be heard, not read and does come alive a bit more (I find it really dry to read!).

Macbeth is also on for next year's GCSE, my own DD is studying it at the moment!

keiratwiceknightly · 26/03/2022 10:15

As an English teacher, the version I find students relate to most is the ancient Roman Polanski/Playboy one. (Yes I know it's problematic for reasons of abuse etc.) it looks right, is clear and mostly faithful to the text, and students who just need to get the story sorted aren't distracted by modern dress or clever interpretations that mostly go over their heads. Once she moves beyond that level of understanding, she could watch a few versions to really get it.

TottersBlankly · 26/03/2022 10:10

Is it not at all possible for her to see the play performed at a theatre? (Perhaps she already has - but essentially it was written for the stage so that’s where she’d experience all its complexity and nuance most fully.) It’s good to see more than one stage production as the differences prompt questions about interpretation.

Alternatively or in addition, any theatre production is likely to have a good deal of dedicated content on its website - particularly in a year when the play is on the GCSE syllabus. Example:

www.rsc.org.uk/macbeth/

As regards films - the more the better, surely? They’re each the scriptwriters’ and directors interpretations of an adaptation - none is definitive. A play is a fluid thing - she’s never going to be able to pin it down to a single set of meanings.

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