Slightly OT: The Tragedy of Macbeth


Some one I follow on Twitter was just gobsmacked by this play on AppleTV, which stars the great Denzel Washington as Macbeth.

I tried watching it and found one problem, the sound, and another, the acting.  The former allows me to talk about it here. :)

I found the voice often mumbled and too hard to hear.  In terms of the acting, and diction, the line delivery was on a metronome, and I wondered if the actors knew the words they were using or rushing through them.

Can any fans of the bard help me get more into this production? 

erik_squires

Showing 1 response by twoleftears

Judging by the trailers, the principal emphasis is on the moody B&W look and other atmospheric film noir details, of which the sotto voce dialogue would be a part.

For contrast, try Kenneth Branagh's filmed version of a stage performance of Macbeth, from 2013.

Even better, for the ultimate Shakespeare movie experience, try Branagh's Henry V. Be sure to play it through a quality audio system or home theatre, as it has an excellent originally composed score that runs throughout.

It also bears saying that some actors train for half a lifetime to perform Shakespeare, so being a successful screen actor isn't a guarantee of equally successful "crossover" success.