Macbeth in the Movies

Scotland, P.A. is only loosely based on the play—there is not a word of Early Modern English uttered in it. But this “adaptation” takes place in the 1970’s, and instead of a kingdom, Joe McBeth, with the persistent urging of his wife, takes control of a local fast food establishment (with plans for a new, state-of-the-art drive-through). How do they do it? Lets just say that Joe’s boss, Norm, has a not-so-pleasant encounter with the deep fryer. Andy Dick plays one of the hippie witches, and that in and of itself might be enough to make you suspicious. Rated R.

Check out some other adaptations of the tragedy below.

Ironically, the 1971 version of The Tragedy of Macbeth—directed by Roman Polanski, and produced by Playboy Productions—is the more tasteful of these two. This is as real and faithful an adaptation of Macbeth as you can find, although now it is appears a bit dated, but the final fight scene is epic. Beware of scary (and sometimes naked witches), and even more violence than Shakespeare intended. Rated R. I included the trailer below: