Macbeth (1971) | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

Audience Reviews

Alec B Shakespeare's play as a violent fever dream. This concept for "MacBeth" has been tried a few times but only Polanski seems to have pulled it off, likely because he cast professionals who didn't need direction on the language, leaving him to focus on the imagery. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/24 Full Review Shioka O To be honest I'm always bored by Shakespeare adaptations, and this is not an exception, but this is among the most decent and pure adaptation. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Shakespeare's play as a violent fever dream. This concept for "MacBeth" has been tried a few times but only Polanski seems to have pulled it off, likely because he cast professionals who didn't need direction on the language, leaving him to focus on the imagery. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member The perfect rendition of MacBeth!From breathtaking Scottish landscapes to realistic renaissance battles this movie has everything anyone could ask for. I was most impressed with its historical background, actors and easy to follow Shakespearean dialogue. Legends, Myths and Pagan superstition were depicted extremely accurately. The 3 Fates also known as the Maiden, Mother and Crone reminded me the way Witches were described in my childhood fairy tales. Each Characters role was portrayed strong enough to captivate the audience with dazzling enchantments. No detail was spared during combat scenes or withheld any shocking aspects of ruthlessness. The never-ending conquest for power, Greed and ultimately the throne has never been retold quite as well as Roman Polanski's version of MacBeth. This is a true Masterpiece classic! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Roman Polanski's "MacBeth" pulls out all of the stops in terms of its gritty and graphic visual aesthetic while simultaneously envisioning a portrait of the title character that evolves along a unique arc from guilty timidity to tyrannical abandon. The esoteric sequences at the midpoint of the work involving MacBeth's encounter with the witch coven are stunningly bold and original, fully emblazoning the Polanski stamp on a work that might otherwise have felt like a common rehashing of Shakespeare. Indeed, so many film adaptations of the bard's works have been obligatorily churned out that one must insist on some element of artistic liberty as a mark of distinction, and Polanski's starkly brutal and at times surreal take on the material assuredly provides one. While too intense for younger viewers, Polanski's "MacBeth" is sufficiently visionary as to establish itself as the definitive version for the majority of viewers. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a wonderful adaptation of a timeless tragedy that so many other filmmakers have fumbled. The portrayals from the unknown actors are engaging, the sets look like actual lived-in locations and the score is fittingly modern and unsettling. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Macbeth

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