Adaptations of MacBeth

The audience is arguably the single most important factor in a play, movie, or any performing art for that matter. The job of the director is to turn a script into a film or play and to make it enjoyable for their viewers. Adaptations sometimes take an original work and adapt that work to a film that is more relevant to the time period so the audience is drawn in and can relate to the adaptation. Billy Morrisette’s Scotland, PA., Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood, and Roman Polanski’s Macbeth all adapt the original shakespearean play of Macbeth into a more germane environment that allows the audience to relate to the story. The three adaptations based on act I scene V of Shakespeare’s Macbeth presents the audience with different settings that allow the audiences to feel different emotions to the different versions Lady Macbeth’s of each film.

Scotland PA., is taking place in Scotland, but not the country of Scotland, but Scotland, Pennsylvania. This change in setting from Shakespeare’s version of Macbeth made it more relevant to the American audience. Also it is set in the 1960’s making all the more relevant to the American audience. Shakespeare’s play was set in Scotland with thanes, lords, kings, and queens. Yes, Americans know what these things are, but titles such as lords and thanes are irrelevant to American’s because America does not have these titles placed on members of society; Instead of the castle, Scotland PA. has a restaurant and instead of a king the film had a manager.

Pat McBeth is Scotland PA’s version of Lady Macbeth. An actress named Maura Tierney plays the role of Pat. In Scotland PA Pat is considered good-looking and was the brains behind Duncan’s murder. The film has all the qualities of a tragedy but is very humorous, almost to be considered a comedy. Making the film similar to a comedy makes it seem like her crimes are not that bad. She doesn’t seem like a bad person because everything she does bad is made humorous, from Duncan’s death to Pat getting the ointment for the scar that isn’t even there.

Usually when someone is murdered they are stabbed, shot, chocked but Scotland PA. has Duncan die in a big pot of boiling oil. Pat screams and curses at the pharmacist for not seeing the cut on her hand that she doesn’t ever have. When Duncan fried in the oil his body was shakes violently. This makes it even funnier. It also made the movie comical when Pat curses the two pharmacists out and the both pharmacist look at each other puzzled. In this film Pat doesn’t talk to herself or go crazy as Lady Macbeth did in the Shakespeare’s script. Pat takes a knife and consciously cut her hand off. There is no sense of pity or anger from her death, but only a sense of stupidity on her part for cutting her hand off for no reason. In the script Lady Macbeth is evil; “How tender ’tis to love

the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this” (Macbeth 1.7.62), but she makes the audience feel bad because

after its all said and done Lady Macbeth feels sorry for what she has done. In Scotland PA. Pat doesn’t feel bad for Duncan’s death so the audience doesn’t have the same sense of pity that they may have had if she was regretted killing Duncan. Pat Mcbeth in Scotland PA leaves the audience with an emotion of happiness because of her comical version of Lady Macbeth.

Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood uses the Japanese culture and setting to adapt Shakespeare’s version Macbeth the same way as Scotland PA does. Throne of Blood is set in Japan with Japanese characters. It is also spoken in Japanese. This is for the most part irrelevant to the rest of the world because a great percentage of the rest of the world does not speak Japanese. Also, instead of Taketori Washizu being an thane he starts as a samurai because a samurai is part of the Japanese culture. These changes in the film make it more relevant to the viewing Japanese audience.

Instead Kurosawa’s version of Lady Macbeth is Lady Asaji Washizu played by Isuzu Yamada. In act V scene I she has built up an insane state of mind from her guilt. She sits down screaming in front of a bowl of water trying to wash her hands of blood that really isn’t there. Asaji Washizu’s insanity is very similar to Shakespeare’s original script because both Lady Asaji and Lady Macbeth are trying to wash out their hands from the blood. These similarities keep the film and the script closely related.
Even though Throne of Blood and Shakespeare’s Macbeth share many similarities they differ from each other because of the Japanese audience that watches the film. Instead of the doctor and the gentlewomen alongside of Lady Macbeth, the audience sees Toshiro Mifune, the equivalent to Macbeth. He sees her insanity and he sees her trying to wash the blood from her hands. Even though he knows there is no blood he does not try to comfort her or help her; he screams at her. This is because in Japanese culture the women and man aren’t treated as equal partners. The women is looked down upon, almost as a servant is looked down upon. Because Throne of Blood is so closely related to the original its leaves the audience with a sense of remorse for Lady Asaji because of how guilty she feels for what she has done.

Another adaptation which is closely related to the original Shakespearian play is Roman Polanski’s version of Macbeth. This film adaptation stays loyal to the original piece by keeping the same setting in the same time frame with the same dialogue. In this film, Lady Macbeth is very beautiful. She is a blonde haired woman with a slim figure. Her face is that of a model. In act V scene I, Lady Macbeth is in her room talking to herself quite calmly. She is unaware of the doctor and the gentlewomen in the room. She is also naked, which gives her a sense of helplessness. Her helplessness makes the audience feel sorry for her when she speaks to herself. The audience can forgive her because she is sincere in her words which show her guilt; “The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?” (Macbeth 5.1.39) This is the comment Lady Macbeth makes in both Shakespeare’s version and Polanski’s adaptation when she is going crazy talking to herself regretting what she has done.

In life and in film people tend to care more for the attractive rather than the unattractive and this is a reason why the audience cares for Lady Macbeth in Roman Polanski’s version. Her words are sincere. The audience knows she is sincere in her words because she thinks she is all alone and she pours her heart out senselessly, even though she has seems to be in an unconscious state. Polanski’s Macbeth is closely related to Shakespeare’s play but the audience forgives Lady Macbeth in Polanski’s version because of her vulnerability and her beauty.

Everyday people watch television and go to the movies and they have different emotions towards different events in movies. We either like or dislike what we see, but we react. Morrisette’s humorous approach in Scotland PA makes the audience have a carefree attitude towards Pat Macbeth. Kurosawa uses the noble Lady Asaji Washizu’s guilt to make the audience feel bad for her actions. In Polanski’s version of Macbeth, he uses Lady Macbeth’s beauty and vulnerability to make the audience have a sense of remorse towards her. Each director use different places and times relevant to the viewing audience, because of the different settings the audience can relate to what they are watching. Though the directors may have gone in different directions towards their adaptations, they all had the same general purpose; they want to satisfy their audience.