Question

What are some ways director throughout history have adapted "Macbeth"?

Answer 1

There have been about a dozen more or less famous movie adaptations of Shakespeare's tragedy. Most of them were more or less faithful to the original plot and setting. One of the foremost was Orson Welles' 1948 adaptation, with himself in the title role. Welles wanted to show the broader context of political struggle with the introduction of religious struggle - so he introduced a new character, The Holy Man, who was to represent the new religious force of Christianity juxtaposed to the old paganism that the Weird Sisters embodied. However, Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" (1957) was arguably the most successful adaptation from a cinematic point of view. Kurosawa changed the setting to medieval Japan, with Japanese aristocracy representing the Macbeth couple. Thus Kurosawa universalized the theme of political corruption and personal greed, showing them in an entirely different milieu.