News

One of our most-anticipated films of the year–and one which unfortunately had to shut down about two-thirds through production due to the ongoing pandemic–is Joel Coen’s new adaptation of the Shakespeare tragedy Macbeth, starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in the lead roles. Backed by A24, apart from a cast that also includes Brendan Gleeson, Corey Hawkins, Moses Ingram, Harry Melling, Ralph Ineson, not much else has been known about the approach to retelling this classic story–until now.

Italian stage director Damiano Michieletto, working with Teatro La Fenice, an opera house in Venice, spoke to Joel Coen and Frances McDormand as part of a fundraising effort on Instagram. In a 30-minute interview, they discussed their title for the film (The Tragedy of Macbeth), why they wanted to tell this story, Joel Coen’s favorite Macbeth adaptation on film, how reverent the film would be to the original text,...

Stage and television entertainer Keith Chegwin has died following a long term battle with a 'progressive lung condition.' He was 60 years old. Chegwin was a regular in pantomime, most recently starring in a pantomime tour of Beauty and the Beast in March last year. He also appeared in West End shows including Tom Brown's School Days and The Good Old Bad Old Days. He starred as Fleance in Roman Polanski's Macbeth in 1971.

Hugh M. Hefner

1926-2017

A Tribute

By Raymond Benson

Raymond Benson with Hefner at the Playboy Mansion.

A true American innovator and icon has left us.

While I would never claim to be one of this brilliant man’s inner circle of close longtime friends or family, I was privileged to know him for nearly three decades. I was a guest at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles on numerous occasions, many times along with my wife and even my son, who first visited when he was eight years old! Hef was always a generous host—kind, warm-hearted, and full of conversation. He also had integrity. His championing of civil rights and First Amendment freedoms is legendary. He gave us the permission to embrace the sexual revolution—and, believe it or not, he was a strong advocate of women’s rights. The women who truly knew him loved him.

We...

Lionsgate has released the first-look image from Roman Polanski’s thriller-drama “Based on a True Story,” which marks the French-Polish director’s first film in four years. The film, whose original title in French is “D’après une histoire vraie” and stars Eva Green and Emmanuelle Seigner, will show at the Cannes Films Festival, which will run May 17 – 28.

Read More: Roman Polanski Compares Court to Nazis for Rejecting Motion to Avoid Further Jail Time

The film is an adaptation of Delphine de Vigan’s novel of the same name. Polanski wrote the script with writer and “Personal Shopper” director Olivier Assayas. “Based on a True Story” follows a Parisian writer (Seigner) who gets romantically involved with an obsessed admirer (Green) who tries to impose influence on her.

Read More: The Films of Roman Polanski, Ranked Worst to Best

During his embattled five-decade career, Polanski has helmed a long list of acclaimed films,...

On this day (April 21st) in history as it relates to showbiz...

Anthony Quinn

1904 Oscar winning cinematographer Daniel L Fapp (West Side Story and Desire Under the Elms, among many films) born in Kansas City

1914 Cinematographer Gilbert Taylor born in England. Though he was BAFTA nominated Oscar never bit despite high profile films and collaborations with famous directors. Credits include: Repulsion, The Omen, Dr Strangelove, Star Wars, Frenzy, Dracula (1979) and MacBeth 

1915 Oscar's all time favorite Mexican actor Anthony Quinn born (Lust for Life, Viva Zapata, Wild is the Wind, Zorba the Greek, La Strada, etcetera)

1918 "The Red Baron," the famous German fighter pilot, shot down in World War I. Snoopy in Peanuts fantasizes about him repeatedly and he's also been a character in many films including Wings, Hell's Angels, and Darling Lili ...

Mark Harrison Oct 14, 2016

With the question of who's playing James Bond in James Bond 25 unresolved, we look back at the casting conundrums 007 has faced before.

Since 1962, fewer men have played James Bond than have walked on the moon. Despite the relatively long turnaround of the role, the subject of who might follow in the footsteps of Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig in the future has fuelled many column inches and tabloid splashes.

It feels as if speculation about the seventh 007 in Eon Productions' long-lived spy franchise has been at fever pitch since this time last year, when Craig was doing the promotional rounds for Spectre and commented that he would rather “slash [his] wrists” than play Bond again. It's only after a year of constant reports on the subject that his far more optimistic comments at last weekend's New Yorker Festival...

Simon Brew Oct 7, 2016

From Demolition Man and James Bond through to Speed 2 and Steven Seagal: the movies filmmakers took on to get other projects made.

One for the studio, one for yourself? That’s sometimes been the case when it comes to making movies, and we suspect – under the surface – it happens more than we’re ever told. However, every now and then, it becomes clear that someone has signed up for a movie, with getting the film they really, really want to make as the hidden reason. Such as in these cases…

Nigel Hawthorne: Demolition Man

The late, great Nigel Hawthorne wasn't much of a fan of the much-liked Sylvester Stallone-Wesley Snipes showdown, Demolition Man. In his autobiography Straight Face, Hawthorne called the experience of making the film "miserable", and wasn't impressed with the time lost on set waiting around for Stallone and Snipes.

But...

Though director Roman Polanski’s next film was set to tackle the Dreyfus affair, the 1890s French political scandal involving a Captain of the French Army who was convicted of passing secrets to the Germans, it has so far failed to get off the ground. But now The Film Stage reports that Polanski will adapt Delphine de Vigan’s novel “Based on a True Story,” with a script from writer-director Olivier Assayas. The novel tells the story of a writer who goes through a rough time after the release of their latest book, and their relationship with an admirer who tries to impose influence on the writer.

Read More: Roman Polanski Will Not Be Extradited to U.S.

Polanski is best known for his numerous acclaimed films during his five-decade career. Some of these include “Knife in the Water,” “Repulsion,” “Cul-de-Sac,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Macbeth,” “Chinatown,” and “The Pianist.” His...

Robert McKee literally wrote the book on screenwriting — or one of them, at least — and though many scribes find his how-to guide more stifling than inspiring, there’s little denying his influence. (Charlie Kaufman even parodied him in “Adaptation.”) McKee’s new book “Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen” is out today, and Indiewire has been provided with an excerpt from his follow-up to “Story.” Read it below.

Read More: Meet Robert McKee, Film Critic

“We talk.

Talk, more than any other trait, expresses our humanity. We whisper to lovers, curse enemies, argue with plumbers, praise the dog, swear on our mother’s grave. Human relationships are in essence long, long talks into, around, through, and out of the entanglements that stress or bless our days. Face‐to‐face talk between family and friends may go on for decades, while self‐to‐self talk never...

What?

Written by Gérard Brach, Roman Polanski

Directed by Roman Polanski

Italy/France/Germany, 1972

You can forgive Roman Polanski if he wanted to take things easy in 1972 and make a light-hearted, frivolous little movie. Less than two years removed from the grisly Manson family murders that took from the acclaimed filmmaker his wife and unborn child, Polanski first confronted his troubled demons with a suitably grim adaptation of Macbeth (1971). After that, apparently ready for solace of a livelier variety, he and a motley crew of friends and associates set sail for Carlo Ponti’s extravagant Italian villa. There they made the peculiarly disappointing What?, a raucous sex comedy without much sex and with very little comedy.

What? begins as globe-trotting Nancy (Sydne Rome) has hitched a ride with some Italian natives. As she speaks of her touristic adventures, the men in the car are more focused on her palpable sexuality.

What is this -- a naughty sex odyssey as absurdist art? Or a non-pc slice of sleazy art film exploitation? Either way it's a (minor) Polanski masterpiece of direction, influenced by the Italian setting. Is what turns Polanski on? The entire excercise is a Kafka comedy of erotic discomfort. What? Blu-ray Severin 1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 110 min. / Che? / Street Date April 26, 2016 / 29.95 Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Sydne Rome, Hugh Griffith, Guido Alberti, Gianfranco Piacentini, Romollo Valli. Cinematography Marcello Gatti, Giuseppe Ruzzolini Production Design Aurelio Crugnola Film Editor Alastair McIntyre Original Music Claudio Gizzi Written by Gérard Brach, Roman Polanski Produced by Carlo Ponti Directed by Roman Polanski

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

It's a slippery slope, I tell you: art films are the gateway to surrealism, and surrealism connects straight to bondage and kinky costume play, which is a direct conduit either to Comic-Con or being forced to resign from the P.T.A.

Roman Polanski’s adaptation of Macbeth, co-scripted by Kenneth Tynan and starring Jon Finch and Francesca Annis, is arguably the most bloodsoaked one ever – made in the aftermath of his wife Sharon Tate’s murder by the Manson ‘family’. In this clip, we see Finch’s Macbeth fight Macduff (Terence Bayler) in the celebrated ‘untimely ripp’d’ climactic scene. The Tragedy of Macbeth (Criterion Collection) is available now on Blu-Ray

Read Judge John Deeds star Martin Shaw’s account of working on the film

Continue reading...

Roman Polanski’s adaptation of Macbeth, co-scripted by Kenneth Tynan and starring Jon Finch and Francesca Annis, is arguably the most bloodsoaked one ever – made in the aftermath of his wife Sharon Tate’s murder by the Manson ‘family’. In this clip, we see Finch’s Macbeth fight Macduff (Terence Bayler) in the celebrated ‘untimely ripp’d’ climactic scene. The Tragedy of Macbeth (Criterion Collection) is available now on Blu-Ray

Read Judge John Deeds star Martin Shaw’s account of working on the film

Continue reading...

★★★★★ In one of the special supplements on the Criterion Collection's release of Roman Polanski's The Tragedy of Macbeth, the director describes the joy of adapting The Bard. "It's a little bit like jazz," he says, "where you have a theme and you can improvise upon this theme." This perfectly encapsulates his exceptional interpretation of The Scottish Play which prunes the poetic dialogue to affect a more naturalistic tone and internalises many soliloquies to convey a surprising degree of psychological realism. In doing so, Polanski makes Macbeth a startling exploration of twisted youthful ambition in a world beset by grim brutality.

Anthony Phillips The Geese and the Ghost Wise After the Event Sides Private Parts & Pieces I-iv Harvest of the Heart (Esoteric/Cherry Red)   Anthony "Ant" Phillips, an original member of Genesis, left after their second album (Trespass, 1970) because of stage fright -- an especially problematic situation, one supposes, for the lead guitarist. He spent the ensuing years studying music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (which is to say classical music), along with occasionally recording demos of new material at home. It would be seven years before his first solo album would appear, but after that he would be fairly prolific. Though he never achieved mainstream success -- which sadly makes sense given that this progressive rock legend didn't issue anything in 1971-76, the peak prog years -- aficionados of the style have long admired his work. Cherry Red's Esoteric imprint is now in its third year of...

The independent and alternative cinema showcase (Apr 28 - May 7) will have the world premiere of Choi Seung-ho’s controversial Spy Nation.

The 17th Jeonju International Film Festival (Jiff) has announced it will open with Robert Burdeau’s Born To Be Blue, starring Ethan Hawke as Chet Baker.

South Korea’s second largest film festival - focused on independent and alternative cinema - Jiff will close with the remastered version of Ryoo Seung-wan’s feature directorial debut Die Bad.

New Jiff festival director Lee Choong-jik said: “Ryoo Seung-wan’s film was in to the first edition of the Jeonju International Film Festival. It is now in its 17th edition and Ryoo Seung-wan has grown into a director who represents Korean cinema. Director Ryoo still has the independent film spirit, even when he’s making commercial films. That spirit is something we have in common. We’re reviving the 10-day festival’s Closing Film and expanding outdoor screenings, and it...

Dailies is a round-up of essential film writing, news bits, videos, and other highlights from across the Internet. If you’d like to submit a piece for consideration, get in touch with us in the comments below or on Twitter at @TheFilmStage.

The Criterion Collection will launch in the U.K., Variety reports:

Sphe will bring selected titles from Criterion’s extensive catalog and future new release slate to the U.K. for the first time. The first wave of films, featuring all the supplements from the U.S. editions along with their exclusive artwork and packaging, are “Grey Gardens,” “It Happened One Night,” Roman Polanski’s “Macbeth,” “Only Angels Have Wings,” “Speedy” and “Tootsie.”

Watch Bradford Young discuss shooting Denis Villeneuve‘s Story of Your Life:

David Bordwell looks at Tony Rayns‘ new book on In the Mood For Love:

In fewer than a hundred pages, many of...

Last month, various home media forums began passing around rumors that the Criterion Collection would expand to the United Kingdom in 2016. Several films which are part of the Criterion Collection were being submitted to the British Board of Film Classification.

Back in September, Jonathan Turell guested on the CrowdSource Studios podcast “The Gloves are Off”, in which he mentioned that the Criterion Collection was interested in expanding to new regions.

We discussed this idea back in The Newsstand episode 53 last month. You can find the Criterion UK thread on the Criterion Forum here.

Earlier today, Sight & Sound magazine released the digital version of their latest issue for April 2016, and in it they confirm the news that the Criterion Collection will begin releasing discs in the UK on April 18th:

The Us home cinema label that set the bar for high-quality, extras-laden DVD and Blu-ray packages is launching in the UK on 18 April,...

Shout Factory opens the crypt once more, for the last remaining UA and Aip fright movies starring our favorite gentleman of horror. The label lays on the extras, with Steve Haberman commentaries and episodes of Science Fiction Theater. Now where are the Vincent Price cooking shows? The Vincent Price Collection III Master of the World, The Tower of London, Diary of a Madman, An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, Cry of the Banshee Blu-ray Scream (Shout!) Factory 1961-72 / B&W + Color / 1:85 & 1:66 widescreen / 420 min. / Street Date February 16, 2016 / 69.97 Starring Vincent Price Directed by William Witney, Roger Corman, Reginald Le Borg, Kenneth Johnson, Gordon Hessler.

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Scream Factory now brings us Part Three of its Vincent Price collection, pretty much emptying the closet over at MGM. Not counting his twilight feature The Whales of August every Vincent Price film under the MGM banner will soon be out on Blu-ray.

This year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff) will screen the digitally remastered films of Bruce Lee, as well as a special programme to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

Shakespeare Live In Film will showcase three very different interpretations of Macbeth with Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood (1957), starring Mifune Toshiro; Roman Polanski’s The Tragedy Of Macbeth (1971), which proved controversial for its violence and nudity; and Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth (2015), starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.

Hkiff will also present other films based on Shakespeare’s plays in its CineFan April and May programme.

The festival’s Bruce Lee focus will present four of the films he made before his untimely death – The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972), The Way Of The Dragon (1972) and The Game Of Death (1978) – in a new 4K digital format.

This year’s Hkiff, which marks its 40th edition, will run from March 21 to April 4. The opening night takes...

What's this? What's this? It's a "Nightmare Before Christmas" anniversary. 22 years ago today, the Tim Burton-produced film opened in theaters. The stop motion musical has become a lucrative property for Disney, but upon its 1993 release, the House of Mouse put "Nightmare" under its Touchstone Pictures banner because the studio worried it was "too dark, too scary" for kids, director Henry Selick recalled. "Their biggest fear, and why it was kind of a stepchild project, was they were afraid of their core audience hating the film and not coming, when in fact once kids found out about it, it connected with them as well as Tim's regular fan base." "Nightmare" fans looking for new ways to show their love of the film can check out Hot Topic's new "Nightmare" items, unveiled today. Other notable October 13 happenings in pop culture history:  1950: "All About Eve" premiered in New York. It went...

Do you enjoy special-effects laden blockbusters? How about gritty crime dramas? Or biting comedies? The New Hollywood movement helped to make all of these possible in mainstream cinema.

New Hollywood is less a trend about the kinds of films that were produced and more about the people making them. The New Hollywood movement was about a new generation of filmmakers who came of age in the 60’s and went on to define filmmaking in the 70’s. These are filmmakers who went against tradition to push film to new heights and explore new genres and ideas. New Hollywood is the passing of the torch from the classic era of filmmaking to the modern era. It showed us both how great intimate character-focused dramas could be, but it also expanded the possibilities of what film could be, giving birth to the blockbuster. The New Hollywood movement is the foundation upon which current cinema is based.

Never afraid of a challenging role, Michael Fassbender is the lead stud in Justin Kurzel’s forthcoming flick “Macbeth.”

The new adaptation of the William Shakespeare period tragedy is slated to hit theaters on December 4th and also stars Marion Cotillard, David Thewlis, Elizabeth Debicki, Sean Harris and Jack Reynor.

Per the synopsis, “Macbeth is the story of a fearless warrior and inspiring leader brought low by ambition and desire. A thrilling interpretation of the dramatic realities of the times and a truthful reimagining of what wartime must have really been like for one of Shakespeare’s most famous and compelling characters, a story of all-consuming passion and ambition set in war-torn 11th Century Scotland.”...

Justin Kurzel’s adaption of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is barrelling towards the big screen with a ton of praise in its wake, and watching the new trailer below, it’s easy to see why. Kurzel’s visuals are absolutely stunning, and the central pairing of Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard promises to be absolutely extraordinary. All in all, this adaption of The Scottish Play should be an epic experience. Released: 2nd October (Irl/U.K.)Synopsis: Macbeth is the story of a fearless warrior and inspiring leader brought low by ambition and desire. A thrilling interpretation of the dramatic realities of the times and a reimagining of what wartime must have been like for one of literature’s most famous and compelling characters, a story of all-consuming passion and ambition set in war torn Scotland.

Take another look @ footage of Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in director Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth", written by Jacob Koskoff and Todd Louiso, based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name, also starring Sean Harris, Paddy Considine, Elizabeth Debicki and David Thewlis:

"...after being flattered by 'Three Witches' and his own wife, 'Macbeth' rationalizes that murdering his king and usurping the throne is the right thing to do.

"Ultimately, however, the prophecies of the witches prove misleading, and Macbeth alienates the nobility of Scotland, his wife commits suicide and he is defeated in battle by 'Prince Malcolm'. As the King's armies disintegrate he encounters 'Macduff', a refugee nobleman whose wife and children had earlier been murdered by Macbeth's death squads.

"Upon realizing that he will die if he duels Macduff, Macbeth at first refuses to do so. But when Macduff explains that if Macbeth...

Before director Justin Kurzel and stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Coltillard signed on for nest year’s Assassin’s Creed (the first image of which can be found here), the trio teamed up for the upcoming, and absolutely stunning, adaption of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Following its critically acclaimed premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film finally comes our way in October, and to tide you over, we have these striking and pretty darn beautiful new posters, featuring Fassebender’s titular mad king and Coltillard as the manipulative Lady Macbeth. Released: 2nd October (Irl/U.K.)Synopsis: Macbeth is the story of a fearless warrior and inspiring leader brought low by ambition and desire. A thrilling interpretation of the dramatic realities of the times and a reimagining of what wartime must have been like for one of literature’s most famous and compelling characters, a story of...

Forget about Denmark! There's something rotten in Scotland, if these new posters from Michael Fassbender's Macbeth are any indication.

The images from director Justin Kurzel's Macbeth paint a grim portrait of the latest in a long line of screen adaptations for the William Shakespeare play.

Michael Fassbender looks intimidating as the vengeful warrior Macbeth, whose lust for power is only intensified by encouragement from his steely wife Lady Macbeth (Marion Cotillard).

Fassbender is following in the footsteps of many esteemed actors who have brought Macbeth's tale of revenge and bloodshed to life.

Sean Connery, Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen, Daniel Day-Lewis and Toshiro Mifune are among those who have previously embodied the Scottish warlord on stage and screen.

This new version of Macbeth opens on October 2 in the UK.

If you simply haven't had enough Michael Fassbender, here's a first look at his...

Sean Witzke has put together the following video essay exploring the work of Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird over the Mission: Impossible franchise and it's a fascinating study of influence from a director's perspective and what has come of the franchise, primarily following Abrams' taking over ever since Mission: Impossible III. Witzke spends a ton of time exploring De Palma's contributions and influences when it comes to Mission: Impossible (1996) and as he moves on the time spent on each film decreases, which is interesting in and of itself. Talk of the influence of Alfred Hitchcock on all the films, as well as Ronald Neame's Gambit, Jules Dassin's Topkapi (which I have not seen, but desperately need to) and Roman Polanski's Macbeth are all referenced and he also discusses, as I have before, the fact Woo's Mission: Impossible II is essentially a...

Treachery abounds in a violent new trailer for Michael Fassbender's Macbeth.

After a previous promo video focused mainly on the famed Scottish warrior, Marion Cotillard's scheming Lady Macbeth comes to the forefront in an extended teaser.

Snowtown director Justin Kurzel's adaptation of William Shakespeare's immortal play casts Fassbender as the noble warrior.

Manipulated by his wife to overthrow the king and driven by his own lust for power, Macbeth lives with constant doubts about who he can trust and how long his own reign will last.

The swords are drawn as bloodthirsty Michael Fassbender goes to war in new Macbeth clip

This version of Macbeth casts David Thewlis as the besieged King Duncan, Sean Harris as the heroic Macduff and Elizabeth Debicki as Macduff's wife.

Kurzel shot his version of the play on location throughout England and Scotland last year.

Macbeth opens on October 2 in the UK.

1602: Witch Hunter Angela #1

Written by Marguerite Bennett and Kieron Gillen

Art by Stephanie Hans and Marguerite Sauvage

Published by Marvel Comics

The latest Secret Wars tie-in is set in the Marvel 1602 universe. This universe was created by Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert and transplanted the major Marvel superheroes created in the 1960s to height of the English Renaissance during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James and just before the settling of Jamestown. Writers Marguerite Bennett and Kieron Gillen and artists Stephanie Hans and Marguerite Sauvage make this universe their own by transposing the angelic bounty hunter (and daughter of Odin) Angela and her friend Sera to the Marvel 1602 world where they hunt mutants or “Witchbreed”.

Witch Hunter Angela #1 is filled to the brim with jokes, Shakespearean-style wordplay, and fun, mainly ironic takes on both Marvel heroes and historical figures. Gillen and Sauvage tell a short lead story...

Sneak Peek new footage of Michael Fassbender as director Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth", written by Jacob Koskoff and Todd Louiso, based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name, also starring Marion Cotillard, Sean Harris, Paddy Considine, Elizabeth Debicki and David Thewlis:

"...after being flattered by 'Three Witches' and his own wife, 'Macbeth' rationalizes that murdering his king and usurping the throne is the right thing to do.

"Ultimately, however, the prophecies of the witches prove misleading, and Macbeth alienates the nobility of Scotland, his wife commits suicide and he is defeated in battle by 'Prince Malcolm'. As the King's armies disintegrate he encounters 'Macduff', a refugee nobleman whose wife and children had earlier been murdered by Macbeth's death squads.

"Upon realizing that he will die if he duels Macduff, Macbeth at first refuses to do so. But when Macduff explains that if Macbeth surrenders...

After recently premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, "Macbeth," starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, has unveiled the first trailer. Check it out below. "Macbeth" is a new adaptation of the William Shakespeare play. It will retain the 11th century setting and the original dialogue as well. The story follows the devious Macbeth, a Scottish lord who will stop at nothing to become King. The new movie is directed by Justin Kurzel (The Turning, The Snowtown Murders). A Us release date has yet to be announced. Trailer:...

All hail! After a buzzy debut at Cannes in May, Macbeth got its first official teaser trailer on Thursday, June 4, four months before its planned UK theatrical release on Oct. 2. The nearly two-minute video, posted to StudioCanal's YouTube page, offers a tantalizing look at the upcoming movie adaptation of William Shakespeare's famed tragedy about a military general turned King of Scotland, played in the Justin Kurzel-directed film by Michael Fassbender.  The trailer begins hauntingly, with Fassbender emerging from a slow-motion battle scene as unseen voices whisper, [...]...

Don't cry for Harvey Weinstein. The venerable mini-major movie tycoon may have just discovered he has a potential art house hit on his hands.  The Weinstein Company is distributing Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" in the United States, but Studio Canal UK, who originally financed it, released the world's first teaser for it this morning and got a buzzworthy reception. Over eight hours after the trailer's debut, "Macbeth" was still trending worldwide on Twitter. That's pretty remarkable for yet another adaptation of William Shakespeare's 400-year-old play. A lot of that has to do with the appeal of the film's stars, Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, and Kurzel's stunning visuals.  Frankly, much of the credit for the film's look actually has to go to cinematographer Adam Arkapaw. With recent credits including "Animal Kingdom," the first season of HBO's "True Detective" and "Top of the Lake" (he won Emmy Awards for the...

Of all the many Shakespearean plays in existence, Macbeth is undoubtedly one of the most cinematically inclined. Taking place in the wild and dangerous moors of medieval Scotland, the play was practically made for the big screen with its scenes of war and encounters with witches.

Naturally, Macbeth has been made into a movie more than once, adapted by such directing legends as Roman Polanski and Orson Welles. This time, it’s Australian director Justin Kurzel’s turn to take the helm, casting awards favourites Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth respectively.

The classic tale is one of ambition and madness, and the interconnected nature of both. If somehow you managed to miss out in high school, the plot follows ambitious war campaigner Macbeth who, after hearing a prophecy from a trio of witches, makes it his goal to become king. Of course, this involves killing the existing king,...

“What’s done cannot be undone” – Lady Macbeth (Act V, Scene I)

The dark and thrilling first trailer is here for MacBeth.

MacBeth is directed by Justin Kurzel (Snowtown) and stars Academy-Award nominee Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave) and Academy-Award winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose). The film also stars Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum), David Thewlis (the Harry Potter series), Sean Harris (Prometheus), Jack Reynor (What Richard Did) and Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby).

MacBeth is the story of a fearless warrior and inspiring leader brought low by ambition and desire. A thrilling interpretation of the dramatic realities of the times and a reimagining of what wartime must have been like for one of Shakespeare’s most famous and compelling characters, a story of all-consuming passion and ambition, set in war torn Scottish landscape.

The film had its World Premiere at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and was the...

Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard have a lust for power in this first trailer for MacBeth. The latest adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy comes from Snowtown and The Turning director Justin Kurzel (who is set to re-team with Fassbender and Cotillard for the planned Assassin's Creed movie), and it received an excellent response when it premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival.... Read More...

The first reviews of Justin Kurzel's Macbeth out of the Cannes Film Festival were quite strong, referring to the film as dark, brooding, raw and visceral it sounds as if Kurzel brought the darkness he delivered in The Snowtown Murders to William Shakespeare's play and today we have the first official trailer for the adaptation. Starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, Kurzel's Macbeth tells the story of a fearless warrior and inspiring leader brought low by ambition and desire. Described as a reimagining of what wartime must have been like for one of Shakespeare's most famous and compelling characters, we follow along as this story of all-consuming passion and ambition unfolds in war torn Scottish landscape. The Weinstein Co. has yet to set a stateside release date, but you can watch the trailer below and wish it was hitting theaters tomorrow. sb id="1529869" height="360" width="640"...

Snowtown director Justin Kurzel's adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragic play stars Michael Fassbender as Macbeth, the warrior turned traitor who murders his king and spirals into madness. The film, which had its premiere at last month's Cannes film festival and is released in the UK on 2 October, also stars Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth, tortured by insatiable ambition Continue reading...

Following its critically acclaimed premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the first trailer for Justin Kurzel’s (Snowtown) intense adaption of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth has come our way, and it is nothing short of beautiful, with Kurzel marrying some striking visuals with the Bard’s famous dialogue. Michael Fassbender cuts an imposing figure as the the playwright’s darkest and most compelling characters, driven by ambition to take the throne of Scotland by force only to be brought to the edge of madness by guilt and paranoia, and with able support coming from Marion Cotillard as the manipulative Lady MacBeth. This really seems like a two hander, and they couldn’t have gotten a better leading pair to play off each other. If you weren’t excited before, the Scottish Film should definitely be on your radar after this. Released: 2nd October (Irl/U.K.) Synopsis: Macbeth is the...

Michael Fassbender will do whatever it takes to seize the throne in the first full trailer for Macbeth.

Justin Kurzel's adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy features an all-star cast, including Marion Cotillard as the manipulative Lady Macbeth.

The re-telling of Macbeth sees Fassbender playing the title character, a warrior who is brought down by his own lust for power.

The supporting cast includes Paddy Considine, David Thewlis and Sean Harris.

Fassbender has previously admitted that he was quite intimidated by playing Macbeth on the big screen, and hopes that he has done "justice" to the infamous character.

Meanwhile, two clips from the war epic were recently unveiled.

Macbeth opens on October 2 in the UK. A Us release date has not yet been announced.

The Official Competition at Cannes closed out on Saturday with “Macbeth,” Australian director Justin Kurzel’s new interpretation of William Shakespeare’s classic tale of murder and tragedy, starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. It’s been a long time since we had a truly great Shakespearean movie (Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet” is probably the last, nearly twenty years ago, depending on your feelings on Michael Almereyda’s 2000 modern-day “Hamlet”), and even longer since there was a great version of this particular play: despite being one of the author’s best-known, it’s generally proven resistant to translation. But as our review revealed, Kurzel’s film manages both feats: it’s a bold take that, while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, certainly tricks the wheel out with intelligence and visual bravado, and has an engine driven by some furious performances. It’s a very, very different version than...

Justin Kurzel may well succeed in making Shakespeare cool again for mainstream cinemagoers judging by the mostly ecstatic reviews in Cannes for Macbeth.

Screened in competition on Saturday, the See-Saw Films production stars Michael Fassbender as the Scottish lord and Marion Cotillard as his ambitious wife.

Reviewers heaped praise on the Snowtown director, the leads. performances and Adam Arkapaw.s luminous cinematography, and some are bullish about its B.O. prospects.

Transmission will launch the film shot in England and Scotland in Pctober Australia and The Weinstein Co will distribute in the Us.

.Although tradition is upheld with a Dark Ages-Early Christian period setting, actually shot in Scotland for once, in most other respects Australian director Justin Kurzel filters Shakespeare's tragic story of murderous ambition through a resolutely modern sensibility,. declared The Hollywood Reporter.s Leslie Felperin. .Comparisons with Game of Thrones will be inevitable, and not always flatteringly intended,...

TWC

Rating: ★★★★

Normally adaptations of the Bard’s works live in an immense shadow, confined by the rigid structure of his plays and thus consisting mostly of lengthy dialogue exchanges across a handful of sets. This approach has admittedly led to some great films (just take a trip down Kenneth Branagh’s filmography), but can also make it feel like we haven’t moved on that much from drunken revellers watching then-contemporary productions in a pre-fire Globe.

From the opening of Macbeth, Justin Kurzel makes clear that this is something different. There’s a text crawl providing contextual information that moves up to reveal wide landscape shots of a barren, unforgiving Scotland bathed in mist as three figures drolly prophesie the future, followed by an action sequence epic in scale and breath-taking in its majesty. Slow-motion shots punctuate the visceral battle, highlighting blood spurts, sword swings and character screams. It...

#Redcarpet MacBeth by Justin Kurzel #Cannes2015 pic.twitter.com/Lwz4dMT3Wc

— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) May 23, 2015

Of all of William Shakespeare’s classic works, Macbeth must surely be amongst his most famous.

Certainly, in the more than 400 years since its first publication, it has been one of the most frequently adapted; revived regularly on stage and re-envisioned time and again in the age of cinema and television.

Now comes a bold and daring version starring Academy-Award nominee Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave) and Academy-Award winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose).

Directed by Justin Kurzel (Snowtown), MacBeth had its World Premiere at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and was the final movie to screen in Competition.

In his review, Guy Lodge (Variety) praises the director’s “thrillingly elemental new adaptation. Fearsomely visceral and impeccably performed, it’s a brisk, bracing update, even as it remains exquisitely in period.”

The...

Cannes — This Scottish General is a mad warrior. He takes down one victim after another, seemingly fueled by an endless stream of rage. He applies war paint to the faces of his teenage soldiers and throws them onto the battlefield, eventually haunted by their wasted deaths. Constant war has made Macbeth a man on the edge of madness, and that’s exactly what director Justin Kurzel wants to exploit in his stylistic new adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic play. One of Shakespeare’s most acclaimed creations, “Macbeth” has been adapted as a film or TV film at least 15 times in some form or another, with the most notable interpretations coming from Orson Wells, Roman Polanski and Akira Kurosawa (“Throne of Blood”). Kurzel differentiates his predecessors by incorporating a striking and gritty aesthetic to the proceedings while also abridging the story to allow for a shorter movie-going experience. (Polanski’s...

Reviewing Macbeth in Cannes, Variety's Guy Lodge notes that "while Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet get dusted off at least once a generation by filmmakers, the Scottish Play hasn’t enjoyed significant bigscreen treatment since Roman Polanski’s admirable if tortured 1971 version. The wait for another may be even longer after Justin Kurzel’s scarcely improvable new adaptation." The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw: "As Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard are a dream-team pairing." And at Indiewire, Kaleem Aftab praises "the magnificent cinematography by Adam Arkapaw." We've got clips and we're collecting more reviews. » - David Hudson...

Reviewing Macbeth in Cannes, Variety's Guy Lodge notes that "while Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet get dusted off at least once a generation by filmmakers, the Scottish Play hasn’t enjoyed significant bigscreen treatment since Roman Polanski’s admirable if tortured 1971 version. The wait for another may be even longer after Justin Kurzel’s scarcely improvable new adaptation." The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw: "As Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard are a dream-team pairing." And at Indiewire, Kaleem Aftab praises "the magnificent cinematography by Adam Arkapaw." We've got clips and we're collecting more reviews. » - David Hudson...

Cannes — The last film in competition has debuted at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, and that meant it was time for two of the world's most respected and photogenic stars to get their moment in the spotlight. So, yes, the global media were quite excited about Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender taking the podium for "Macbeth's" official press conference. Justin Kurzel's new adaptation is a stylish, gritty and intense depiction of William Shakespeare's classic play. Fassbender plays the title role passionately and Cotillard takes on his Lady. Kurzel expands on the material by including some beautiful and gruesome war sequences that frame the story in a slightly different light. Fassbender said he experienced the play when he was 15 and later when he was in grad school, but was taking on the iconic role for the first time. It was a conversation with the Aussie director, however, that provided...

Show people may superstitiously refuse to call Macbeth anything other than "the Scottish play," but the producers of this latest film version have lucked out by assembling cast and crew elements that make for an intensely compelling work. Although tradition is upheld with a Dark Ages-Early Christian period setting, actually shot in Scotland for once (unlike the 1971 Roman Polanski version), in most other respects Australian director Justin Kurzel (Snowtown) filters Shakespeare's tragic story of murderous ambition through a resolutely modern sensibility. Comparisons with Game of Thrones will be inevitable, and not always flatteringly intended, but they won't

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