PREMIÈRE · UPPER SECONDARY · B1+ towards B2

Film analysis

Watch the film at home

  1. The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), directed by Joel Coen, with Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, in black and white. Where to watch: JustWatch France.
  2. Macbeth (2015), directed by Justin Kurzel, with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. Where to watch: JustWatch France.
  3. DVD: ask at your local library or médiathèque.
  4. Scenes to watch: the witches on the heath (Act I), the dagger and the murder of Duncan (Act II), the banquet and Banquo's ghost (Act III), the sleepwalking scene (Act V).

Watch with English subtitles if you can. The films contain violence.

One key scene per act

Scene 1 (Act I)

The witches on the heath and the first meeting with Macbeth and Banquo.

Question: How does the director make the witches strange: bodies, voices, setting?

My notes: setting / camera / light / sound / acting

Scene 2 (Act II)

The dagger soliloquy and the murder of Duncan.

Question: Do we see the dagger? What does the director choose to show or hide?

My notes: setting / camera / light / sound / acting

Scene 3 (Act III)

The banquet and Banquo's ghost.

Question: How is the ghost shown? What do the guests see?

My notes: setting / camera / light / sound / acting

Scene 4 (Act V)

The sleepwalking scene and the end.

Question: How do light, sound and silence show Lady Macbeth's guilt?

My notes: setting / camera / light / sound / acting

Two films compared

Joel Coen (2021)Justin Kurzel (2015)
Colourblack and whitecolour, mist and fire
Settinga stylised, almost empty castlereal Scottish landscapes
My favourite and why
Sentence starters

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