10 Best William Shakespeare Film Adaptations

2. Macbeth (Roman Polanski, 1971)

Whatever you may think of Roman Polanski as a person, it's very difficult to deny his power as a film-maker (read more about that here). His classic period, from Knife in the Water to The Tenant, contains some of the most extraordinary, terrifying and mesmerising scenes in modern cinema, and he has few rivals when it comes to creating an atmosphere of oppressive, horrifying dread. But while Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown often come in for the lion's share of praise, his version of Macbeth is every bit as compelling and worthy of recognition.

Macbeth is a tragedy rooted in the influence of the supernatural. Macbeth, a war hero, is visited by three witches who prophesy he will one day be King of Scotland. After the incumbent King Duncan announces Malcolm as his heir, Macbeth plots with his wife to murder Duncan and blame it on his sons. With both heirs fled to England and Ireland respectively, the prophecy is fulfilled and Macbeth is crowned €“ but that is only the beginning of the bloodshed, driven by the witches' tricks and the couple's mental disintegration...

Polanski's Macbeth has personal resonance for me, because it is one of the first films that genuinely terrified me. Co-scripted by the legendary theatre critic Kenneth Tynan, the film combines naturalistic acting with extraordinary use of montage and gallons of blood; when Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost, he sees Banquo in increasing states of decay, a la Griffin Dunne's character in An American Werewolf in London. Its crowning glory, however, as Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth, who goes from a sweet, loving wife to being utterly unhinged. Her version of the "out, damn spot!" monologue, delivered entirely in the nude, is one of the most intimidating scenes in 1970s cinema.