While previously noted that the play is one of Shakespeare's shortest efforts, and that this film version is faithful to spirit of the play, it is not without some amendments or excisions. The dialogue from the potion making scene with the witches, when they utter the famous lines "hubble bubble toil and trouble" are removed completely by the writers here. This is presumably because the line is so recognisable and can appear silly in most cases. It could also point to a desire to tell the story with pictures as much as possible, rather than through language alone - strange as that may seem for a film based on a Shakespeare play. Another notable omission is that of Donalbain. In the play, Donalbain is the son of Donald who flees to Ireland after the death of his father. He does not return. In the Polanski version, Donald does return at the end of the play and is actually given the final scene, as he meets the witches and is presumably told he will ascend to the thrown ofter the death of Malcolm - as he did in real life. The director has chosen to remove Donalbain from the story completely here though, presumably because he would have offered little to the story. It's clear then that while the film sticks to the spirit of the original, what works best on film comes first at all time. Unnecessary lines and characters are removed and the director and actors have chosen to use the original as a guide rather than become slaves to it. Are you excited for Macbeth? Share any thoughts on the film down in the comments.
