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Monserratt Leal
Ms. Crutchfield
Pre-AP English 7
12 February 2014
Directors and Cinematography
In the Banquet Scene of William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, Macbeth and
his wife host a banquet in which his guilt, for killing his best friend Banquo, tricks his
mind into seeing Banquo’s ghost, and this portrays Macbeth as insane in the eyes of
his guests. The play Macbeth has been adapted into many films, made by different
directors. Three of the most known and studied films are the Goold adaptation, the
Freeston version, and finally, Kurosawa’s version, which goes by the name of Throne
of Blood. The way an audience understands and connects to a film is solely based on
a director’s decisions regarding the film’s elements of cinematography. The decisions
Goold and Freeston make for their adaptation/version of the scene, are better than
Kurosawa’s version to fulfill this purpose.
The directors’ decisions regarding the way the characters act define how the
audience perceives their characterization. The Goold adaptation lets the audience
understand and relate to the characters because of the actors’ exaggerated facial
expressions and movements. The audience has this connection when Macbeth first
sees Banquo’s ghost walking towards him. Macbeth abruptly stands up from his chair
and his face changes from being relaxed to becoming outraged, because of the
situation. His reaction causes Lady Macbeth to react in an alarmed manner, which
she transmits by showing a perturbed and tormented facial expression (Goold). With
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the actors’ facial appearance the audience immediately understands what Macbeth
and Lady Macbeth are feeling and acknowledge the reason why they are reacting the
way they are. Similarly, in the Freeston version, the actors’ movements are very
noticeable, so that the audience understands the character’s position in the situation
and their reactions to it. The audience notices this, when Lady Macbeth brusquely
approaches Macbeth and draws him away from the guests, taking him behind a thick
column to ask him angrily if is he is a man, after his curt reaction for seeing Banquo’s
ghost. Lady Macbeth’s movements make her reaction seem serious and critical, and
because of this, the audience can see that she is feeling threatened and anxious. On
the other hand, Kurosawa’s version does not let the audience capture the whole
essence of the characters in the scene because the actors’ lack of variation with their
facial expressions. In this version, Washizu (Macbeth) has the same vexed
expression all through out the scene, the audience cannot see much of the guests’
faces, and Miki’s ghost’s (Banquo) face does not change from his undisturbed mien.
These actors show no dramatic change throughout the scene, and the audience
does not really capture Washizu’s reactions and emotions when he sees Miki. Even if
the Goold Adaptation and the Freeston versions were muted, the audience could
depend solely on the acting and still comprehend the character’s and their
circumstances, but these films’ directors have chosen specific music and sound
effect to complement it.
The directors’ decisions regarding music and sound effects affect how the
audience senses the atmosphere. The Goold adaptation helps create a gloomy
atmosphere and lets the audience notice the seriousness of the character’s reactions
towards the situation. At first, when Macbeth is about to see Banquo’s ghost, the
director uses eerie music in the background. Also, when Macbeth has seen Banquo’s
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ghost and is shouting at him, there is an echo to Macbeth’s voice. The use of these
sound effects creates a somber and suspenseful atmosphere and the audience
becomes aware of Macbeth’s threatened and shocked state. Equally, the Freeston
version successfully creates a cold atmosphere in which Macbeth’s feelings are
emphasized. After Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost, there is a rumbling sound in the
background, plus, the audience gets to hear Macbeth’s rapid breathing and the echo
of his voice as he shouts. This emphasizes the unwelcoming frigid atmosphere of the
scene, and lets the audience know that Macbeth is feeling guilty and scared because
of the circumstance. On the contrary, Kurosawa’s version does not lead the audience
to understand the atmosphere by means of sound effects or music. The only sound
the audience hears throughout the scene is Washizu’s voice and movements and
there is no use of sound effects or music. The lack of these elements makes the
atmosphere seem dry and drives the audience to no conclusion on the general
feeling of the scene, therefore, finding no connection to it. Another element used by
both directors, Goold and Freeston to add more emphasis on the tension in this
scene’s atmosphere, is the use of lighting.
The way a director manipulates the lighting of a scene also determines how the
audience perceives the atmosphere. The lighting details in the Goold adaptation
create changes in the atmosphere, which are made to make the audience notice and
acknowledge the reason for these changes. At first, when Macbeth, Lady Macbeth,
and the guests are sitting at the table, there is a welcoming atmosphere created by
the warm light over the table. When Banquo comes into the scene, Macbeth rises
and moves towards an area that has no lighting in the background, which makes his
background completely black, and this is complemented by Banquo’s ghost shadow
on the white tablecloth when he is walking towards Macbeth. This way of positioning
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and manipulating the scene’s lighting changes the scene from having a welcoming
and relaxed atmosphere to creating a sinister and somber one. This lets the
audience better understand and feel the changes in the atmosphere. Likewise,
Freeston also makes changes in lighting to demonstrate the change in atmosphere.
Before Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost, a light-toned beige light illuminates the
background of the room. Once Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost, the whole room is
made dark and is only illuminated by a dim blue light, letting Banquo’s blood shine
with it. It is made clear to the audience that the scene first starts with a fresh and
friendly atmosphere and then transforms into a heavy and dense one because of the
lighting. Conversely, in Kurosawa’s version, the audience does not sense the
atmosphere of the scene because the lighting does not change. In this whole scene,
the room always remains well illuminated. Because of this, the audience sees no
change and makes it harder for them to connect with the ambience.
Transition: The orientation of the Lighting is enhanced by the way the set design is
organized and how the props are used.
The way a director chooses to arrange the set the design and the props
affects the atmosphere of the scene and the characterization of the characters. In the
Goold adaptation the props and the set design play a vital role in creating the
atmosphere so that in the scene the main ideas are conveyed to let the audience
have a better understanding. For instance, when Banquo’s ghost is walking on top of
the table, a glass of wine is spilt, and he has bloodstains all over his white shirt. The
wine symbolizes Banquo’s blood, making an emphasis on the seriousness of the
deed, making the atmosphere suspenseful, and drawing the audience to
acknowledge Macbeth’s guilty conscience. In a like manner, Freeston uses his props
to create the seriousness in the atmosphere so that it is clearer to the audience. In
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this version, Banquo’s ghost has blood in his face and the director adds smoke to the
background as Macbeth shouts to Banquo’s ghost. Banquo’s face is a reflection of
Macbeth’s thoughts and this makes the audience understand Macbeth’s perspective,
which creates a serious atmosphere, and it is made sinister and dark with the adding
of the fog in the background. On the other side, in Kurosawa’s version, the props do
not alter the atmosphere of the scene and just serve to give the audience an insight
on the characterization of Washizu. For example, Washizu draws his sword when he
sees Miki, but this only makes the audience see that Washizu feels vulnerable
because his guilt has taken over his mind.
As a final point, the Goold adaptation and the Freeston version of this scene
let the audience make a sense of the characters’ emotions, and become conscious of
the scene’s atmosphere successfully, but only the Goold adaptation lets the audience
fully encapsulate the essence of the atmosphere and feel the characters’ emotions
by having dynamic actors and sound effects, and creative ways of manipulating the
lighting and positioning the props and set design.
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Works Cited
Freeston, Jeremy, dir. Macbeth. JCP Public Relations, 1997. Film.
Goold, Rupert British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) 2010. Film.
Kurosawa, Akira, dir. Throne of Blood. Toho Company, 1961. Film.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. Print.