The Tragedy of Macbeth: How Denzel Washington Does Shakespeare

[@RossCourtright]

I love the Dagger soliloquy here. He's already made his mind up, and he's simply enjoying the hallucination. He's receiving some sort of cosmic confirmation in his beliefs. The rest of the movie he has all the confidence and sarcasm of a conspiracy theorist.

[@franklinkaufman5929]

This has to be one of the best thematic interpretations of Macbeth that I have seen. The casting of one person for multiple roles fits so well in this setting, and the modern-ish buildings contrast amazingly with the older more medieval clothing. Happy to see someone covering it!

[@ThoughtWord]

Yes, it's REALLY good! I thought the double casting of Kathryn Hunter as the witches and the "Old Man" from Act II, Scene 4 was a stroke of brilliance. It brought a layer of vague menace to the scene that's unique.

[@TylerCrossWrestling]

I watched this four times in one week because I was so entranced each time. I knew nothing of Macbeth before this interpretation and it has become one of my favorite movies ever.

[@charlottetracy3970]

Wonderful! Washington is a master of his craft; regardless of the genre, he brings gravitas to his performances. One of the greatest actors to have been on the silver screen. In MacBeth, he just takes your breath away and leaves you wondering how anyone else could have portrayed the role past, present or future any better than he has.

[@joette5333]

As a fan of sci-fi I was captivated . the movie was fantastic and put my brain into overdrive . The 3rd viewing was as fresh as the first and as haunting. WONDERFUL

[@ThoughtWord]

Yes! A student of mine commented that they couldn't tell if the movie was set on an alien planet, in a post-apocalyptic future, or both...

[@Paratet]

Denzel's Macbeth definitely stands up there with the best. The whole 5th Act, Denzel plays kind of a meta version of the character. He's just going through the motions because he knows what fate belies him. When Macduff emphatically tells him, he "was not born of woman" Macbeth is cold and detached. His lines delivered like someone bored of the script and he's just trying to reach the end. Every other performance is delivered with fear followed by bravado. We love Shakespeare for all of the drama and poetry but, in one of the most stylized versions of his tales, it feels so grounded and "real."

[@joaoii1082]

This Macbeth feels nihilistic, something i don't really get from the other Macbeths. More experienced too as you said. My favourite interpretation of this Shakespeare play

[@therealbs2000]

Patrick stewart will have a word with you

[@ramonalejandrosuare]

There's this kind of lethargy he brings to the role. As if the weight of all his ambitions and responsibilities whittled him down to a shell of a man. I think it is really important that Denzel and Frances are older actors. They don't have the vigor of younger people and all of the illusions that comes with youth.

[@amirtootooni8328]

Wonderful work as always! I think Denzel does oscarworthy acting in whatever movie he works in, he is one of the greatest to ever to it. The Tragedy of Macbeth hightlights that. Not that the oscars matter, but he got snubbed for this and flight imo. What an actor! What a person!

[@trevor133]

Something about denzel’s eyes. It speaks a whole emotion by itselves. Top 3 actor of his generation

[@mikeg9305]

Speaking about his eyes even in this clip's final scenes.. the way he dims his eyes when responding to McDuff's decree that he's not born of a woman--my gosh!. He really does express the character's depression, descent into madness & his facial expressions really connected with me--bringing to life the realism of a huanted & hounded King who despite predictions of glory. knows his time is coming to en end. Top 3 indeed & maybe the best!

[@jeanettesdaughter]

It was a stunning performance . Shakespeare would be proudest. As “Colorless, surreal, empty “as he wrote it and meant it. READ it again!

[@myflyingpotato0]

Five minutes ago. That's how long ago I found out about this movie at all. I knew Denzel has played stage performances of Shakespeare and what I found was this beautifully constructed movie. I must watch it. It invokes Tartakovsky's cinematography like in Samurai Jack.

[@Technovore88]

Excellent comparison to Tartakovsky's shots. I think of the episode where Jack fought the ninja android and they hid in the shadows and the light of dusk comes to mind for me.

[@chrisreed3022]

It's the domesticity of the setting that makes this so chilling. What Hannah Arendt coined the "the banality of evil".

[@jasonwilloughby1372]

When i saw this performance my immediate thought was " he's won another oscar".

[@ThoughtWord]

After the Will Smith/Chris Rock debacle, I think Denzel should have won Best Actor by default.

[@sertaki]

One of the best looking and most atmospheric movies of all time.

[@gungeek4230]

How did Will get the Oscar over Denzel? The award is hypocrisy made metal.

[@SuPeRNinJaRed]

5:23 I can't say how much I love the visual metaphor of Duncan's bedchamber doorknob being a dagger, but I just can't get over how it looks a handle on a refrigerator... damn I hate it when comedy ruins drama!! ;P

[@MrGrass97]

I’m partial to ‘Throne of Blood’ myself but this was incredibly impressive.

[@RicardoSenzo]

First time here. If this is the quality I can expect from your analysis, I'll be here regularly. Subscribed.

[@ThoughtWord]

Thanks! I'll try to keep bringing the goods!

[@Scott28k]

I love your analysis of Macbeth (Denzel). I'm tutoring for a class that's reading Macbeth, and I'm watching the movie and following along in the book. It doesn't hit everything, but it makes it a little easier for me to digest.

[@N7niko]

It’s not often you upload. But it’s a treat every time.

[@ThoughtWord]

Too true. I'm glad it's worth the wait!

[@theliato3809]

Theres something about the long time actor Denzel giving Macbeth an experience feeling to Macbeth youd almost think his ambition isnt outstripping his ability to do so. But that in a way makes the veteran officer part of his character hammer home the drastic means he falls into to keep the crown more assured as Macbeth would have been knee deep in blood from many battles that he could be desensitized to such violence.

[@bartholomew5101]

It's an immaculate adaptation, but to me, 1971's version still reigns supreme

[@orchadetrm]

It's funny to believe that there are "so called" Shakspeaian purists when they have likely never even witnessed a Shakespeare play during his time.

[@iamjonreed]

his best performance ever

[@_BillyMandalay]

Nope. "Training Day".

[@mikeg9305]

@@_BillyMandalay Malcolm X was better-- in fact, Hurricane was better too, Flight's performance was excellent too. The guy never dissapoints with his top notch acts.

[@toricarlini4474]

Denzel Washington has a talent for Shakespeare

[@brittanislarp3850]

I absolutely love this analysis, AND. I feel like there’s one major miss here. MacBeth’s fight with Seward isn’t won by instinct. The scene VERY clearly shows that this MacBeth has become an old man in a profession where men die young. He is a skilled, effective, and *efficient* killer of men whether he has a weapon in his hands or not.

[@geraldqueener7861]

In a word, wonderful!

[@ziahmanarchive]

perfect

[@pninnabokov3734]

Probably the black & white, but reminds me of Orson Welles' version. "[...] to find meaning in a that's closer to its end" is self-explanatory and should suffice. To add "than to its beginning" is redundant. The former encompasses the latter.

[@pninnabokov3734]

* in a life

[@ThoughtWord]

Perhaps it could be understood as redundant, but I included it as a worthy clarification, given that Macbeth is often played by younger actors who are, in a real sense, closer to the beginning of their lives than the end. Not so with Denzel Washington, unless he lives to be at least 136 years old.

[@RalphBrooker-gn9iv]

But they’re often not ‘The Bard’s stories’. It is his adaptations of very old lore that make Shakespeare The Bard.

[@roddyb33]

Great observations here. Really enjoyed your analysis.

[@bagthebird7610]

even tho i havent seen many iterations (including this one) of the play in modern cinema i still find the 2015 movie to be the best simply because i find the execution of the lines and the whole atmosphere of the 2015 movie far more compelling than ones like this 2021 and others like it but i will definitely watch this simply because its piqued my shakespearian interest

[@bagthebird7610]

also another reason why i find the 2015 movie to be one of the best is because of the layer of a more scottish tone and a focus on how Macbeth's loss and incessant focus of his son, which reminds me there's a video here somewhere on that very topic about the 2015 movie

[@ThoughtWord]

I really like the 2015 adaptation too. Thematically, it's one of the most interesting and innovative versions of Macbeth I've seen. I made a video essay discussing it a couple years ago. Check it out and let me know what you think! kzbin.info/www/bejne/haivmWiqoplkaLM

[@Synthetic-Rabbit]

I can't say I'm a huge Shakespeare fan. I appreciate it but it's not my proverbial cup of tea but I have to say even as a younger teen, I've always liked Macbeth. (Just to be clear, I've only read Macbeth, Romeo and Juicy-Juliet, and Othello).

[@ThoughtWord]

Those are some excellent ones (though I'll admit to not being a huge fan of R+J)! I recommend finding some good filmed stage productions to watch. I really like The Globe's 2013 Macbeth. The RSC did a fantastic Hamlet in 2016 too with Paapa Essiedu starring. It's great.

[@KombatFlix]

✊🏿🔥

[@delicioushitlist]

I didn’t realize fans of a dead man’s work could be so bigoted, shame on you all making racially charged comments about this film because of its casting

[@gato3656]

👍

[@JTidiotboy]

HO ZEL MA DEN DOES ETH

[@gs8494]

I enjoyed the performances in the film but the style doesn't hit with me, Macbeth is a visceral play and this is so sterile, it has some wonderful shots but I can't shake off the feeling that it just doesn't fit. That said Denzel Washington has said he wants to do King Lear and I'm all in for that.

[@JamesBuggemo]

HODEN ZELDOES MAETH

[@Zack-f6p]

Christ saves 🇻🇦✝️

[@MarvNARK]

If Only They had kept them white

[@jedwentz]

How sad that we believe that we can only understand Shakespeare today by destroying the poetry. And then congratulate ourselves for being so lazy in the face of greatness.

[@ThoughtWord]

To be fair, though, Macbeth is arguably the *least* poetic of Shakespeare's plays. He's constantly breaking rhythm and rhyme in it. This is a significant reason why Macbeth feels more contemporary than, say, A Midsummer Night's Dream does.

[@nuniezjorge]

Was Scotland that progressive?

[@ThoughtWord]

Scotland on an alien planet 100 years ago with brutalist architecture? Absolutely.

[@filipealmeidapt]

No, but Macbeth is a play. Not a docudrama or historical reconstruction.

[@DanBeech-ht7sw]

Scotland is incredibly inclusive - to the extent that I cannot recall a major production of Macbeth that included any Scots in the cast. So having another American (we had Orson Welles in the role remember), is no big deal is it? Now I think on it, I can't recall a major production of Romeo and Juliet with any Italians cast, or a Hamlet featuring any Danes

[@jeffreyenglish1815]

The movie itself is awesome. But Denzel’s delivery is terrible. He mumbles and whispers. He has a bad downglide. It is up to the actor to make Shakespeare understandable. I have played Macbeth a few times and know the play’s dialogue well. I couldn’t understand more than half of what Denzel was saying. Sorry. The movie gets a thumbs up but Denzel gets a raspberry.

[@eggheadusa]

Exactly

[@theredbaron5117]

"wE wUz sCoTtIsH KaNgZ n sHeeeIT"

[@filipealmeidapt]

It's a play. Anyone can play Macbeth.

[@_VISION.]

Talk about coping

[@theredbaron5117]

@@filipealmeidapt "A brave SCOTTISH general named MACBETH receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of SCOTLAND." Sure, blacks can play scottish kings lol... but we all know you'd cry tears of pure soy if a scottish actor played Nelson Mandela or Kuntey Kintae haha

[@theredbaron5117]

@@_VISION. Yes it's hard to cope with the perversion of european literature by woke, vacuous non-entities that would call Shakespeare racist for not being hip with 20th century wokeness. Your medal for virtue signalling is in the post with your poster of an african Macbeth lol

[@filipealmeidapt]

@@theredbaron5117 its a play, meant to be performed all around the world. And it has been performed around the world for centuries. You're projecting modern expectations into something that was never meant to be a historial reproduction. I am brazilian and I starred in a play as an ancient greek king from Corinth. It was a play written by a greek 2500 years ago. Since then, it has been performed around the world, by people from different ethnicities and cultures. It is absurd to claim its "incorrect" to do this or a conundrum made to appease progressive political sentiments. You are an uncultured philistine.

[@billmoravec8180]

How does Denzel do Macbeth ? Poorly.