In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Monday 2 September 2013

Macbeth (1948)

Orson Welles' bleak version of the Scottish play forgot that it was Scottish, even in the supposed accented version, but it did remember that it was supposed to be dramatic. It's more ghostly expressionistic stage production than film, but that just adds to the ambitious charm.
The reason it doesn't score higher is because of moments where it plummets into unintentional comedy (that crown!) and the often rigid delivery of lines (dialogue was pre-recorded) that left little room for freedom of movement within the lengthy scenes.

3½ cauldron bubbles out of 5

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