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The Tragedy of Macbeth- Denzel Frances McDormand Coen Bros


Michael Knight

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10 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

It looks like this one is just Joel. Stephen Root is in this one too.

Don't Joel & Ethan still do that thing where they alternate who gets writing/directing credits for a film?  Even though both work on them about equal.  

Pretty crazy that a Coen Brothers film finally has a Black lead, and it's in a film about Scotsmen.  

I celebrate their entire catalog and always will.  I don't know how I'm gonna sneak off after Christmas, but it's worth a valiant effort.  

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6 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Don't Joel & Ethan still do that thing where they alternate who gets writing/directing credits for a film?  Even though both work on them about equal.  

Pretty crazy that a Coen Brothers film finally has a Black lead, and it's in a film about Scotsmen.  

I celebrate their entire catalog and always will.  I don't know how I'm gonna sneak off after Christmas, but it's worth a valiant effort.  

Not anymore.  

All the way back in 2019, we reported that Joel Coen (of the Coen brothers) was working on a version of Macbeth starring Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington, but without his brother Ethan Coen (who is also a Coen brother, obviously). The two had worked together separately in the past, so getting one without the other isn’t completely unheard of, but it is pretty rare—they’re professionally referred to as “the Coen brothers” for a reason, after all. But according to composer Carter Burwell, who has been a longtime Coen brothers collaborator (and is scoring The Tragedy Of Macbeth), this Coen schism might not be a one-off this time.

On a recent episode of the Score podcast (via IndieWire), Burwell explained the split by saying that Ethan Coen “just didn’t want to make movies anymore” and that he “seems very happy” working on theatrical productions and other non-movie projects. He says that the Coen brothers have written a lot of scripts together that are still “sitting on various shelves,” but he doesn’t know what they’ll be doing—together or separately—after Joel Coen makes his Macbeth movie. It’s all so up in the air, apparently, that he thinks there might even be a chance that they all just retire soon, adding, “it’s a wonderfully unpredictable business.” (Imagining a movie industry where Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers have all retired sure is wild.)

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18 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

Not anymore.  

All the way back in 2019, we reported that Joel Coen (of the Coen brothers) was working on a version of Macbeth starring Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington, but without his brother Ethan Coen (who is also a Coen brother, obviously). The two had worked together separately in the past, so getting one without the other isn’t completely unheard of, but it is pretty rare—they’re professionally referred to as “the Coen brothers” for a reason, after all. But according to composer Carter Burwell, who has been a longtime Coen brothers collaborator (and is scoring The Tragedy Of Macbeth), this Coen schism might not be a one-off this time.

On a recent episode of the Score podcast (via IndieWire), Burwell explained the split by saying that Ethan Coen “just didn’t want to make movies anymore” and that he “seems very happy” working on theatrical productions and other non-movie projects. He says that the Coen brothers have written a lot of scripts together that are still “sitting on various shelves,” but he doesn’t know what they’ll be doing—together or separately—after Joel Coen makes his Macbeth movie. It’s all so up in the air, apparently, that he thinks there might even be a chance that they all just retire soon, adding, “it’s a wonderfully unpredictable business.” (Imagining a movie industry where Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers have all retired sure is wild.)

 

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I wonder how faithful to the source material this will be. Cross posting from the "movie you just watched" thread:

Quote

 

Throne of Blood (1957) (Kumonosu-jō). 

Allegedly the best rendition of Shakespeare's MacBeth ever done, instead of Scotland with knights, Samurai's in Japan. Watched it because cinephiles and purists rave about it-- hard to enjoy a movie like this unless you are the Wu-Tang Clan I guess.

 

 

Edited by DonkeyCigars
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  • 11 months later...
On 9/22/2021 at 2:28 PM, DonkeyCigars said:

I wonder how faithful to the source material this will be. Cross posting from the "movie you just watched" thread:

 

Finally got around to seeing this, what, almost a year later from posting this.

As someone who hasn't read MacBeth in around 7-8 years but has watched recent adaptions, the story was very familiar (seriously disappointed in the posts on here who had never read or watched a MacBeth play or adaption, you uneducated rubes), but I think the minimalist set pieces and the black and white lighting/shooting made it feel unfamiliar.

There was definitely a gothic feel and at first I wasn't thrilled with Denzel's portrayal, but by mid-film and once he started to fall into insanity, I think he found his gait and he nailed the iconic lines and carried the film to the end. I was pleasantly surprised with MacDuff too, I thought he nailed the part and beyond Denzel comported himself the best. 

Not sure where all the FMcD love is coming from-- very average performance IMO. Not bad, just nothing special. I wonder if her reputation precedes her in this case, but I've seen better Lady MacBeth's in suburban community theatres. Not really, but you get my point.

I really enjoyed the portrayal of the witches-- that lady was probably the real MVP, actually.

Anyways, 8.5/10, a pretty faithful adaption of Shakespeare (though never in love with Ross being the Third Murderer, it's never made a lot of sense and Coen does it here), with a cool take on the minimalist set design and black/white.

Unlike Bloom, I think this was better than my quoted post above which he (as a renowned Shakespeare and Western canon critic) said was the best adaption of MacBeth. It sucks he passed before this was released I'd love to have heard his take.

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Where'd you watch this?  I recently checked every streaming service I have and it was nowhere to be found.

I don't have Apple TV, is that the only place you can see it?

I had just watched Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing and Denzel was a home run so I was curious how he did Macbeth.

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Speaking of Branagh, I wish he'd do Richard III.

The Hollow Crown series did a nice one, with Benedict Cumberbatch doing really well as Richard, but I'd really like to see Branagh in that role, and given how wonderful his adaptions have been over the years (I'm working my way through Hamlet for a second time and I'm still gape jawed), I've no doubt he'd deliver something worthwhile with one history's most fascinating characters.

Edited by Augustus
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52 minutes ago, Augustus said:

Where'd you watch this?  I recently checked every streaming service I have and it was nowhere to be found.

I don't have Apple TV, is that the only place you can see it?

I had just watched Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing and Denzel was a home run so I was curious how he did Macbeth.

American Airlines Flight 1919 😝

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49 minutes ago, Augustus said:

Speaking of Branagh, I wish he'd do Richard III.

The Hollow Crown series did a nice one, with Benedict Cumberbatch doing really well as Richard, but I'd really like to see Branagh in that role, and given how wonderful his adaptions have been over the years (I'm working my way through Hamlet for a second time and I'm still gape jawed), I've no doubt he'd deliver something worthwhile with one history's most fascinating characters.

You are a smart and noble person, if but only I could rep you, but alas the bumbling class has neutered me still.

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1 hour ago, Augustus said:

Where'd you watch this?  I recently checked every streaming service I have and it was nowhere to be found.

I don't have Apple TV, is that the only place you can see it?

I had just watched Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing and Denzel was a home run so I was curious how he did Macbeth.

i've been looking for it too.  let me know if you find it.

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