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" Auteurs of Macbeth : "
Girling, Christine
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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1100498
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TLets633098
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| Main Entry
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Girling, Christine
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| Title & Author
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Auteurs of Macbeth :\ Girling, Christine
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| College
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University of Birmingham
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| Date
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2006
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| student score
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2006
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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Akira Kurosawa, Orson Welles and Roman Polanski: three very different filmmakersin whose hands Macbeth becomes three very different films. For Kurosawa, whoadmits himself to being obsessed with exploring the "extraordinary things that lie inhuman hearts," the play becomes a humanist drama concerned with man's inner eviland ambition; in the hands of Welles - whose chief agenda was always extravaganceand spectacle rather than character development -Macbeth becomes a more symbolicfight between good and evil; whereas Polanski, whose major concern is often with the"confrontation of evil," presents Macbeth as a gritty, psychological thriller. All three directors have remarkable filmographies - often being nominated forand winning prestigious awards as well as experiencing professional low-points whichnot only counterbalance this, but at times have even seemed out of sync with the restof their careers. They have also had remarkable personal lives, variously tinged withtragedy, which often seems to be reflected in their films.Kurosawa, born in 1910, experienced first hand the Great Kanto Earthquake,which devastated Japan in 1923, killing more than 100,000, and lived through theSecond World War, which cost more than 2 million Japanese lives. He also sufferedgreat personal loss during his lifetime - one of his brothers and one of his sisters diedduring childhood; and both of his older brothers died when Kurosawa was in histwenties, the younger of whom committed suicide at the age of twenty-seven. Later inlife, the director's personal difficulties became so great that at one point he evenattempted suicide himself.Welles was born five years after Kurosawa, although his living in Americameant that he was less affected by the Second World War. In other ways however, hisupbringing was unconventional and not without tragedy. When he was four hisparents divorced due to 'irreconcilable differences' - the reality of which was that hisfather was an alcoholic and his mother had had a live-in-lover for some time. He wasconsidered a child 'prodigy' but as a result of this special treatment was somewhat setapart from other children, had very few friends of his own age, and spent a lifetimetrying to live up to these early expectations of greatness. When he was nine hismother died, and six years later so did his father - who literally drank himself to death- leaving his upbringing to his mother's lover, who would act as a secondary fatherfigure to him for the rest of his life.Like Kurosawa, Polanski grew up in politically catastrophic times, although hislife may be said to have been the most affected by tragedy and controversy. Jewish,he was born in 1933 and was living in Warsaw during the German invasion of Poland,so was no stranger to the harsh realities of war. His mother was executed in aconcentration camp when he was six; years later he was to relive this loss when hispregnant wife was brutally murdered by members of a crazed cult; and when he wasstill recovering from this tragedy, he was arrested and charged with the rape of a 13year-old girl.This thesis aims to explore the ways in which these different personal factorsaffecting Kurosawa, Welles and Polanski have contributed over the years to theirfilms and in particular, to their interpretations of Macbeth. As the play's primaryconcerns are the mechanisms of evil and human iniquity - subject matter they were all,in varying degrees, personally familiar with the occurrence of these themesthroughout the three directors' films will be examined alongside the representation ofthem in their adaptations of Macbeth.
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University of Birmingham
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