Macbeth

Roman Polanski directed this adaptation of William Shakespeare's play about a Scottish nobleman whose ambition leads him to seize the throne. Set in eleventh-century Scotland, the story follows Macbeth, a respected military leader whose encounter with three witches and the encouragement of his wife push him toward murder and betrayal. His rise to power brings suspicion and violence in its wake, and the path he takes proves impossible to turn back from. Polanski wrote the screenplay with Kenneth Tynan, and the film was produced by Andrew Braunsberg for Caliban Films and Playboy Enterprises.

The cast includes Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth, with Martin Shaw, John Stride, Nicholas Selby and Terence Bayler among the credited roles, which number thirty-six in all. Made for about two million dollars, the film returned roughly half that amount at the worldwide box office. It was Polanski's fifth feature as director, following Rosemary's Baby and preceding What?.

Audience response has been favourable, with a rating of 7.4 from around sixteen thousand votes on IMDb and 7.1 from roughly three hundred votes on TMDB. Critics rated the film considerably higher, at 8.8 from sixty-five reviews, placing it well above the audience scores on both platforms.