The final act of Macbeth has been presented very differently by Trevor Nunn and Roman Polanski, and both of their interpretations would have been very different to the Macbeth played in Shakespeare's times. Some of the differences are setting, character presentation, play interpretations, sequencing of events, theme portrayal and the use of lighting and special effects.
The setting, costume and background of the two films are very different. Nunn's production of Macbeth has minimal settings, costumes and background while Polanski focused on creating the mood of the era Macbeth may have been set in. Although, Nunn's production is almost restricted entirely to the studio, he also used minimal props, giving the film a plain look. E.g. Nunn may have deliberately done this to reduce costs and also to let the audience be more focused on the acting and language of the play rather being distracted by costumes and sets.
Lady Macbeth by George Cattermole.
Macbeth Consulting the Vision of the Armed Head. B...
English: Poster of Thos. W. Keene in William Shake...Also, in Nunn's production, the characters are dressed simply, with the focus of costume mainly on colour rather than the style of Shakespearean times. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are dressed in black, while Banquo wears grey and Malcolm and Duncan wear white. This symbolises the good and evil characters. In contrast to Nunn, Polanski has tried to create as much authenticity as possible with scenery and costume, giving each scene a sense of realism. Because Macbeth is a grim and bloody play, Polanski films very bleak and raw landscapes to reflect the mood. Polanski's excellent film set stimulates the audiences' senses and helps them follow the plot better than the bland stage Nunn uses. Also, because Nunn's production is filmed on a small stage which does not allow for large expanses of backgrounds, the actors can not move away from the camera and be part of the set as actors...