''Macbeth'' is a
silent 1908 American film directed by
James Stuart Blackton based on the
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
play of the same name.
It is the second known
film version of that play after a short fighting sequence was filmed in 1905 by an unknown director. It was a
black and white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
silent film that had English
intertitles
In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...
. It is currently unknown if any print of the film still exists.
A police report to censorship authorities mentioning the scene of the
murder of Duncan in the film "might otherwise stand unabashed as the first piece of intelligent criticisim in the field of
Shakespearean film".
Cast
*
William Ranous as
Macbeth
''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
*
Paul Panzer as Macduff
*
Charles Kent as Duncan
*
Louise Carver as
Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...
*
Édouard de Max
*
Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence (born Florence Annie Bridgwood; January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938) was a Canadian-American stage performer and film actress. She is often referred to as the "first movie star", and was long thought to be the first film act ...
as Banquet Guest
*
Florence Turner
Florence Turner (January 6, 1885 – August 28, 1946) was an American actress who became known as the "Vitagraph Girl" in early silent films.
Biography
Born in New York City, Turner was pushed into appearing on the stage at age three by h ...
as Banquet Guest
See also
*
List of American films of 1908
References
External links
*
1908 films
1908 drama films
1908 short films
Silent American drama films
American black-and-white films
American silent short films
Films based on Macbeth
Films directed by J. Stuart Blackton
1900s American films
1900s English-language films
English-language short films
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