Macbeth

A nice idea, but I can't help but compare it to the much better Russian Ark which consists of a single ninety six minute shot except the technique actually suits the material there resulting in a beautiful, captivating experience - here on the other hand it results in some really awkward staging and not a huge amount more than that. It's a fine adaptation, and I appreciate the ambition but as with Welles' Macbeth adaptation the only real positive is that it's based on such a great play.

I mean...it's a single-take TV production of Shakespeare. And the production values aren't that hot. There's nothing essential here about what Tarr does with the long take as in his other films - it just feels like a gimmick. And keeping up with Shakespearean dialogue is difficult enough without compressing it down to an hour and following along by subtitles. Can't say I took much from this.

It's bad Shakespeare for a few reasons: the recasting of the witches as men is weirdly literal and undercuts the weirdness of their scenes; it's compressed all wrong, it moves too fast in the beginning and not fast enough near the end; and it's a symphony of overacting. Tarr has fun with his long take but there's only a few moments where it's really striking - most notably the murder scene where the camera pans down to an amazing overhead shot. Russian Ark does it better, and so does Rope.

theatre at best, did not use the possibilities of camera

Tarr's take on Shakespeare. Literally... one take, unbroken for an hour (plus a five-minute take before the titles). It involves some elaborate choreography and staging. I'm not usually that into Shakespeare in the original text (I'd much rather watch Throne of Blood), but compressed like this makes it easier to digest. The video looks like crap, though.