Ian McKellen as Macbeth ("Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow")

[Jemmer1000]

not how i'd do it

[Myrdden71]

1976. Ian McKellan as Macbeth. Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth. Great actors!

[maskisland2]

holy smokes! when was this?!

[TheJesusalex]

I don't wanna sound idiot, but the best perfomance of this has been done by Homer Simpson

[c1o2k3i4e5]

@TheJesusalex Sorry, but you do sound like an idiot...

[borisdrubetskoy]

this is fabulously camp

[Rp9500]

C'esst toi le tomorrow

[MasterWarner]

i love how there's such a since of bitterness and anger in this scene, you can hear it in his voice the disdain for life after what has happened, it's very deep

[xXSmooveFanXx]

She should have died hereafter There would have been time for such a word. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death Out, out brief candle? Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a talr Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Singnifying............ NOTHING

[GothRevolutionary]

I rather like Patrick Stewart's version better. Not saying that Sir Ian did a bad job or anything. Just stating that I think Patrick Stewart's performance was better.

[Wildstar100]

@GothRevolutionary I agree. They're both good. But Sir Stewart's version seemed to have more...remorse and regret in it.

[GothRevolutionary]

@Wildstar100 And I agree with you. A little bit of trivia that I found out threw my English Teacher was that Sir Stewart was actually given a little bit of advice by Sir Ian. Just a rather interesting note I thought I might add.

[Wildstar100]

@GothRevolutionary Yeah, I thought that was really cool. Seems that they're good friends outside of the acting screen.

[HipHopcheerleader]

Tight

[seanmelia123]

this one was shit O_O? homer simpsons one was way better;p

[edacheeky]

Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.....so true

[CI321]

i have to learn this 4 english by tomarrow, never gona happen ><

[celiamcclure]

@CI321 SAME HERE

[CI321]

@celiamcclure i got a 100 ^^ no idea how i did it haha

[Planetoxo]

I don't like this. Not the way I like the lines recited.

[Omatusano]

what's sad is Kevin Costner is as yank as it gets and he performed this scene better than any of these guys

[MrStig691]

@Omatusano hah dont be ridiculous

[jasonz777z]

I'm amazed at how sweaty he is, he seems to deal with it quite well...

[nicobrown]

Ahh ty for putting this up. This has to be my fave part of the play :D

[IlRezzonico]

Very wooden performance - terrible!

[Goddessdaughter]

@IlRezzonico the thing about Shakespeare is that all the works could be compared different. For example Hamlet's first scene most interpret as dark and moody. However, Kenneth Branagh played it more from the emotional angle, with tears in his eyes and it was moving. But so were other versions of the dark and moody perception.

Here I think the more "wooden" tone as you say, fits perfectly well because this is the point Macbeth is done and knows it. I'd be hollow and wooden too I think.

[IlRezzonico]

@Goddessdaughter It just sounds fake and phoney - he is just reading the lines out. No emotion! I much prefer the Roman Polanski film - the acting is much better, much more believable.

[Goddessdaughter]

@IlRezzonico That's your interpretation. But again, at this point in the play Macbeth was realized his wife is dead, he's killed his King, his best friend, and another friend's wife, servants and children and that he himself is alone in the world and about to be challenged, possibly killed.

He has no soul at this point. He gave up his soul to feed his ambition.

I like Polanski's Macbeth as well, they're two different takes on the character and shouldn't be compared but apprecitated.

[P1B1U1H1]

@IlRezzonico What will fascinate you is to record yourself reading this speech without preparation & then with preparation. Very likely the first will sound better. The poetry does 90% of the work. Mostly, adding emotion ruins the beauty.

[BetaJester]

According to imdb, this was adapted to television by Trevor Nunn and actually directed by Philip Casson. Confirm/deny?

[michael38921]

I think he does this better than Patrick Stewart. You can't make these words contemporary or conversational

[novadrian]

Never liked this "interpretation". Patrick Stewart does it better. The mind's ear does it best of all.

[hanaporter]

Ugh, we watched this for English and it was so bad :/

[petrucci14]

Best soliloquy ever!

[paulmokjr]

That was good.

[fslayer1290]

Good kittens Mr. McKellen was a handsome young man! Now he's a lovable older man.

[bikeweekmj]

I am a big fan of Faulkner, who used "a tale told by an idiot signifying nothing" as the inspiration and dedication for one of his best novels: The Sound & The Fury.

[jeter810227]

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow!!

[sondano]

He counds cynical. Patrick Stewart sounded defeated. The two are so different but both are awesome.

[ShahidMiller]

@sondano

I was just thinking the same thing.

[FrozenSun416]

McKellen is ossum!

[vidaliadear]

There's a point you get to, when your mind and feelings have been put through so much, that you have so many conflicting emotions blowing through you. You still function in the outside world, but when called on to speak on deep matters, everything comes out strange: if speech was form, it's bent; if taste, it's sour; if a key, minor. You can't display expected emotions properly or consistently. It's a terrible state in which to be.

[etherealangel712]

@Acteontanit What's funny about that is that Patrick Stewart took notes on this speech from Ian McKellen.

It's in related videos

[berner]

I get the impression that this character at this point in the story is at the wit's end of his resolve, as if he's suffered enough up to this point that he's losing the will to continue, kind of like everything he's done, every accomplishment and the happy times he's had in the past have lost all meaning because of recent events. Basically just at the point of "What is the point of trying to move on when it's just going to be the same thing every day". McKellan doesn't seem that upset though

[Acteontanit]

Patrick stewart does it better

[jsterninmoser]

Jon Finch's version is a terrible use of the text (he has no idea how to use it), self-indulgent, melodramatic, and cliche "Shakespearean acting," rather than coming from his own sense of truth as an actor.

Ian's is a masterful use of the text (he bends it to his will), very generous in his connection with the audience, and deeply, deeply truthful, with no cliches. He deeply personalizes it, while brilliantly utilizing the inherent tools that Shakespeare provides in the text.

[jsterninmoser]

Is it just me, or does young Ian McKellan remind you of Spike from Buffy?

The features, the speech pattern. It's kind of eery.

[jsterninmoser]

Especially on "out, out brief candle."

On another note, I LOVE his use of "no-thing."

[pjcasabuena]

I have goosebumps



[RespawningGiraffe]

Sir McKellen sounds rather, broken up, and choppy because, myself as an aspiring actor has learned that in order to sell the role you have to make it seem as if the audience has never heard the lines before, and make it look like you are coming up with it as you go. Not remembering from a script.

[twigothique]

Mr Stewart is making me watch this.

[CrowHavenBM]

WOW! I saw this in school about a year ago and had no idea it was Ian McKellen! I guess I wasn't paying attention at the time. This is just amazing!

[MichaelHeroin]

My grandpa taught me this speech off by heart, I know it like the back of my hand, but listening to Ian McKellen perform is is the first time I ever really heard it.

[Exodus3003]

ian mckellen=epic win! thumbs up if u agree!

[WatchMyAwesomeVideos]

can you upload the full performance please?

[westlock]

Jon Finch did this much better.

[petrogulak]

@westlock Jon Finch? Polanski's Macbeth? You must be joking.

[southparkobsessive]

@petrogulak John Finch is one of the finest Macbeth's I've ever seen. McKellen is good, but this speech is nowhere near poignant enough. I appreciate what he was trying to do (show that he wasn't affected by lady Macbeth's death due to his insanity and detachment), but as one understands it, Macbeth is a character capable of love, and nowhere near as evil as some productions make him out to be. This speech is his genuine emotional suffering.

[miguelmouta]

@petrogulak I agree with you. No means of comparision. My predilte on screen is Welles(1948).

[Jitpring]

@westlock As did Nicol Williamson.

[ISt0leTheCookies]

@westlock lol

[ariot42]

@westlock

I agree. This version is too intense and angry and overly dramatic with the 'direct into the camera' approach. The final word 'nothing' is broken into two words noth-ing for no real reason that I can tell other than for dramatic effect. Finch's soliloquy sounds much more introspective, resigned, and tired, which reflects the attitude of the words more closely. Macbeth isn't angry when he says these words, he's more resigned and sad as he has just been told of his wife's suicide.

[HeyArdenGarden]

@westlock No one does it like Sir Ian

[obiwanobiwan13]

I have to say, as an English major who devoutedly uses Shakespearean references for so much, loves that body of work so dearly...

I've considered Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquoy the epitomy of Western literature, and I still believe it holds that lofty place.

But THIS...

'Tis a far, far better monologue I hear now than most oft have I ever heard before! (Is it OK to spoof Dickens to complement Shakespeare?) ;) McKellen is a PRO, he takes a great speech and BRINGS IT TO LIFE!

[BroadwayHannah]

i forgot to breathe

[toby099]

I don't like how Shakespheare acting is more about the voice than facial expressions or emotions.

[vanderbilt887]

Ian McKellen bears such a striking resemblance to my late grandfather, it's outright frightening.

[meow9772]

I want to cry. and applaud this

[godfreemorals]

it's the & that's important.

[yu5bloom]

i have known these lines ever since i was 16 :D i love this play!!

[DVpk47]

really really really wierdly one of the best versions i have heard of this speech is from homer simpson XD

[missklc]

the weight he gives to "... and tomorrow" is AMAZING. it weighs so heavily.

[mellowmeful]

I have to memorize this for next week as homework! This is perfect!

He's an amazing actor...

[KibiRasengan5]

@mellowmeful omg, i gotta memorize it for a speech assignment in like 3 weeks so my teacher gave it to us so we can have time for all the emotion n tempo n gestures,

[milosbez]

what an actor!

[igotdembombs]

This is the BEST HOMEWORK EVA.

[RKAS43]

I've noticed that in most of the videos on this scene, they say Nuhh.....thing.....is there a reason they do that?

[Slntpsych]

He's an actor, he says the lines the way he feels the character would say them in that situation. So he decided to split the word apart to put more emphasis on it, simple as that.

[RKAS43]

Yeah, but every actor I've seen does the same thing....unless he came first and they're all copying him.....

[paperbullet1945]

Do I imagine it, or does he get sweatier while the scene goes on?

[powerbookg]

Some things just sound better with a damn British accent!

[Goddessdaughter]

@powerbookg Which is hilarious seeing as how Macbeth was actually a Scot. xD however........I agree.

[Evilliboba]

I had to do this in front of my English class senior year. It is truly amazing to hear it from the master.

[fuzukaru]

haha I am doing it in front of mine tomorrow.

[peavoyj]

you shall not pass!

[TheKrystahlPhoenix]

@peavoyj lol!

[pplschmpion]

The important word there was "and"

[Kiribati42]

*chills*

[kealyc]

Being but a mere butler, you will not know the great theatre tradition ... that one does never speak the name ... of the scottish play.

[sharonch217]

actually I was told it's fine to say it outside of a theatre, but I guess traditions vary

[Williams573]

you'r wrong. you only name Macbeth the scottish play on the opening night. And i should know, i've just been in it.

[holydave]

Pretentious fucking custom.

[Williams573]

haha tell me about it!

[Morok2008]

i love his playing

[Aquasam8]

magneto

[fr33shm3n]

lol nice

[manderzluvsyou91]

I love him in this haha he is amazing ^-^

[heliotropezzz333]

We used to refer to him (affectionately) as Ian McOveract. He does a bit ,but is a mesmersing charismatic presence on the stage, so his overacting was always forgiveable.

[1stCainite]

It is Shakespeare, made for the stage, you are supposed to overact.

[QueenOfTheRandom]

Gandalf! ^_^