Ian McKellen was that young? Damn, I oughta keep track of these things. I thought he only played Magneto from X-Men and Gandolf from the LOTR. Guess he played more characters than I thought.
really intense performance by mckellen made me start in my seat several times, most critics agree that this is the best rendition of the role in modern times
WOW!! This is the real thing, done by people who know what they're doing. Thanks for posting this; I've never seen it before. I never realized what a great actor Ian McK is. Ditto for Dench.
omg!! Is is awesome. I am doing a play for my school and i have to try out for Lady MacBeth and everything that is in my script They said in this. So it helped me know how to say somethings>>>
can a few people please send me brief summarys of this scene, it would be much appreciated as i am working on a fullblown essay on this scene and hopefully i recognise other peoples points of views.
here macbbeth is at the high point of power.......he killed duncan, but the chamberlins and duncans sons took the fall. he has the throne of scotland, and no one stands to oppose him. the thanes and other knobles are kissing his rear end.......yet he sets on a course of more secret murders (banqou, macduffs family) paranoia and open tyranny that leads to his downfall and death
This has to be the worst, most embarrassing performance of Macbeth, i think, ever made...absolutely ridiculous...it is beyond me how people can say this is anything other than farsical, terrible acting..this is one of the most famous scenes from one of shakespear's most famous pieces, and Mckellen and Dench completely butcher it...it is a complete embarrassment...
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
imo dench horribly overacts every scene she's in. and mckellon is good for richard the 3rd where he plays a guy who's always the villian.....but as the hero turned villian macbeth he is severly lacking
completely agree with you! I think Lady Macbeth is vulnerable indeed, but she's TRYING to portray herself as a cold-blooded murderer, something Dench fails to portray.
Wow the actors in this are amazing, i dont care what people think to me this is true acting... when you can play parts like these so well, that's why i hate it when people say actors like Jim Carey are their favourite lol maybe it's because i study drama i dont know lol
I totally agree with you there hahaha he's almost hawt haha i think a lot of it has to do with his voice for me and his eyes lol but I'm just a freak lol
Remember that watching a quick clip like this doesn't allow you to experience the atmosphere of the full play so that's why you notice things like that. I agree it's well read
This is one of my favourite scenes in the play - the dialogue is fab.
This is also my favourite Shakespeare play, my fav character being Banquo (not entirely sure why).
Have only ever seen Ian McKellen as he is now in his older years - is "almost" unrecognisable looking so young, but the voice hasn't changed at all. Am loving the slick black hair thing ^^
@xXzazomyXx - what amazed me when I first saw this in high school English class in spring of 2005 (and still does) is how Ian McKellen fills the space on the non-existent "stage." There's virtually no set and there are few props. The onus falls entirely on the actor to fill the audience's attention. Wow!
note: one of the thanes (ross) is played by a young ian mcdiarmid.....best known today as senator/chancellor/emporor palpatine/darth sidious in 4 (or 5 if you count the empire strikes back dvd) star wars movies. it's also intresting cause in the roman polanski movie, macbeth, the thane of ross is potrayed as a duplicitous macbeth lackey who helps kill banqou and macduffs family....
Well, Sir Ian McKellen is one of our ages finest actors. And he is gay, has been gay and will be gay until he dies. Has nothing to do with his acting ability.
meh... canadians... rejoin the British Empire and kiss my english ass homeboy! And your practically a lesser form of central america anyway! Just slightly french... so you have some women that don't shave their armpits... BAH! :P
oh yeh baby. I'm like an international when it comes to my vocabulary DUDE. Oh yehhhh I'm like totally gna rub your copy of shakespeare in wire wool and leave you with a boring bible!
Lol international eh? Just stick to your native tongue and stop mocking Canada. I never mocked england or wherever your from I called you an ignorant asshole not everyone else hell I even like the uk.
And yes I do own an asshole. And sometimes I'm ignorant of the weather so my hairs gets in the mess.... the UK ios nice provided you have money and your young. Otherwise its a cold wet place where pity hails
Well I like it I have gone several times I have alot of family there my dad was born there but thats out of the point. And you are and asshoile I didn't ask if you owned one, sarcasm is for kids.
But so is teddy bears and I still have teddy's. Sarcasm is for wits, your just angry because you have little chick trips for tits! ooow I'm such a poet... and I didn't know it - now you doooo! MOO MOO!
also I like how this scene shows Macbeth's hallucnations leading to LMac's insanity as well... I missed that while I read the scene, but it makes sense now. ! . scottish play owns.
I'm playing macbeth in this play at my high school, and it sucks that they didn't let banquo come on as he ghost. mckellen did ok, but judi dench wasn't all that good, since she's the one that keeps everything together.
It does somewhat remind me of epilepsy now that you mention it. However, I wouldn't say that he's playing Macbeth as an epileptic, but rather the hallucinations are having such an effect on him that he's going into a sort of epileptic shock. I'd say that wouldn't be too far of a stretch if a guy I'd had killed suddenly appeared in front of me as a ghost, all bloody and full of wrath and death. Good job, Sir Ian.
I don't think IC interprets it as an epileptic fit. I think he's portraying a man's guilt driving him to madness. He starts the scene smooth and confident and ends a babbling, drooling idiot. I really think this shows IC's incredible range as an actor. He's wasting his prodigious talents on roles like the X-men's Magneto.
Does anybody I wonder feel that Sir Ian's interpretation of the 'fit' as actually epileptic(?) diminishes the *moral/conscientious* value of the 'hallucinations'? Or am I sundering the somatic and psychic too schematically?! Just a niggle/suggestion.
I saw Emperor Palpatine.
hramone 1 week ago
Wow M and Gandalf in the same scene? I came.
LordVader89 1 month ago
Wow he's an amazing actor!
LuvingMusicAlways 1 month ago
06:27, the look on his face loooooool
db10ish 2 months ago
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db10ish 2 months ago
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db10ish 2 months ago
YOU SHALL NOT PASSSTHHH!!!*dribbles*
MasonMachinima 2 months ago
4:46 :)
samuel121000 3 months ago
Oh my! Ian is positively gorgeous when he's young!
iOnlySignIn 6 months ago
Ian McKellen was that young? Damn, I oughta keep track of these things. I thought he only played Magneto from X-Men and Gandolf from the LOTR. Guess he played more characters than I thought.
kendrick1533 7 months ago
from 6:07... DOWN IT, DOWN IT, DOWN ITT!!! wild party
moo9264 7 months ago
Those Scottish accents are particularly good.
scotchprofessor 11 months ago
hmmmmm very accurate representation of the original playwright
shafcurry 11 months ago
Damn Magneto, that dagger appears because you magnetized it towards you. You're not imagining it!
ReignTomorrow 1 year ago
Was Alan Rickman in this play? Who did he play?
MrTentaclerape 1 year ago
3:10 Ian McDiarmid was ever young? Took me a while to recall where I know that face from :)
hugoMunch 1 year ago
with Judy Dench!
kyral210 1 year ago
This is weird, but I really like the music.
Pretendkid 1 year ago
really intense performance by mckellen made me start in my seat several times, most critics agree that this is the best rendition of the role in modern times
BSFBOPE 1 year ago
WOW!! This is the real thing, done by people who know what they're doing. Thanks for posting this; I've never seen it before. I never realized what a great actor Ian McK is. Ditto for Dench.
Axgoodofdunemaul 1 year ago
Im ross in a play im in! "Gentle men rise his highness is not well!"
HiccupHippo5000 1 year ago
leaves something to be desired
liefur 1 year ago
Godbless that man.
holyhater1 1 year ago
He's my idol
Yeeleeba 1 year ago
Brilliant acting but some how hilairious 'thou canst noooooooooooooooooaaauughttt!!!!!!!!!''
sallyfieldrequired 1 year ago
omg!! Is is awesome. I am doing a play for my school and i have to try out for Lady MacBeth and everything that is in my script They said in this. So it helped me know how to say somethings>>>
TheLexy1999 1 year ago
THis aint 79
magiclard 1 year ago
6:07 shots lol
his face when he turns around 6:28 lol
MKPAK93 1 year ago
OMG ian is such a great actor
he puts all his heart to his work :)
mihcim5 1 year ago 2
lol, you can soooo see the Gandalf in Macbeth.
spuds4ever 1 year ago
thanks for posting this! I'm showing it to my students and hopefully they'll appreciate the great acting :)
Peppermt 2 years ago
oh dear. i have to act this out tomorrow.
not good. not good at all. haha.
vash9 2 years ago
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pnkrk1039 2 years ago
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check out my macbeth video
eric8rays 2 years ago
they never could afford McDiarmid, Dench and McKellen on a TV production today ^^
Also it would be in a clash of the Wizards, Gandalf v. Emperor of the Galaxy ^^
Great play though. Extraordinary language, poesie, plot and symbolism. And never too lose on the drama and death :)
Dominian1 2 years ago 4
love the ending, she breaks down, he doesn't know what's going on, his wave...
wow.
LukieCee 2 years ago
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eric8rays 2 years ago
One of the guys here also plays Benedick in a 1993 Shakespeare film, Much Ado About Nothing.
theguycalledchris 2 years ago
Comment removed
starrbeatlesqueen 2 years ago
you mean, kenneth branagh? he's not in this movie unfortunately.
starrbeatlesqueen 2 years ago
Oh, yes, I saw someone who looked like him but apparantly it isn't. Shame, he was a wonderful Benedick.
theguycalledchris 2 years ago
We watched this in class one day, and I couldn't believe that the guy who played Darth Sidious played as Ross here
SuperVaderMan 2 years ago 2
It's M!
mynameisdumbnuts 2 years ago
It's Gandalf!!!
SopranoKayla1992 2 years ago
It's Magneto!
r32adt3db 2 years ago
can a few people please send me brief summarys of this scene, it would be much appreciated as i am working on a fullblown essay on this scene and hopefully i recognise other peoples points of views.
choransword 2 years ago
hey its a lil late i know but i jus saw ur comment.. search for cliff's macbeth notes on google.. they've helped me alot..
hope this helps! :)
brida7887 2 years ago
is the guy at 8:06 banquo ?
shasziioi 2 years ago
no, in this production not even the audience sees him, only Ian McKellen.
Singebuggercat 2 years ago
here macbbeth is at the high point of power.......he killed duncan, but the chamberlins and duncans sons took the fall. he has the throne of scotland, and no one stands to oppose him. the thanes and other knobles are kissing his rear end.......yet he sets on a course of more secret murders (banqou, macduffs family) paranoia and open tyranny that leads to his downfall and death
mannyortiz36 2 years ago 3
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This has to be the worst, most embarrassing performance of Macbeth, i think, ever made...absolutely ridiculous...it is beyond me how people can say this is anything other than farsical, terrible acting..this is one of the most famous scenes from one of shakespear's most famous pieces, and Mckellen and Dench completely butcher it...it is a complete embarrassment...
ROWANV1 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
imo dench horribly overacts every scene she's in. and mckellon is good for richard the 3rd where he plays a guy who's always the villian.....but as the hero turned villian macbeth he is severly lacking
mannyortiz36 2 years ago
completely agree with you! I think Lady Macbeth is vulnerable indeed, but she's TRYING to portray herself as a cold-blooded murderer, something Dench fails to portray.
honeyjinx02 2 years ago
My class is doing this scene for winedale!! I love this!!
Nove454 2 years ago
Judi Dench is such a good lady macbeth wow
crimexwithxcandy 2 years ago 2
3:53... hahah
essveepee 2 years ago
Wow the actors in this are amazing, i dont care what people think to me this is true acting... when you can play parts like these so well, that's why i hate it when people say actors like Jim Carey are their favourite lol maybe it's because i study drama i dont know lol
Jonoridge 2 years ago 3
ian mckellen use to be so dam goodlooking!
ahmad123987 2 years ago 3
Even now I wouldn't say he's too bad.
hypnodance 2 years ago
i totaly agree, looks extremly good for his age and his charme, carisma, voice and good manners help too lol
ahmad123987 2 years ago
I totally agree with you there hahaha he's almost hawt haha i think a lot of it has to do with his voice for me and his eyes lol but I'm just a freak lol
manderzluvsyou91 2 years ago
This was right about the time McKellen played the original Max in "Bent." Now, there's a performance I wish was captured on film or tape.
JohnKoroly 2 years ago
Perhaps Dench has just always looked preternaturally old, but she seems too old here for McKellen's wife. FINE reading by her, though.
JohnKoroly 2 years ago
Remember that watching a quick clip like this doesn't allow you to experience the atmosphere of the full play so that's why you notice things like that. I agree it's well read
RoboTurkeyNinja 2 years ago
Am also going to see him next month - he's doing 'Waiting for Godot' with Patrick Stewart at MK Theatre =D
Kimberleg 3 years ago
This is one of my favourite scenes in the play - the dialogue is fab.
This is also my favourite Shakespeare play, my fav character being Banquo (not entirely sure why).
Have only ever seen Ian McKellen as he is now in his older years - is "almost" unrecognisable looking so young, but the voice hasn't changed at all. Am loving the slick black hair thing ^^
Kimberleg 3 years ago
this is so funny... :D
noodlebob33 3 years ago
2:58
I just love the way he throws his handkerchief away like "I dont care! Let some servant pick it up."
pacoenfadonha 3 years ago 2
three of my favourite actors in one show, I must have it.
SirXalforte 3 years ago 2
Superb -
GenericGene 3 years ago
He's the best actor I know of.
He even dribbles to enhance the effect he has on the audience!
:D
xXzazomyXx 3 years ago 30
@xXzazomyXx - what amazed me when I first saw this in high school English class in spring of 2005 (and still does) is how Ian McKellen fills the space on the non-existent "stage." There's virtually no set and there are few props. The onus falls entirely on the actor to fill the audience's attention. Wow!
nickc1188 1 year ago
@xXzazomyXx He doesn't do it to enhance his effect on the audience, he does it to enhance the truth of his action and character.
hczxp91 3 months ago
Ian Mckellen used to be a fox. Ah, that man is probably my favorite actor. He is amazing.
GoAllyGoGo 3 years ago 27
@GoAllyGoGo
What do you mean 'used to be'?
Charmolution 11 months ago 5
@GoAllyGoGo I agree; he is totally phenomenal. What an incredible man.
jezmuff 9 months ago
9:06 when McKellen is waving to his company. He's like a kid!
WooTaShooTa 3 years ago 3
Ian McKellen and Judi Dench do and excellent job, naturally. Just one question though, was this version made under a low budget?
Mase992 3 years ago
nah i think it looks pretty budget coz it's meant to be a screenplay...
tompeatey 3 years ago
I read around that it was also because it was meant to be in a "minimalistic" style... I suppose that's why but thank you ^_^ .
Mase992 3 years ago
whoa.
mandragorra 3 years ago
HA LOOK AT HIS FACE AT 6:30
queenofdaworld34 3 years ago 2
note: one of the thanes (ross) is played by a young ian mcdiarmid.....best known today as senator/chancellor/emporor palpatine/darth sidious in 4 (or 5 if you count the empire strikes back dvd) star wars movies. it's also intresting cause in the roman polanski movie, macbeth, the thane of ross is potrayed as a duplicitous macbeth lackey who helps kill banqou and macduffs family....
mannyortiz36 3 years ago
Well, Sir Ian McKellen is one of our ages finest actors. And he is gay, has been gay and will be gay until he dies. Has nothing to do with his acting ability.
Burlyirishdude 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Such bad acting...
ellyunfortunetly 3 years ago
Its shakespere, its hard. Douchebag.
brigdetosomewhere 3 years ago
perhaps for americans.... where 'Douchebag' is an insult. lol
ellyunfortunetly 3 years ago
i think lady macbeth did well in dis...judi watcha caller!lol but da rest r muppets
rachael2kaii7 3 years ago
Wow im not an american im from Canada dont judge, if you think your so superior.
brigdetosomewhere 3 years ago
Umm excuse me, im not american im canadian you ignorant ashole. Learn some respect its hard to make it look good anywhere.
brigdetosomewhere 3 years ago 3
meh... canadians... rejoin the British Empire and kiss my english ass homeboy! And your practically a lesser form of central america anyway! Just slightly french... so you have some women that don't shave their armpits... BAH! :P
ellyunfortunetly 3 years ago
Umm wow is that an insult? And did someone just call me homeboy so what are you gona call me g and homeslice next haha
brigdetosomewhere 3 years ago
oh yeh baby. I'm like an international when it comes to my vocabulary DUDE. Oh yehhhh I'm like totally gna rub your copy of shakespeare in wire wool and leave you with a boring bible!
ellyunfortunetly 3 years ago
Lol international eh? Just stick to your native tongue and stop mocking Canada. I never mocked england or wherever your from I called you an ignorant asshole not everyone else hell I even like the uk.
brigdetosomewhere 3 years ago
And yes I do own an asshole. And sometimes I'm ignorant of the weather so my hairs gets in the mess.... the UK ios nice provided you have money and your young. Otherwise its a cold wet place where pity hails
ellyunfortunetly 3 years ago
Well I like it I have gone several times I have alot of family there my dad was born there but thats out of the point. And you are and asshoile I didn't ask if you owned one, sarcasm is for kids.
brigdetosomewhere 3 years ago
But so is teddy bears and I still have teddy's. Sarcasm is for wits, your just angry because you have little chick trips for tits! ooow I'm such a poet... and I didn't know it - now you doooo! MOO MOO!
ellyunfortunetly 3 years ago
Whoa youre insane angry is not the word I would use its more interested you always have something random to say.
brigdetosomewhere 3 years ago
true
acidheadx 3 years ago
Correct XD
ellyunfortunetly 3 years ago
love that organ sound
luc137 3 years ago
I think at the beginning he can be a bit weedy and camp, and at the end he is overdoing it with the dribbling. Otherwise very impressive.
bethmorrison 3 years ago
very good acting... old school. Everybody that is interested in acting should watch this... I do :D
Vdrummer182 3 years ago
Ian McKellen amazes me... him and Judi Dench RULE in this play.
Weirfan69 3 years ago
also I like how this scene shows Macbeth's hallucnations leading to LMac's insanity as well... I missed that while I read the scene, but it makes sense now. ! . scottish play owns.
Weirfan69 3 years ago
6:31, HIS FACE HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
hollywoodhogan311 3 years ago
The best MacBeth I've seen by a country mile, and I've seen a few.
Tellynorth73 4 years ago
Dame Judi Wench is a disgrace here
sugarkaneandchloe 4 years ago
......how?
Birdieupon 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
crap crap crap ! is this acting or just plain reciting ? Ken Stott's and Phylis Logan's performance for the BBC is so much better
polychronistheo 4 years ago
I love this play. But does anyone else think that Macbeth, in this vesrion of the play looks like Dracula??
demolitiongirl04 4 years ago
Ian Mckellen as Dracula. That would be awesome. You've really hit upon something! Casting Van Helsing would be tough... Anthony Hopkins?
marsupius 3 years ago
Oh interesting maybe Johnny Depp as Van Helsing. I thnk you need a younger actor for that. And Johnny is pretty class esp in Sweeney Todd!
demolitiongirl04 3 years ago
Tim Roth as Van Helsing, he fits the character better.
Flowbee79 3 years ago 2
you should post the part where the ugly evil witches murder the little baby and then feed it to macbeth
iorixs 4 years ago
Ian has such a great heart and I love that he always puts his all into his performances.
Thank you so much for posting this!
pascha120 4 years ago
I'm playing macbeth in this play at my high school, and it sucks that they didn't let banquo come on as he ghost. mckellen did ok, but judi dench wasn't all that good, since she's the one that keeps everything together.
dwaswyf 4 years ago
ian McKellen is a pretty awesome actor
bunnyslapbass 4 years ago
Ian is my IDOL 0_0 So good. So young here xD Yet still a genius. Perfect couple for the Scottish leads xD
writer8788 4 years ago
Ian Mckellen is the actors actor. Period.
Sagittarianhendrix 4 years ago 2
I love the play Macbeth
sw33tthang101 4 years ago
Whoa, he went all the way to spittle gushing, gesticulating madness. Wonderful! :)
CaptPoco 4 years ago 2
why did she cover her hair?
was it because to make her character seem less feminine?
TheWritingWriter 4 years ago
thou canst shake thy gory locks at me
conman1245 4 years ago
that was amazing truely brilliant
bearbear12345 4 years ago
they are both brilliant!!!!!!
PeacefulAnarchist 4 years ago
my god what a genius.
sak868 4 years ago
This happens every time I have a dinner party.
duran66 4 years ago 9
haha!
sak868 4 years ago
judy dench is pure class she's brilliant
beesbuzzinbeth 4 years ago
omg, he looks so hot here! and so young. he's a fantastic actor
beesbuzzinbeth 4 years ago
Would it be possible to post somthing with Bob Peck as Macduff? He's my favorite actor and i have never had the chance to see this .....thx.
blackflower75 4 years ago
It does somewhat remind me of epilepsy now that you mention it. However, I wouldn't say that he's playing Macbeth as an epileptic, but rather the hallucinations are having such an effect on him that he's going into a sort of epileptic shock. I'd say that wouldn't be too far of a stretch if a guy I'd had killed suddenly appeared in front of me as a ghost, all bloody and full of wrath and death. Good job, Sir Ian.
SideshowCris 4 years ago
I don't think IC interprets it as an epileptic fit. I think he's portraying a man's guilt driving him to madness. He starts the scene smooth and confident and ends a babbling, drooling idiot. I really think this shows IC's incredible range as an actor. He's wasting his prodigious talents on roles like the X-men's Magneto.
beguiledgoth 4 years ago
Maybe but it still works this way for me.
Fordsonjoe 4 years ago
Does anybody I wonder feel that Sir Ian's interpretation of the 'fit' as actually epileptic(?) diminishes the *moral/conscientious* value of the 'hallucinations'? Or am I sundering the somatic and psychic too schematically?! Just a niggle/suggestion.
ekerilaz 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Why didn't the emperor just blast them with force lightening
Indo77 4 years ago