This version is set in approximately the late 19th century by costuming. There is no scenery and very few props. The characters act against a black background. Acting itself is superb. Macbeth & the Witches are appropriately frothing at the mouth at the proper times. Ian McKellen & Judi Dench perform their standard great performances. Ian McDiarmid does a great job as the Porter. That is particularly significant, as it is one of the few comical parts in a very gloomy play.
However, I miss the scenery & traditional costuming. McKellen explains in an extra on the DVD that all the costuming, scenery & props (including Macbeth's shrunken heads at the end a little much ???) were all provided for only £250. He calls the production one of "talking heads". Well, that's true, as for a very large part all you see is the characters' faces against a black background. Personally I look for something more in a Shakespeare production. I believe the scenery & costuming to be important in setting the scene. Shakespeare is difficult enough to understand when set with scenery & costumes. When scenery & costumes are taken out, then it becomes more difficult to understand. I feel too much is left to the imagination or to the guesswork of the viewer. If one has the text to follow along with, accompanied with footnotes & a Shakespeare glossary, then it's less of a problem. But then one can't just sit back & enjoy the play. One must constantly refer to the text footnotes to understand what is happening, unless one is a real Shakespeare aficionado.
If all you want is great acting full of emotion and you don't care about lack of scenery or costumes, then perhaps this version of Macbeth is for you. Occasionally the dialog is cut or changed from one character to another, presumably for no other reason than to give that actor some lines. But personally I miss the scenery, costuming and sword play. As McKellen explains, except for the acting itself, this is certainly a cheap version of Macbeth. As long as the production saved a lot of money in production, I recommend you do likewise and look for another version of Macbeth. There are lots of well acted versions out there that spent money on scenery & costumes.
However, I miss the scenery & traditional costuming. McKellen explains in an extra on the DVD that all the costuming, scenery & props (including Macbeth's shrunken heads at the end a little much ???) were all provided for only £250. He calls the production one of "talking heads". Well, that's true, as for a very large part all you see is the characters' faces against a black background. Personally I look for something more in a Shakespeare production. I believe the scenery & costuming to be important in setting the scene. Shakespeare is difficult enough to understand when set with scenery & costumes. When scenery & costumes are taken out, then it becomes more difficult to understand. I feel too much is left to the imagination or to the guesswork of the viewer. If one has the text to follow along with, accompanied with footnotes & a Shakespeare glossary, then it's less of a problem. But then one can't just sit back & enjoy the play. One must constantly refer to the text footnotes to understand what is happening, unless one is a real Shakespeare aficionado.
If all you want is great acting full of emotion and you don't care about lack of scenery or costumes, then perhaps this version of Macbeth is for you. Occasionally the dialog is cut or changed from one character to another, presumably for no other reason than to give that actor some lines. But personally I miss the scenery, costuming and sword play. As McKellen explains, except for the acting itself, this is certainly a cheap version of Macbeth. As long as the production saved a lot of money in production, I recommend you do likewise and look for another version of Macbeth. There are lots of well acted versions out there that spent money on scenery & costumes.