Cinematic Adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Lady Macbeth and the entire sleepwalking scene have differences and similarities in both the film and book version of Macbeth. They are along the same lines and are very good works. They both follow a similar plot, and have a similar setting, but the way the scene plays out makes noticeable differences between the two. In the movie, the addition of Lady Macbeth being nude during the sleepwalking scene is something that might have been too controversial to be included in one of Shakespeare's actual plays, because public nudity was unacceptable at that time. In modern cinema, the addition of nudity might help to increase the sales and popularity of the film. Other details such as the doctor waving his hand in front of Lady Macbeth, might have been added into the film to show the audience that Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking, while this detail was just described in the book. The scene chosen for this adaptation is a scene which you can see significant differences that can be well explained. Lady Macbeth is joined by the doctor and a gentlewoman during this scene, while she is unaware of their presence. The scene has different characteristics in the book and in the film version, while some of them are not really noticeable, but some of them are highly visible.
In the movie, Lady Macbeth has different characteristics in her appearance, than in the book. Lady Macbeth appears to the doctor and the maid as naked, with her long red hair hanging down and covering her breasts in the film. In the book version it is said that she has on a night gown, which she puts on over her body as soon as she gets out of bed. Lady Macbeth, in the film, is an attractive woman who does not have the same attitude or characteristics as the Lady Macbeth that was described in the book. In the beginning of the play and film, Lady Macbeth’s character changes drastically. She went from being aggressive, demanding, and manipulating to going completely insane by the fifth Act. In the play and Film, Lady Macbeth suffers from the guilt of contributing to death of King Duncan. The act of guiltiness has caused her to become deranged. She begins to start acting in a manner that is not actually sane. She inhabits a sleepwalking pattern, displaying some of the actions that took place the night of King Duncan’s death. In the book in the first scene of the fifth Act it appears that Lady Macbeth has become a bit unbalanced as she impersonates herself washing a spot from her hand that she discovered while talking to herself. She noticed the spot and started to freak out in both the film version and in the book version. The washing of the spot was a representation of King Duncan’s blood being washed from her hands from the night her husband, Macbeth committed Duncan’s murder. The doctor notices that her eyes are open while she is sleepwalking in both film and the book. As Lady Macbeth imitates herself washing King Duncan’s blood off of her hand, in the film, the doctor waves his hand across her face. In the book, the doctor did not try to get her attention by waving his hand in front of her face. This is a significant difference between the two that is one of the more noticeable differences. In addition to the doctor waving his hand in front of Lady Macbeth’s face in the film; the maid brings a bag into the room. Out of the bag, she pulls out a feather to write with and a piece of paper; the doctor starts to write again.
In the play, the doctor questions a gentlewoman about Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking, where as in the movie the doctor is doing the same but instead of the lady being called a gentlewoman, she is said to be a maid. In the play the gentlewoman informs the doctor that Lady Macbeth has been writing something down on paper, and then she folded it, read it, and then sealed it, then headed back to bed. However, that does not take place in this particular scene in the film. In the film and in the book, as Lady Macbeth starts to ramble and describes the crime that she and Macbeth have committed, the doctor ordered the maid to get out, because she had heard too much. The maid had heard everything that Lady Macbeth had confessed to about the murder. Although the maid/gentlewoman observed Lady Macbeth as a little differently in the book and the film, she still refused to report all of what Lady Macbeth wrote or said. Another difference is how Lady Macbeth laid back to rest between the film and the play. In the book version the doctor and gentlewoman put her in the bed, but in the film she demanded to be put back to sleep.
This scene in both the film and the book is highly enjoyable, as well as the entire book and film due to the exciting plot of the story. The biggest difference between this scene in the film and the original book was all of the details that were contained in the book, that were omitted from the film. In the movie, this scene is only about two minutes long, but if all of the details that were contained in the book, were included in this scene, then this scene in the film would have to be much longer. The works of each the book and the film have their own very detailed characteristics that make them different from the other. This is what makes them both of them unique works, even though some of the most exciting details that were contained in the book were left out of the film. Some of the better parts of the book may have been left out of the film. The book has plenty more significant details that are well enjoyed and can be admired by readers. Both the film and the book are great works, and Polanski did a great job of bringing the classic Shakespeare play into modern cinema.