Something Wicked This Way Comes: Trailer For 'The Tragedy Of Macbeth' Goes Online

The first trailer of one of the most anticipated — if unlikely — film releases of the year has been released online: “The Tragedy of Macbeth” starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand and released by Apple Inc.’s AAPL Apple TV+ and A24.

What Happened: Directed and produced by Joel Coen, working for the first time outside of a collaboration with this brother Ethan, “The Tragedy of Macbeth” reimagines the Shakespearean drama in artistically bleak black-and-white cinematography in minimalist settings. The lead actors do not speak in the trailer, with the only dialogue coming from Kathryn Hunter’s witch who predicts the arrival of Macbeth into the launch of catastrophic circumstances.

“The Tragedy of Macbeth” will premiere on Sept. 24 as the opening night selection of the New York Film Festival, with a theatrical engagement starting on Dec. 25. Apple TV+ will offer the film for streaming on Jan. 14, 2022.

Why It Matters: Not unlike the superstitions and jinxes that many theatrical performers attribute to “The Scottish Play,” film productions of “Macbeth” have been plagued with problems. Orson Welles’ 1948 adaptation was burdened by a shoestring budget imposed by cheapjack Republic Pictures, and the film was withdrawn after its premiere and re-edited, with the actors’ originally Scottish-tinged accents replaced with Americanized speech patterns. The revised version was a commercial failure and Welles was forced to relocate to Europe to continue his filmmaking endeavors.

Laurence Olivier’s effort to mount a film of “Macbeth” starring himself and his wife Vivien Leigh came to naught, a crushing professional embarrassment for the actor considered by many to be the century’s finest Shakespearean.

Roman Polanksi’s 1971 production, his first film following the murder of his wife Sharon Tate by members of the Manson Family cult, was financed by Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner when no Hollywood studio would touch it. The film was criticized for its violence and nudity and failed at the box office despite being named Best Picture by the National Board of Review.

The most recent film version of “Macbeth” was Australian director Justin Kurzel’s 2015 production starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. That film only grossed $16 million globally, falling far short of its $20 million budget and continuing the troubled cinematic legacy associated with the source material.

Photo: Denzel Washington as Macbeth in "The Tragedy of Macbeth," courtesy of Apple TV+ and A24.