How has Roman Polanski interpreted Act I Scene i of Shakespeare’s Macbeth?

When a director is filming a play script he/she needs to consider several aspects.

 The casting, location of the scene.
 Camera angles
 Music
 Sound effects
 Lighting
 Props
 How the lines need to be delivered.

Roman Polanski had very few stage directions to work from to create Act 1 Scene i. The only stage directions Polanski had to work from were- ‘A desolate place,’ ‘Thunder and lightening’ and ‘Enter three witches.’

Polanski interprets Shakespeare’s stage directions for Ii that the action should take place in ‘a desolate place’ as a beach at dawn in the winter. This encapsulates the theme of unnatural events because the idea of a beach in winter is strange. In addition to this the time of day, dawn, enables Polanski to use an opening shot ...