Movies like Macbeth 1981
If you like "Macbeth" you are looking for dark, atmospheric and bleak movies about / with shakespeare, murder, witch, tragedy, power, ambition and adaptation themes of Drama genre shot in USA.
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1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
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Macbeth (1981)
127
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min.
Story:
An adaptation of Shakespeare's play.
Style:
dark, atmospheric, bleak, tension, art house, independent film, period drama
Plot:
shakespeare, murder, witch, tragedy, power, ambition, adaptation, tragic hero, supernatural, betrayal, prophecy, guilt, paranoia, regicide, madness, literary, violence, blood, political intrigue, royal court, fatalism, symbolism, isolation, slow burn, suicide ...
Place:
scottish highlands
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Macbeth
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out period drama, dark, bleak and intense films with plots about shakespeare, tragedy, betrayal, revenge, murder, madness and ambition mostly in Drama, Music and History genres. Some movies like Macbeth: MacBeth (1961), Richard III (1983), King Lear (1982), King Lear (2017), Hamlet (2004). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
417
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 148 min.
Story:
Macbeth and his wife murder Duncan in order to gain his crown, but the bloodbath doesn't stop there, and things supernatural combine to bring the Macbeths down.
Style:
dark, intense, psychological, bleak, atmospheric ...
Plot:
shakespeare, ambition, witch, medieval, murder, blood, guilt, power struggle, tragedy, regicide, prophecy, betrayal ...
Time:
medieval times, 11th century
Similarity:
95%
517
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
Fearless and unforgettably creepy. This high-concept production, filmed live at London’s Donmar Warehouse, stars the formidable talents of David Tennant and Cush Jumbo in Shakespeare’s most infamous tragedy.
Style:
creepy, dark, intense, bleak, tense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
murder, ambition, witch, betrayal, bloodbath, paranoia, power struggle, regicide, shakespeare, tragedy, guilt, violent ...
Similarity:
84%
263
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
In eleventh century Scotland, three witches foretell that Macbeth will become King, while Banquo will beget Kings. Macbeth accordingly has King Duncan slain, and is duly crowned in his place. But that's where his problems really begin...
Style:
dark, bleak, sinister, atmospheric, intense ...
Plot:
shakespeare, macbeth, regicide, prophecy, witch, ambition, adaptation, witchcraft, supernatural, tragedy, power struggle, tragic hero ...
Time:
middle ages, 11th century
Place:
scotland, scottish highlands
Similarity:
81%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
Entirely shot on green screen, Shakespeare’s Macbeth has been reinvented by director Kit Monkman (The Knife That Killed Me) in an exciting new film adaptation. Starring Mark Rowley, (The Last Kingdom, Luther). Monkman’s unique adaptation ...
Style:
dark, bleak, experimental, avant garde, art house ...
Plot:
prophecy, shakespeare, adaptation, literary, power struggle, guilt, ambition, tragedy, witch, claustrophobia, regicide, betrayal ...
Time:
11th century
Place:
scotland
Similarity:
80%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
Shakespeare's classic tragedy of ambition, witches and murder.
Style:
dark, art house, period drama
Plot:
shakespeare, medieval, macbeth, ambition, tragedy, power struggle, witch, guilt, madness, prophecy, regicide, supernatural ...
Similarity:
79%
224
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
This is a very theatrical version, full of sound & fury, histrionics and big arm movements. Cynical audiences might not buy into it, but if you were to go back to the early 1600s this is probably the way you'd see it. The plot of ...
Style:
dramatic, psychological, dark, bleak, tense ...
Plot:
shakespeare, macbeth, regicide, medieval, guilt, ambition, adaptation, downfall, tragedy, power struggle, corruption, monarchy ...
Time:
11th century
Place:
scottish highlands, scotland
Similarity:
68%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 239 min.
Story:
Richard Duke of Gloucester, youngest brother of King Edward IV, will stop at nothing to get the crown. He first convinces the ailing King that the Duke of Clarence, his elder brother, is a threat to the lives of Edward's two young sons. Edward ...
Style:
historical drama, period piece, dark, bleak, grim ...
Plot:
shakespeare, royal family, royalty, murder, ambition, betrayal, political intrigue, power struggle, manipulation, tragedy, conspiracy, adaptation ...
Time:
15th century
Similarity:
61%
Genre: Drama, Music
Country: UK, West Germany, France
Duration: 149 min.
Story:
Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
Style:
dark, intense, dramatic, atmospheric, psychological ...
Plot:
opera, macbeth, tragedy, ambition, shakespeare, power, guilt, betrayal, murder, witch, adaptation, madness ...
Time:
19th century
Place:
scotland
Similarity:
54%
289
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 180 min.
Story:
King Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and ...
Style:
tragic ending, melancholic, bleak, allegory, period drama
Plot:
shakespeare, tragedy, betrayal, father daughter conflict, madness, power struggle, literary, deception, political intrigue, sibling rivalry, loyalty, desperation ...
Similarity:
53%
443
Genre: Drama
Country: Hungary
Duration: 62 min.
Story:
A Hungarian TV version of the play shot in just two takes.
Style:
art house, psychological, bleak, intense, experimental ...
Plot:
shakespeare, theater, tragedy, adaptation, minimalism, literary, power, guilt, ambition, madness, intimate, fate ...
Similarity:
52%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 233 min.
TV show
Story:
King Lear is an in-depth study of love, power and death. Through this film Shakespeare is saying, "Don't blame the gods or the heaven's for the horrors committed on earth. No. Blame hellish inhumanity on those who inhabit the ...
Style:
intense, bleak, dark, philosophical, existential ...
Plot:
shakespeare, tragedy, royalty, madness, adaptation, mature, betrayal, literary, desperation, revenge, loyalty, isolation ...
Place:
britain
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Drama, Music
Country: Spain
Duration: 176 min.
Story:
Hamlet suspects his uncle has murdered his father to claim the throne of Denmark and the hand of Hamlet's mother, but the prince cannot decide whether or not he should take vengeance.
Style:
captivating, philosophical, atmospheric, suspense, dark ...
Plot:
opera, shakespeare, murder mystery, tragedy, shakespeare's hamlet, murder, death, revenge, tragic hero, murderer, uncover truth, intrigue ...
Place:
denmark
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
BBC rendition of Shakespeare's Coriolanus
Style:
serious, dark, period piece, intense, epic
Plot:
shakespeare, ancient rome, tragic hero, power struggle, political conflict, literary, revenge, moral ambiguity, adaptation, pride, honor, exile ...
Place:
rome italy
Similarity:
42%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
William Houston's portrayal of the Danish prince.
Style:
tragic ending, costume drama, period drama
Plot:
tragedy, shakespeare, revenge, political intrigue, royalty, moral ambiguity, melancholy, castle, patricide, regicide, fatalism, poisoning ...
Place:
denmark
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 210 min.
Story:
A 2010 broadcast of Hamlet returns to cinemas as part of the NT's 50th anniversary celebrations. Following his celebrated performances at the National Theatre in Burnt by the Sun, The Revenger's Tragedy, Philistines and The Man of Mode, ...
Style:
psychological, thrilling, captivating, dramatic, intense ...
Plot:
shakespeare, revenge, moral dilemma, prince, intrigue, stage play, shakespeare's hamlet, tragedy, hamlet, palace intrigue, murder, political intrigue ...
Place:
denmark, london
Similarity:
38%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 140 min.
Story:
Performing from within the walls of a deconsecrated Manchester church, Kenneth Branagh takes the lead role in this ambitious production of William Shakespeare's tragic tale of ambition and treachery.
Style:
suspense, psychological, captivating, atmospheric, tense ...
Plot:
king, shakespeare, tragic hero, revenge, rise to power, assassination, femme fatale, medieval, ambition, prophecy, state affairs, throne ...
Time:
middle ages
Place:
scotland, united kingdom
Similarity:
38%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, Japan, USA
Duration: 180 min.
Story:
David Tennant stars in a film of the Royal Shakespeare Company's award-winning production of Shakespeare's great play. Director Gregory Doran's modern-dress production was hailed by the critics as thrilling, fast-moving and, in parts, ...
Style:
serious, stylized, emotional, atmospheric, crying ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
royal court, revenge, betrayal, murder, throne, shakespeare, shakespeare's hamlet, tragic hero, rivalry, heroes, intrigue, state affairs ...
Time:
middle ages
Place:
europe, denmark
Similarity:
38%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 180 min.
Story:
A monarch ordained by God to lead his people. But he is also a man of very human weakness. A man whose vanity threatens to divide the great houses of England and drag his people into a dynastic civil war that will last 100 years.
Style:
period piece, historical drama, disturbing, captivating, costume drama ...
Audience:
date night, adult
Plot:
monarchy, political intrigue, civil war, shakespeare, palace intrigue, monarch, medieval, power struggle, king, royalty, ruler, arrogance ...
Time:
14th century
Similarity:
37%
Genre: Drama, Horror
Country: UK
Duration: 168 min.
Story:
Having subdued the Goths, warrior Titus Andronicus returns to Rome to bury his sons, with Gothic Queen Tamora and her retinue as captives. The newly-dead Roman Emperor's two sons, Saturninus and Bassianus, are competing for their father's ...
Style:
dark, brutal, bleak, intense, black comedy ...
Plot:
shakespeare, ancient rome, revenge, bloodbath, tragedy, vengeance, palace intrigue, betrayal, violence, murder, madness, warrior ...
Place:
rome italy
Similarity:
37%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Brazil
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
Based on William Shakespeare's "Macbeth". Elias is a successful executive who works in the second largest private bank in Brazil. One day, Elias meets a mysterious woman who claims to be able to predict his future and says he will ...
Style:
tense, disturbing, captivating, suspense, psychological thriller ...
Plot:
shakespeare, ambition, murder, prophecy, bank, career, banker, husband wife relationship, murderer, blind ambition, murder mystery, mysterious girl ...
Place:
brazil
Similarity:
36%
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 166 min.
Story:
A ghostly visitor with a shocking secret, a daughter devastated by loss, a deadly duel – and the most famous question in all of drama. Just some of the reasons why Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy will hold you spellbound.
Style:
psychological, thrilling, captivating, dramatic, dark ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
tragedy, hamlet, shakespeare, stage play, revenge, royal palace, life is a bitch, shakespeare's hamlet, family relations, male female relationship, relationship problems, royal family ...
Place:
denmark
Similarity:
35%
42K
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 242 min.
Story:
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
Style:
stylized, costume drama, atmospheric, period piece, serious ...
Plot:
shakespeare, revenge, medieval, ghost, tragedy, funeral, vengeance, royal family, royal court, literary, shakespeare's hamlet, intrigue ...
Time:
19th century, 16th century, middle ages, 1800s, 90s ...
Place:
denmark, europe, england
Similarity:
34%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
On a distant island a man waits. Robbed of his position, power and wealth, his enemies have left him in isolation. But this is no ordinary man, and this no ordinary island. Prospero is a magician, able to control the very elements and bend nature to ...
Style:
captivating, psychological, thrilling, dramatic, reflective ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
magic, island, shipwreck, storm, revenge, remote island, shakespeare, theater, supernatural, supernatural power, literary, wizard ...
Similarity:
33%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 151 min.
Story:
Film version of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2012 production of Shakespeare's fast-moving thriller. A vivid story about a struggle for democracy, Julius Caesar is also a love story between two men united by an explosive act of political ...
Style:
captivating, psychological, thrilling, political thriller, intense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
shakespeare, antiquity, roman, political violence, political intrigue, betrayal, power struggle, conspiracy, assassination, ambition, empire, julius caesar ...
Time:
1st century
Place:
rome italy
Similarity:
33%
16K
Genre: Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 140 min.
Story:
A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord siezes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
Style:
disturbing, visual, bleak, atmospheric, spiritual ...
Plot:
murder, shakespeare, guilt, prophecy, witch, nobility, macbeth, witchcraft, royalty, betrayal, renaissance, ghost ...
Time:
11th century, medieval times, middle ages, year 1971, 20th century ...
Place:
scotland, eastern europe, england, europe
Similarity:
33%
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 195 min.
Story:
Adaptation of Shakespeare's play.
Style:
bleak, dark, independent film, period drama
Plot:
tragedy, jealousy, shakespeare's othello, betrayal, racism, shakespeare, tragic hero, manipulation, palace intrigue, envy, crimes of passion, suspicion ...
Place:
venice
Similarity:
32%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 161 min.
TV show
Story:
The assassination of the would be ruler of Rome at the hands of Brutus and company has tragic consequences for Brutus and the republic.
Style:
historical drama, bleak, dark, intellectual, period drama
Plot:
shakespeare, assassination, betrayal, conspiracy, power struggle, political intrigue, roman, ambition, ethical dilemma, loyalty, character study, senate ...
Time:
1st century, 1st century b.c.
Similarity:
31%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 177 min.
Story:
When Pericles discovers the dread answer to Antioch's riddle, he flees for his life straight into famine, shipwreck, love, fatherhood, and another shipwreck; he loses his wife and daughter, and doesn't find them again until the story moves ...
Style:
emotional, dark, period drama
Plot:
shakespeare, shipwreck, survival, fatherhood, sea voyage, separation, redemption, exile, literary, resurrection, love story, tragedy ...
Place:
ancient greece
Similarity:
31%
925
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 158 min.
Story:
An aging King invites disaster when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters and rejects his one loving, but honest one.
Style:
serious, realistic, bleak, emotional, talky ...
Plot:
shakespeare, medieval, king, celtic, literary, dancing, betrayal, unfulfillment, aging, tragic hero, intrigue, rivalry ...
Similarity:
31%
248
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
A tale of revenge that has stood the test of time, Shakespeare’s classic tragedy is reimagined for the modern day as a gripping psychological thriller! Transcending the confines of the stage, the film utilises nearly every room of the Theatre ...
Style:
psychological thriller, suspenseful, psychological, thrilling, captivating ...
Plot:
revenge, shakespeare, tragedy, problem, life is a bitch, madness, theater, betrayal, character study, literary, family conflict, obsession ...
Similarity:
29%
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