Claim: Macbeth is a movie version of a Shakespearean tragedy.

Macbeth -LRB- or The Tragedy of Macbeth -RRB- is a 1971 British-American historical drama film directed by Roman Polanski and co-written by Polanski and Kenneth Tynan . A film adaptation of William Shakespeare 's tragedy of the same name , it retells the story of the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder . The film stars Jon Finch as the title character and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth , noted for their relative youth as actors . Themes of historic recurrence , greater pessimism and internal ugliness in physically beautiful characters are added to Shakespeare 's story of moral decline , which is presented in a more realistic style .   The production , funded by Playboy Enterprises , was troubled by poor weather around the British Isles , and the film was a box office bomb . Polanski 's Macbeth was screened out of competition at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival . It was somewhat controversial for its depictions of graphic violence and nudity , but has also received positive attention , and was named Best Film by the National Board of Review .