Prophecy, witchcraft, treachery, murder: it’s no surprise that the Scottish Play would be a favorite for filmmakers from the silent era to the present day. From Orson Welles’ Scottish burr and Toshiro Mifune’s Samurai to 50s noir and indie comedy, Macbeth has proved itself infinitely malleable and the stuff of great cinema. We’re thrilled to spotlight the Bard’s most screen-adapted work for a wide-ranging week of big-screen betrayal, set to coincide with Whitney White’s live musical spectacular Macbeth in Stride, part of BAM’s Winter/Spring 2025 season.
Leadership support for
BAM’s strategic initiatives provided by:
Leadership support for
BAM Access Programs provided by
the Jerome L. Greene Foundation
Leadership support for
BAM programming provided by:
Leadership support for
BAM’s strategic initiatives provided by:
Leadership support for
BAM Film provided by
The Thompson Family Foundation
Major support for programs in
the Lepercq Cinema is provided by
The Lepercq Charitable Foundation
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FilmThrone of Blood
Apr 11—Apr 11, 2025
Throne of Blood
Apr 11—Apr 11, 2025Kurosawa sets his vivid 1957 rendering in a ghostly, fog-enshrouded landscape in feudal Japan, fusing classical Western tragedy with elements of the Noh form of Japanese theater. -
FilmRave Macbeth
Apr 11—Apr 16, 2025
Rave Macbeth
Apr 11—Apr 16, 2025Macbeth is lord of the club in this pulsing reimagining, which drips with dance floor deceit and features a trio of techno witches and plenty of ecstasy. -
FilmJoe MacBeth
Apr 12—Apr 17, 2025
Joe MacBeth
Apr 12—Apr 17, 2025The great Ken Hughes (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Trials of Oscar Wilde) envisions one of Shakespeare’s greatest criminals in the American gangster world of the 1930s. -
FilmMacbeth (1982)
Apr 12—Apr 13, 2025
Macbeth (1982)
Apr 12—Apr 13, 2025Béla Tarr’s scuzzy, condensed made-for-tv version marked a pivotal moment in the Hungarian auteur’s long and storied career. -
FilmMacbeth (1948) + Voodoo Macbeth footage (We Work Again)
Apr 12—Apr 17, 2025
Macbeth (1948) + Voodoo Macbeth footage (We Work Again)
Apr 12—Apr 17, 2025Orson Welles’ 1948 adaptation screens alongside a short WPA film containing the only known footage of the director’s 1936 all-black stage production. -
FilmScotland, PA
Apr 12—Apr 13, 2025
Scotland, PA
Apr 12—Apr 13, 2025In 70s small-town America, Joe and Pat McBeth plot to sabotage the owner of a local fast-foodery, and Christopher Walken does a droll turn as a cop named McDuff. -
FilmThe Damned
Apr 13—Apr 14, 2025
The Damned
Apr 13—Apr 14, 2025Heretical filmmaker Luchino Visconti uses the play’s plot to savagely skewer Nazism in this subversive, cutting Technicolor vision.
