Roman Polanski's film production of Macbeth (1971) blends this classic Shakespearean tragedy with the film noir genre creating a rich and dynamic combination. Classic film noir encapsulates “pessimism, desolation, desperation, and paranoia that are readily apparent […] filmed in bleak greys, blacks, and whites, thematically showed the dark and inhuman side of human nature” (Conard 2006). Literally dark film or black cinema, film noir evokes moral darkness and corruption, evil, paranoia, mental disorder, fatalistic pessimism, violence and cruelty. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Film noir "echoes a sense of moral corruption and betrayal in the film industry" (Gazetas 2008. From the opening scenes, the viewer is immediately introduced to moral darkness and corruption. The battle, which involves kings Duncan and Macbeth, born from the betrayal (coup) of the Lord of Cawdor against the ruling regime while the herald invests Macbeth with the title of Lord of Cawdor, gives news of the fate of the former Thane of Cawdor where "capital betrayals, confessed and tried, they have overthrown him." This statement bodes ill for Macbeth and overshadows Macbeth's future breach of faith and death, although the battle served to quell the treacherous rebellion; however, another smolders in Macbeth's heart. The seeds of the corruption already existing in Macbeth germinate and begin to take root when the Weird Sisters prophesy him a promotion to Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland Banquo's fears are also well-founded regarding the witches' prophecy of "burn him to the crown." The prophecy fuels Macbeth's dormant ambition for kingship, and his latent desire, combined with Lady Macbeth's subtle machinations and daring ruthlessness, are a dangerous combination that results in Duncan's regicide. "Every film noir depicts dark characters driven by lust, greed or psychotic reasons. They lie, betray, kill or get killed to get what they secretly desire" (Gazetas 2008). The mad ambition of the Macbeth duo to usurp Duncan's throne is evident .When Duncan declares the heir to the throne, Prince of Cumberland, the announcement disappoints Macbeth but he is determined to obtain the throne by any means necessary. He describes the Prince of Cumberland as "a step on which I must fall or leap because it is found on my way". From this statement we see Macbeth's firm determination to pursue every means to achieve his ends like Machiavelli. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth's ambition surpasses that of Macbeth as she is the active catalyst who instigates, lies and orchestrates Duncan's murder. I note his ambitious desire by hailing Macbeth as "Great Glamis, worthy Cawdor, greater than both for all the hail of the afterlife!" His anticipation for greatness and his cold calculations for murder of Duncan's unscrupulous underline his lust for power. Even after the Macbeths secure the throne, insecurity and ambition drive them to exterminate the competition by killing Banquo, the Macduffs, and all of Duncan's sympathizers. With a despotic hand, Macbeth exerts a strong influence on Scotland, manifesting moral corruption and profound darkness. Moral darkness is compounded by physical darkness, and in the film noir genre the prevailing atmosphere and color images are black and dark. Film noir directors usually blend moral darkness with literal, physical darkness using them as motifs to impress the mind with their correlation. “The dark and squalid environment also suggests hidden, malevolent forces lurking in the shadows, stalking their prey”(Gazetas 2008). When Banquo's paid assassins travel to kill him, they observe that "it is day and yet the dark night strangles the traveling lamp." Simultaneously with this statement Banquo, going to Macbeth's banquet, recognizes that "darkness"Evil agents are most active during the dark night, so the fusion of moral darkness and physical darkness is appropriate. Banquo does not know that his same murder will take place under the cloak of darkness. Lady Macbeth calls upon the darkness: "Come, night you see, cover the tender eye of the pitiful day." Duncan is staged during the night hours, when the family and the entire royal retinue are asleep, Macbeth tells the night stars to "hide (their) fires. Let not the light see my dark and deep desires." " The theme of darkness emerges again because when Macbeth visits the witches' dwelling in the caves, the darkness is always very thick. In a fit of rage, he calls witches "secret, midnight black witches" and the irony of this saying is that moral depravity and darkness go hand in hand. Dabbling in evil has its repercussions and as a result, the minds of the Macbeths become disordered and mental illness begins to invade. “Film noir imagines a world in which political disintegration and paranoia indicate continued disintegration” (Gazetas 2008). Paranoia is caused by a troubled conscience and lack of sleep, and disturbed sleep results from their evil deeds. Due to their heavy mental burdens and poisoned consciences, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth suffer from sleep disorders. Their tormented souls are not at peace, so they cannot enter that relaxed, unconscious state to renew their bodies and minds. “Film noir shows the hallucinatory and nightmarish criminal world” (Gazetas 2008). . After Duncan's murder, Macbeth reports hearing a voice say, "sleep no more, Macbeth kills sleep." Interestingly, he becomes sleepless and cannot sleep a wink after assassinating his monarch. Likewise, as the consort, mastermind, and accomplice to numerous murders, Lady Macbeth suffers from insomnia. Her doctor diagnoses her condition as "disturbed by fantasies that prevent her from sleeping." What makes Lady Macbeth's sleep disorder worse than Macbeth's is sleepwalking. There is a pathetic sleepwalking scene where his mind runs wild and exposes his guilt. As he rambles, he reveals secrets from the past and conniving conversations with Macbeth that confirm his doctor's suspicions. As Lady Macbeth's hallucinations worsen and episodes of sleepwalking increase, Macbeth asks his doctor, "Canst thou cure a diseased mind? Wrest from memory a deep-rooted pain? Shave away the written troubles of the brain?" These questions indicate Macbeth's intense mental suffering, anguish and trauma and give voice to his desperation to be free from it. Nightmares also testify to paranoia and Macbeth has several of them. Macbeth laments the "terrible dreams that shake us every night." In the film, Macbeth dreams that Banquo's son Fleance is suffocating him while he is in bed. After his death, Fleance grabs the crown and places it on his head. This nightmare tells of Macbeth's deep fears and sense of insecurity in his position as the monarch of Scotland on the throne. As if waking sleep and nightmares weren't enough, Macbeth's terror is heightened by frightening visits from the supernatural world. The apparitions are another element of paranoia that Macbeth suffers from. Only he sees people and objects that are the fruit of his imagination. Before Duncan's murder, Macbeth sees an imaginary dagger covered in blood in front of him, however, when he tries to grab the dagger, hishands pass through the invisible object. At the banquet, after Banquo has been killed and Macbeth has toasted in his honor, he sees a bloodied-faced Banquo with several gashes on his face. While Banquo's ghost haunts him, King Macbeth is reduced to a howling, delirious child. No one else at the banquet table sees Banquo's spirit. Undoubtedly, these psychological tortures make life stop being worth it and cast it into a negativeview. In film noir, darkness, gloomy weather, melancholy characters, and desperate statements all testify to pessimism and nihilism. “Film noir is fundamentally nocturnal: it pursues the knowledge that lies behind the truth of the visible […] a knowledge that is a kind of nothingness, a negativity, death itself” (Harris 6). The first observation Macbeth makes after the battle is that it is a "disgusting day." Indeed, the day begins with dreary, dreary weather and a downpour of rain, and the film alternates between thunderstorms and downpours. The bad weather becomes a metaphor for the desperation and sadness that the characters feel. The characters are mostly dressed in dark and funereal colors, somber and thoughtful. As Macbeth sinks deeper into moral decadence, he takes a retrospective look at his life and thinks about the future. Only dark thoughts enter his mind and for him life becomes a meaningless march of time. Pessimism and nihilism culminate in Lady Macbeth's act of suicide. When Lady Macbeth dies, a depressed and anguished Macbeth says he has "lived long enough". “The particular message of film noir in general is that, in the reality of our desire, we are all suicidal” (Harris 9). Macbeth then moralizes that "life is but a walking shadow [...], a story told by an idiot, [...] signifying nothing." The film even ends on a pessimistic note because it ends with an evil solicitation. As Malcolm, the new reigning king, travels, he hears the witches' songs at the opening of a cave. His curiosity is piqued and he enters the cave. Polanski uses this incident to demonstrate the vicious cycle of evil without hope of redemption. Macbeth's statement, "nothing is but that which is not" sums up the concept of nihilism. The critic John Murphy corresponds to the position that Macbeth is a "bleak, almost openly nihilistic work" (Murphy). Violence, cruelty, blood and death constantly recur as themes and motifs in film noir as in Macbeth. “Film noir develops a cinema of cruelty” (Conley 1987), where “it is a world of violence in which all human values ​​are seriously questioned” (Gazetas 2008). The opening scene begins with a mysterious burial that the three Weird Sisters undertake. They bury a dead man's hand in the sand with a dagger clutched in his hand, a hangman's noose and ashes. After covering the strange grave, they sprinkle blood on the burial site. These objects are not innocent but foreshadow future events in the film such as betrayal, violence, bloodshed, executions and murder. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth take center stage in taking violent measures to achieve their evil goals. Macbeth's lust for power is commensurate with his bloodlust, and as he desires to consolidate his power, he becomes increasingly ruthless. Macbeth turns against his own friend Banquo and his son, Fleance, and plots their murder. Having achieved this goal, he attacks a political dissident, Macduff, attacking his castle and killing all its occupants: wife, son and servants. Personifying Scotland as a nation subjected to cruel violence, it is said to "weep, it bleeds, and every new day a gash is added to its wounds. Every new morning, new widows scream, and new orphans weep." Before Duncan's visit to Inverness, Lady, 2008.