They welcome him, unaware of his treachery. Disappointed, Ross leaves Scotland to join Malcolm and Macduff in England. With nobles fleeing Scotland, Macbeth chooses a new Thane of Cawdor, bestowing the title on Seyton over Ross. Ross enters Fife castle pretending to be a friend, but leaves the heavy castle doors open, allowing Macbeth's gang of murderers in to kill Lady Macduff, the children and servants. Ross is sent to Fife to direct the slaughter of MacDuff.
The witches and the spirits they summon deceive Macbeth into thinking he is invincible, as he cannot be killed except by a man not born of woman and will not be defeated until "Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane." After Banquo appears at a banquet as a ghost, Macbeth seeks out the witches, who are performing a nude ritual. When Macbeth begins to fear possible usurpation by Banquo and his son Fleance, he sends two murderers to kill them, and then sends Ross as the mysterious Third Murderer. An opportunistic courtier, he hails Macbeth at Scone, while the noble Macduff heads back to his home in Fife. Fearing a conspiracy, Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland, and the Thane of Ross realises Macbeth will be king.
Duncan wakes and utters Macbeth's name, but Macbeth stabs him to death. Urged on by his wife, Macbeth steps into King Duncan's chambers after she has drugged the guards. The royal family and nobles then spend the night at Macbeth's castle, with Lady Macbeth greeting the King and dancing with him with duplicity. Duncan names his eldest son, Malcolm, Prince of Cumberland, and thus heir apparent, to the displeasure of Macbeth and Malcolm's brother Donalbain. However, she fears her husband has too much good nature, and vows to be cruel for him. He writes a letter to Lady Macbeth, who is delighted at the news. At their camp, nobles arrive and inform Macbeth he has been named the Thane of Cawdor, with Macbeth simultaneously awed and frightened at the prospect of usurping Duncan, in further fulfilment of the prophecy. Macbeth and Banquo do not hear of this news when out riding, they happen upon Three Witches, who hail Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor and future King, and Banquo as lesser and greater. MacDonwald is slain in battle by Macbeth and King Duncan decrees Macbeth shall be awarded the title of Cawdor. In the Middle Ages, a Norwegian and Irish invasion of Scotland aided by traitorous Thane of Cawdor, MacDonwald, is suppressed by Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, and Banquo. Initially controversial for its graphic violence and nudity, the film has since garnered generally positive reviews, and was named Best Film by the National Board of Review in 1972. Following troubled shooting around the British Isles mired by poor weather, Macbeth screened out of competition at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival and was a commercial failure in the United States. Finding difficulty obtaining sponsorship from major studios, Playboy Enterprises stepped in to provide funding. Polanski opted to adapt Macbeth as a means of coping with the highly publicized Manson Family murder of his wife, Sharon Tate. 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. Jon Finch and Francesca Annis star as the title character and his wife, noted for their relative youth as actors. A film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name, it tells the story of the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. Macbeth (also known as The Tragedy of Macbeth or Roman Polanski's Film of Macbeth) is a 1971 historical drama film directed by Roman Polanski, and co-written by Polanski and Kenneth Tynan.