Akira Kurosawa's remarkable 1957 restaging of Macbeth in samurai and expressionist terms is unquestionably one of his finest works -- charged with energy, imagination, and, in keeping with the subject, sheer horror.
Throne of Blood (1957)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 33
Fresh: 32
Rotten:1
Average Rating: 8.6/10
Consensus: A career high point for Akira Kurosawa -- and one of the best film adaptations of a Shakespeare play.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: Akira Kurosawa's stunning reconception of Shakespeare's MACBETH is a dark samurai drama, set in feudal Japan. As the film begins, two soldiers--Washizu (Toshirô Mifune) and Miki (Minoru Chiaki)--find themselves lost in a dense forest... Akira Kurosawa's stunning reconception of Shakespeare's MACBETH is a dark samurai drama, set in feudal Japan. As the film begins, two soldiers--Washizu (Toshirô Mifune) and Miki (Minoru Chiaki)--find themselves lost in a dense forest during a powerful thunderstorm. Seemingly unable to leave the woods, they encounter a ghostly old woman who predicts that Washizu will soon rise to power. At the goading of his ruthless wife, Asaji (Isuzu Yamada), Washizu embarks on a murderously ambitious path and quickly fulfills the prophecy. However, his ascension is cursed by his brutal actions and soon opposition arises to challenge his blood-stained rule. One of the finest Shakespeare adaptations to appear in any medium, Kurosawa's THRONE OF BLOOD is covered in an entrancingly macabre web. The always-amazing Mifune gives one of his greatest performances as the haunted yet unrelenting Lord Washizu, while Yamada portrays the eeriest version of Lady Macbeth to ever grace the screen or stage. A master of reinterpretation, Kurosawa incorporates strong elements of Japanese Noh drama into the film, and the result adds to the somber and chilling mood. The film's highlight, however, is the tense and skillfully paced finale, which features Washizu literally up against the wall as he faces an army of vengeful archers. [More]
Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Minoru Chiaki, Takashi Shimura
Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Minoru Chiaki, Takashi Shimura
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Screenwriter: Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni, Ryuzo Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa
Story: William Shakespeare
DVD Info
Release:
May 27, 2003
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Full Frame - 1.33
- Single Side - Dual Layer
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - 1. Michael Jeck - Japanese Film Scholar
- Alternate Subtitle Translations
- Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Text/Galleries:
- Essay - 1. Kurosawa Piece by Stephen Prince - Film Scholar
Reviews for Throne of Blood
One of Kurosawa's best and arguably the best Shakespeare ever filmed.
In fact, in the scene where Lady Asaji leaves a room and disappears into the darkness to get sake to make the guards drunk, the ominous rustling of her silk gown is as chilling as Lady Macbeth's lines.
Transplanted to medieval Japan, Kurosawa's brutal film is one of the best Shakesperean adaptations on screen, with a tour de force performance from Toshiro Mifune; it makes a fascinating double bill with the masterful Ran
With its all-pervading sense of doom, this is a serious contender for the finest celluloid Shakespeare of them all.
It's visually ravishing, as you would expect, employing compositional tableaux from the Noh drama, high contrast photography, and extraordinary images of rain, galloping horses, the birds fleeing from the forest.
Kurosawa's film ranks as a classic that holds up over the years for its tight construction and masterful cinematic technique
Filters themes of greed and power lust through visuals that are so rich and densely textured that they take on a life of their own.
Throne of Blood, Akira Kurosawa's searing adaptation of Macbeth, fluidly weaves Shakespeare's fluid lyricism with a distinct Japanese flavor.
May not approach the lofty standards of something like The Seven Samurai, but it certainly stands as one of the director’s finest and most accessible efforts.
Latest News for Throne of Blood
July 21, 2008:
Brush Up On Your Shakespeare With Our List Of The Bard's Best Films
Friends, readers, Tomato-fans, lend me your ears. Not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty, we at RT humbly present to you the Greatest Shakespeare Movies, a list of the Bard's... More...
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