Other Titles • Throne of Blood (1961) • Kumonosu jo • The Castle of the Spider's Web (1957) • Il Trono di sangue (1957) • The Hidden Forest (1961) • Macbeth (1961) • Das Schloss im Spinnwebwald (1957) • Das Schloß im Spinnwebwald (1957)
Synopses for Throne of Blood (1957)
1.
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.
2.
This film tells of a valiant warrior's savage rise to power and his ignominious fall. With Throne of Blood, Kurosawa fuses one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies with the formal elements of Japanese Noh theater to make a Macbeth that is all his own classic tale of ambition and duplicity set against a ghostly landscape of fog and inescapable doom.
3.
A champion of illumination and experimental shading, Kurosawa brings his unerring eye for indelible images to Shakespeare in this 1957 adaptation of Macbeth. By changing the locale from Birnam Wood to 16th-century Japan, Kurosawa makes an oddball argument for the trans-historicity of Shakespeare's narrative; and indeed, stripped to the bare mechanics of the plot, the tale of cut-throat ambition rewarded (and thwarted) feels infinitely adaptable. What's lost in the translation, of course, is the force and beauty of the language--much of the script of Throne of Blood is maddeningly repetitive or superfluous--but striking visual images (including the surreal Cobweb Forest and some extremely artful gore) replace the sublime poetry. Toshiro Mifune is theatrically intense as Washizu, the samurai fated to betray his friend and master in exchange for the prestige of nobility; he portrays the ill-fated warrior with a passion bordering on violence, and a barely concealed conviviality. Somewhat less successful is Isuzu Yamada as Washizu's scheming wife; her poise and creepy impassivity, chilling at first, soon grows tedious. Kurosawa himself is the star of the show, though, and his masterful use of black-and-white contrast--not to mention his steady, dramatic hand with a battle scene--keeps the proceedings thrilling. A must-see for fans of Japanese cinema, as well as all you devotees of samurai weapons and armour. --Miles Bethany
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
<>
Movie Database
In Theaters
