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Throne of Blood - Criterion Collection Actors: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki Director: Akira Kurosawa Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Academy Ratio Format: Black & White Audience Rating: Unrated Running Time: 105 minutes Studio: Criterion Collection Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-05-27 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 100 Average rating: 4.0 "The Decree of a Known Future?" Shakespeare's 'MacBeth' is made into Japanese film history through Kurosawa's magical touch. The two warlords Washizu (Toshirô Mifune) and Miki are loyal to their ruler and on their way to display their loyalty they get lost in the Cobweb Forest. Bewildered and lost in the impenetrable forest they follow the laughter of an evil spirit that foretells the future of the two men. When the two men exit the woods they are promoted by their leader and once at home Washizu tells his wife about the encounter with the evil spirit. His gritty wife sways Washizu to take action and help the prophesy fulfill itself. Throne of Blood is a remarkable tragedy that keeps the audience gasping for air as greed, betrayal, guilt, and punishment are taking form on the screen. "A Great Film From Kurosawa" Widly considered as one of the greatest shakespearean film adaptations ever made. Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood is a very different adaptation of Macbeth set in feudal japan. the characters are somewhat different from shakespeare's version. It is no doubt one of Kurosawa's finest films made in the height of his career. Mifune is at his finest here as well. I definitely recommend this movie to any film lover out there who enjoys great storytelling and fine acting. "The Mastery of Kurosawa!!!" I am, just like 50 others that have strenuously written customer reviews for this classic Kurosawa Akira masterpiece, from Nagoya International School. My class has worked on Shakespeare's MacBeth, and has watched four different versions of the play on video. It was my favorite. Of the four, this was the only version in which the setting was completely removed from the original (Scotland) setting and was in Japan. "Japan? MacBeth?" you might think. Even though a lot of the valuable Shakespearian English quotes have inevitably been replaced by those that are Japanese, the main themes of loyalties and ambitions are nevertheless shown very well. They are not necessarily shown in a similar fashion, but they are shown. You will probably know what I mean if you watch the movie. It is suprising; Japan is on the opposite side of the world if you are in Scotland. But the unique feudal system of Japan, with its own distinct classes of nobility, allow the main storyline of MacBeth to flow smoothly in a pre-Tokugawa era Japanese setting. And don't forget: Mr. Kurosawa created this classic film. He does not remain in filmmaking history for nothing. From interesting camera angles (looking up at the characters from the dirt?) to rapidly changing, exciting horse-riding scenes, Kurosawa makes the black and white characters come alive in times of tension. Just remember: if you have no good movies around and you have nothing to do, and you suddenly stumble upon The Throne of Blood, pick it up and watch it. Yes, its 42 years old. But does it really make a difference if its interesting? "Great Looking, but Witless Version of Macbeth" I love Kurosawa, but this stripped down version of Macbeth is no Ran, his tribute to King Lear, which even my 11 year old loved. The dialogue is tedious, the wife is boring and not the catalyst she should be psychologically, and all but disappears once she takes matters into her own hands-- until the out damned spot scene. Too many scenes of riders approaching the castle in real time, etc. Some great scenes, but lo-oo-nnngg dry stretches in between. And where is the stand in for McDuff? That's the dramatic tension along with the wife. Both are inexplicably blown, here. "1 star for the DVD, 5 for the flim" The remastering is slightly noticably better than the VHS, but only slightly. The image format is also not wide-screen. The two special features, a running commentary and a second subtitling, disappoint. The commentary focuses largely on comparing the film to macbeth. Macbeth was an inspiration for the film, but Throne of Blood is not Macbeth. Yet the commentator insists on referring to the protagonist as Macbeth! The commentator also assumes that the viewer is thoroughly familiar with Macbeth and all the characters in it, making frequent references to scenes, plots, and characters in Macbeth instead of discussing the film on hand. For commentaries well done, see those of the Seven Samurai and the Road to Perdition. The second subtitling by Hoaglund is much inferior to the original subtitling by Richie (also on the VHS version). Here's Richie's subtitling of the opening chorus: Behold, within this place/Now desolated, stood/ Once a mighty fortress/Lived a proud warrior/ Murdered by ambition/His spirit walking still/ Vain pride, then as now, will/Lead ambition to the kill. That of Hoaglund: Look upon the ruins/Of the castle of delusion/Haunted only now/By the spritis/Of those who perished/A scene of carnage/Born of consuming desire/ Never changing/Now and throughout eternity. I don't know Japanese and cannot tell which is closer to the original. However, I find Richie's immediate, direct, and tight, while Hoaglund's is wandering, limp, and tepid. The same for the subtitling of the dialogues. In the first scene, when a messenger rushes in to tell the Lord that the battle has been won, Hoaglund has him use "tides of war" instead of just plainly saying "we've won." Which common peasant soldier would use term such as "tides of war"? Hoaglund also use "barricade," "confine," etc. instead of "siege," the general term used when holding a castle. When the rebel sues for peace by offering to shave his head, Hoaglund doesn't even mention this in the subtitle! The two subtitles cannot be shown together for comparison either. The slightly better image may be worth five bucks, not thirty.