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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 |
 "A tour-de-force of Kurosawa's visual skill"I once heard Kurosawa was an avid fan of ancient Japanese theater. One element of this school is the idea of capturing a pose that will amaze and astound the audience. Such poses or shots can be seen in many of Kurosawa's works (the descent of the Lord through the mix of yellow and red soldiers in "Ran" for instance), but perhaps never are they more apparent than in this movie, which plays out like a recorded Japanese play (although certainly with better directing than PBS' recorded theater!). Many shots leave you at first thinking, "Yeah yeah move on" but once their purpose is revealed you reap sweet rewards. For example, the opening scene opens on to a thick fog. It stays that way for several seconds and then suddenly the fog moves away, and slowly we are shown Cobweb Castle, the main setting for the story. The other amazing shots are perhaps the descent of the allied armies into Cobweb Forest, Washizu (the main character) pursuing the demon spirit through the forest, and finally the climax of the "Macbeth" story...Cobweb Forest actually moving on the castle! The Shakespearean play is adapted well. Lady Macbeth (Washizu's wife) doesn't go insane until near the end, but it is only one of a conglomeration of bad instances leading to Washizu's ultimate self-destruction. Also, the three witches are replaced by a demon forest spirit, giving a true Japanese mythical feel. If you're a fan of Akira Kurosawa or you like this type of film-making, definately check this film out at least once. "Macbeth goes Japan"My name is Simo and I'm a high-school student in Nagoya International School, Japan. I watched different movies based on Shakespeare's Macbeth play, Roman Polanski's version which settings are close to the book version. BBC has made a play which is placed in the 90's and it tells about the Scottish civil war. Finally I watched Akira Kurosawa's film Thorne of blood, which is settled in Samurai era in Japan. Polanski's and BBC's Macbeths follow the book quite accurately while Thorne of blood is much looser. Thorne of blood has the basic story line of the book but there is lots of differences and some details are adjusted to Japanese society and culture, for example; witches in Macbeth are changed to evil spirits because there are no witches in Japanese culture. In Macbeth there are three prophecies about Macbeth's death but in the Thorne of blood there are only two; the prophecy about killer who is not a women born is missing from Thorne of blood. Kurosawa is a master in cinematography and he uses camera perfectly. The movie has quite slow rhythm because it has lots of long shots, the BBC`s Macbeth is more modern and it has faster rhythm because shots are shorter and there are more fast cuts than in Thorne of blood. Personally I liked the movie and I think that it is the best of the three movies that I have been talking about in this review. "Scottish Japanese"My name is Towa and I am a student at Nagoya International School. I read Macbeth for English class and saw the movie Throne of Blood afterwards. This Kurosawa version of Macbeth was a powerful piece. Although it lacks artistic Shakespearean language, Kurosawafs choice of deliberately using black and white, and the characterfs extreme expressions bring out the meaning and images of the story. It is very interesting how Kurosawa emulated Macbethfs Scottish culture with his own culture, Japan. For example, the title Thane of Cawdor is replaced with the title Lord of the North Castle. Throne of Blood is a great movie where viewers can enjoy the storyline of Macbeth and also enjoy Kurosawafs cleverness by comparing Scottish and Japanese culture. ""Kurosawa Knows His Shakespeare""As a student attending an international school in Japan (NIS) it was very interesting to study Shakespeare's Macbeth and compare it to different movie versions of the same tragic story, the main one being Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. Each version of Macbeth; Polanski's, BBC's, RSC's, and Kurosawa's, illustrate the play from a different angle. BBC's edition is rather boring compared to the other adaptations for it consists of just the actors. Scenery and props are scant. The RSC version modernizes everything (the clothing, weapons, and housing), but the language is kept to Shakespeare's exact wording. Personally I felt that Polanski's rendition ran parallel to Shakespeare's vision and execution of the play. The time period is correct and Macbeth's transition from an honorable man to a murderous, power-craving beast is depressingly realistic. The blood, guts and fear in Polanski's version is exactly what the victims would have experienced and is dramatically shown on the screen. As for the Throne of Blood, the way Kurosawa takes an Elizabethan play and converts it into a Japanese tale of chivalry, power, treachery and murder is simply amazing. Certain elements of Shakespeare's play have been modified to better exemplify the Japanese culture. The three "weird sisters" or witches, who prophesy to Macbeth, are changed to just one unisexual spirit in Kurosawa's version, for in Japan witches with pots and potions do not exist. Although Kurosawa's version is black and white, the contrasts are so clear that even the bloodshed is nauseating. Camera angles are carefully thought out so that low-level shooting represents social positions, and close-up shooting causes the audience to feel the pain that the characters are experiencing. And where many may fear that the essence of Shakespeare and his Macbeth may be lost when translated into Japanese, Kurosawa--through the strength of the Japanese actors' voices and their body motions-- maintains the same themes of deceit, honor, blood and supernatural powers that is so strongly felt in the original play. I especially enjoyed studying Macbeth from many different viewpoints and I highly advice those who have not had the chance, to take the time to compare two impressive renditions (Polanski's and Kurosawa's) of Shakespeare's Macbeth. "Great adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth"!!"With fierce samurai warriors clad in heavy metal armor and ebony haired ladies in kimonos, gThrone of Bloodh offers everything that one would expect from a historical Japanese film, yet, its uniqueness lies in the fact that this is veteran director Kurosawafs adaptation of William Shakespearefs master epic gMacbeth.h As a highschool student attending Nagoya International School in Japan, I found this odd mix of Shakespearean literature and ancient Japanese culture quite fitting. This film portrays a warrior Washizu (Macbeth) and his ambition to be the Lord of Cobweb Forest Castle led by his manipulative wife, Asaji (Lady Macbeth). The scene change from Europe to ancient Japan does not affect the main ideas or the plot of the original Macbeth. The infamous scenes where Lady Macbeth (Asaji) is washing her hands and the banquet scene with the ghost of Banquo (Miki) are still there. The lack of Shakespearean language is well substituted by the old Japanese language (which even a fluent Japanese speaker as myself could not fully understand.) The cinematographic effects spice up this black and white film. What I found most stunningly significant was Kurosawafs use of weather. There is rain, lightening, sand storms, and fogs. The uses of these weather elements bring out a dark and creepy image of the overall story that is shared with the original gMacbethh. Also, this movie has some other cinematographic effects that only a black and white film can bring out. Evil and good, supernatural and natural are brought out by the salient contrast of black and white. For example, the witch of Cobweb Forest is surrounded by white smog and fully clad in white, which is most striking against the black, murky forest. Toshirou Mifune (Washizu) gives a tour-de-force performance as the Japanese Macbeth; his facial expressions, large movements, and voice most appropriately conveys the turmoil and ambition that Macbeth was faced with has he struggled to reach to the top. Although this movie may seem gtoo oldh and uninteresting to some, it has been a self-broadening experience for me, for it has exceeded all of my expectations from a black and white movie and given me a whole different view of Shakespearefs gMacbeth.h gThrone of Bloodh may not exactly be gfun for the whole family!h but it is a classic worth watching. |
