Throne of Blood

1957

1h 48m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

939

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Drama

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Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Directors

Akira Kurosawa

Writers

Ryuzo Kikushima(screenplay by)

Shinobu Hashimoto(screenplay by)

Hideo Oguni(screenplay by)

Stars

Toshirō Mifune

Isuzu Yamada

Takashi Shimura

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Videos2

Trailer
Watch Throne of Blood (1957) Original Trailer [HD]
Featurette
Watch Shooting the Arrows in Throne of Blood

Photos145

Top cast

Taketoki Washizu

Lady Asaji Washizu

Noriyasu Odagura

Yoshiteru Miki

Kunimaru Tsuzuki

Yoshiaki Miki

Kuniharu Tsuzuki

Washizu samurai

Military Commander

Washizu's workman

Old Woman at castle

Old Ghost Woman

Military Commander #2

Washizu samurai

Washizu samurai

Washizu samurai

Washizu samurai

Military Commander #3

Directors

Akira Kurosawa

Writers

Ryuzo Kikushima(screenplay by)

Shinobu Hashimoto(screenplay by)

Hideo Oguni(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Review

Featured review

7/10

I think that this is a superb tragi-adventure story that stands out well amongst the numerous loose adaptations of Shakespeare that have been made over the years. Kurosawa takes the Scottish play and gives it the "Noh" treatment that delivers an enigmatic and tautly directed rendition of a story of betrayal, power and insanity. Toshirô Mifune is magnificent as "Washizu" who after getting lost with his colleague (Minoru Chiaki) in the doleful "Spider's Web" forest is given a cryptic prophecy that one day he too is destined to rule the great "Spider's Web castle"... Initially reluctant to embark on this path, he soon becomes blinded by this ambition on the misguided advice of his wife (Isuzu Yamada) and so he sets out on a despotic path than can only end in disaster for everyone. The cast work the story well, ably aided by the eeriness of the sets and a sharp pace. It works far better, in my opinion, in monochrome - no colourful distractions from the moody cinematography of the forest nor of the castle architecture and the mobilisation of grand armies - especially in the scenes set in winter; and the general grittiness of the scenarios are easily akin to those of 11th Century Scotland. Once the delirium of the final scenes is upon us, the performances become plausible and in the end , I almost felt sorry for "Washizu". Great stuff.

Geronimo196720 Apr, 2023