IMDb > Kumonosu-jou (1957)
Kumonosu-jou
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Kumonosu-jou (1957) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   11,373 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Contact:
View company contact information for Macbeth on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 November 1961 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
A ruthlessly ambitious lord, egged on by his wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become Emperor. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
3 wins & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(16 articles)
Holiday Preview: A Repertory Calendar
 (From IFC. 3 November 2009, 1:01 PM, PST)

New 'Hamlet' to Get the Horror Treatment, Star Emile Hirsch
 (From CinemaSpy. 27 August 2009, 8:55 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Excellent Combination of Shakespeare & Kurosawa more (68 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Toshirô Mifune ... Taketori Washizu
Isuzu Yamada ... Lady Asaji Washizu
Takashi Shimura ... Noriyasu Odagura
Akira Kubo ... Yoshiteru Miki
Hiroshi Tachikawa ... Kunimaru Tsuzuki (as Yoichi Tachikawa)
Minoru Chiaki ... Yoshiaki Miki
Takamaru Sasaki ... Kuniharu Tsuzuki
Kokuten Kodo ... Military Commander
Kichijiro Ueda ... Washizu's workman
Eiko Miyoshi ... Old Woman at castle
Chieko Naniwa ... Old Ghost Woman
Nakajiro Tomita ... Second Military Commander
Yû Fujiki ... Washizu samurai
Sachio Sakai ... Washizu samurai
Shin Otomo ... Washizu samurai
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Throne of Blood (UK) (USA) (original subtitled version)
Cobweb Castle
Macbeth (USA)
Spider Web Castle
The Castle of the Spider's Web
more
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording) | Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding)
Certification:
Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:PG | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Switzerland:14 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1991) | UK:12 (re-rating) (2001) | USA:Unrated
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The famous arrow scene near the end was in fact done with real arrows. That is, the arrows hitting the wooden planks were not done with special effects, but rather choreographed with archers. Mifune waves his arms to brush away the arrows sticking from the planks, indicating to them that he wanted to go in that particular direction. The real arrows were included to get Mifune's facial expressions of real-life fear, which is exceptionally hard to imitate. Of course, the arrows that hit the Mifune character were bamboo fakes. more
Goofs:
Continuity: After Mifune and his friend come to the forest clearing where the spirit dwells, as they get down from their horses, all of Mifune's arrows fall out of his quiver. In the next shot however, the quiver is full of arrows again. more
Quotes:
Taketori Washizu: I am drunk... more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful.
Excellent Combination of Shakespeare & Kurosawa, 25 April 2002
Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

Directors don't come much better than Kurosawa, writers don't come much better than Shakespeare, and movies don't come much better than this excellent combination of the two. Add Mifune's acting, plus a good supporting cast (including a really good performance by Isuzu Yamada), and you have a top-quality, classic film. In retelling the story of "Macbeth" with characters from medieval Japan, Kurosawa does honor to the original and creates a fine achievement in its own right.

Much of the time, when Shakespeare plots are transferred to different settings, what results is only a shadow of the original, because too many directors have only a limited grasp of what Shakespeare's deep masterpieces are all about. That is not at all the case here - Kurosawa shows a great appreciation for the themes and potential of the Macbeth story, and adds plenty of masterful touches of his own, creating a distinctive, memorable atmosphere and characters that come to life in their own right in addition to serving as worthy parallels to the Macbeth characters. There are many fine details that enhance both the medieval Japanese setting and also the important themes of the story itself.

Whether you like Shakespeare, Kurosawa, or both, "Throne of Blood" is an excellent movie that should not disappoint.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Kumonosu-jou (1957)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
anybody else feel like me...? metalmind19
I need help on a Macbeth project. Please look. movielover26
Thoughts on Asaji pieman9999
IMDb references... xerocliche
Neck Arrow Sequence thilak_life
Top Kurosawa films thl2k1
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