Throne of Blood (1957)

A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Hideo Oguni (screenplay), Shinobu Hashimoto (screenplay)

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Taketoki Washizu
Isuzu Yamada	...	Lady Asaji Washizu
Takashi Shimura	...	Noriyasu Odagura
Akira Kubo	...	Yoshiteru Miki
Hiroshi Tachikawa	...	Kunimaru Tsuzuki (as Yôichi Tachikawa)
Minoru Chiaki	...	Yoshiaki Miki
Takamaru Sasaki	...	Kuniharu Tsuzuki
Gen Shimizu	...	Washizu samurai
Kokuten Kôdô	...	Military Commander
Kichijirô Ueda	...	Washizu's workman
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Old Woman at castle
Chieko Naniwa	...	Old Ghost Woman
Nakajirô Tomita	...	Second Military Commander
Yû Fujiki	...	Washizu samurai
Sachio Sakai	...	Washizu samurai

Storyline

After securing a major victory on the battlefield, Taketoti Washizu and one of his commanders, Yoshiaki Miki, find themselves lost in the maze-like Spider's Web forest. They come across a spirit-like seer who tells them of their future: both have been promoted because of their victory that day; Washizu will someday be the Great Lord of the Spider's Web castle while Miki's son will someday rule as Great Lord as well. When they arrive at the castle, they learn that the first part of the prophecy is correct. Washizu has no desire to become Great Lord but his ambitious wife urges him to reconsider. When the current Great Lord makes a surprise visit to his garrison outpost, Washizu is again promoted to commander of his vanguard but his wife reminds him of the danger that comes with the position. As pressure mounts, Wahizu takes action leading to its inevitable conclusion.

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Plot Keywords:

tragedy | villain | opening a door | visit | shot with an arrow | 

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Taglines:

From the creator of "Rashomon" and "Ikiru"

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Akira Kurosawa believed that Scotland and Japan in the Middle Ages shared social problems, and that these had lessons for the present day. Moreover, Macbeth could serve as a cautionary tale, complementing Ikiru (1952).

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Goofs

After Washizu and Miki come to the forest clearing where the spirit dwells, as they get down from their horses, all of Washizu's arrows fall out of his quiver. In the next shot, however, the quiver is full of arrows again.

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Quotes

Old Ghost Woman: [singing] Men are vain and death is long, And pride dies first within the grave, For hair and nails are growing still, When face and fame are gone, Nothing in this world will save, Or measure up man's actions here, Nor in the next - for there is none, This life must end in fear, Only evil may maintain, An afterlife for those who will, Who love this world - who have no son, To whom ambition calls, Even so - this false fame falls, Death will reign - man dies in vain.

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Connections

Version of Au théâtre ce soir: La nuit des rois (1973)

User Reviews

not Kurosawa's best, but a dark overtone and a terrific performance by Mifune as a bloodthirsty madman makes it worth your while

Akira Kurosawa is one of the most celebrated and renowned of all filmmakers not only because he created some of the world's greatest visionary masterpieces such "Seven Samurai" (1954), "Rashomon" (1950), and "Yojimbo" (1961) but because he had the nerve to draw in on formulas and elements from all around the world and not just those of his native Japan. He is considered the most Western of all Japanese filmmakers, having owed a lot of his influence to men such as John Ford. But there also came times when Kurosawa would tend to the realm of William Shakespeare and the influential plays that he created so many years before.

The Shakespearian play "Macbeth" is considered one of the playwright's classics, so it wasn't a surprise when Akira Kurosawa decided to film his own adaptation of the story and blend it with his own shocking twists and ideas. His 1957 film "Throne of Blood", while not entirely faithful to Shakespeare's play and not alluding to any of the original dialogue is ranked one of the greatest "Macbeth" adaptations of all time. And remember, this is a story that has been modified and reconstructed over and over again through the centuries.

The basic plot remains the same. Toshiro Mifune stars as the Japanese equivalent to Macbeth: a war hero-turned-ruler who, upon being egged by his vindictive and cynical wife (Isuzu Yamada) and being told a strange prophecy about his future, plots to murder his own master and anybody who stands in his way. Once the murder is committed, peace does not follow, but rather a long chain of bloody killings until the position Mifune holds is exactly what the title personifies.

Although I strongly feel that Kurosawa did a better treatment of the Shakespeare play "King Lear" with "Ran" (1985) and that this film does not rank on top with some of his others, "Throne of Blood" is still a very good and very visionary and creative opus. And part of the reason why I like it is because of its inherently dark nature. Unlike "Yojimbo" (1961) which made a sort of glory out of violence, "Throne of Blood" has an atmosphere of terror and intensity around it. Right from the beginning, when we hear Masaru Sato's chilling opening score, we know this is going to be a dark film. Toshiro Mifune was perfect casting as the bloodthirsty Washizu. Although he is far less evil that Macbeth from the play, Washizu is in his own way, more intimidating due to his viciousness and again, those eyes. Mifune maintains the impression of a madman throughout the course of the film and gives us the impression of a wild animal hungry for human flesh and blood. I was also very fond of the performance by Isuzu Yamada as Lady Macbeth's equivalent. Although her performance is mainly a one-note ordeal, it still works out well and there was something about her that reminded me not of a snake like one would expect, but a rat. I do not know if Kurosawa did this intentionally, but when she walks, the lower garments of her robe rubs against the floor with a kind of squeal-like wisp. And like a rat, she spreads her disease: the thirst for blood.

"Throne of Blood" is not a perfect film, however. The music score by Masaru Sato, save for the opening theme and a few cues here and there, is rather forgettable. Some of the supporting cast members, such as those by Akira Kubo and Takashi Shimura seem very underdeveloped. However, any weaknesses that become noticeable are soon forgiven when Kurosawa's original and terrific ending scene comes into frame which was a major improvement over the disappointing climax from the play.

So overall, Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" is again, not his best film, but certainly a very unique and entertaining one and a great vision of the Japanese perception of Shakespeare's classic.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

22 November 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Throne of Blood

Filming Locations:

Gotemba, Shizuoka, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,942, 28 July 2002

Gross USA:

$46,808

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,808

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company, Kurosawa Production Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording) Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1