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IMDbPro

Throne of Blood

Original title: Kumonosu-jô
  • 19571957
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
53K
YOUR RATING
Toshirô Mifune and Isuzu Yamada in Throne of Blood (1957)
DramaHistory
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
53K
YOUR RATING
    • Akira Kurosawa
  • Writers
    • Hideo Oguni(screenplay by)
    • Shinobu Hashimoto(screenplay by)
    • Ryûzô Kikushima(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Toshirô Mifune
    • Minoru Chiaki
    • Isuzu Yamada
    • Akira Kurosawa
  • Writers
    • Hideo Oguni(screenplay by)
    • Shinobu Hashimoto(screenplay by)
    • Ryûzô Kikushima(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Toshirô Mifune
    • Minoru Chiaki
    • Isuzu Yamada
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 171User reviews
    • 102Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos115

    Toshirô Mifune in Throne of Blood (1957)
    Toshirô Mifune in Throne of Blood (1957)
    Toshirô Mifune in Throne of Blood (1957)
    Isuzu Yamada in Throne of Blood (1957)
    Throne of Blood (1957)
    Throne of Blood (1957)
    Throne of Blood (1957)
    Throne of Blood (1957)
    Throne of Blood (1957)
    Toshirô Mifune in Throne of Blood (1957)
    Toshirô Mifune in Throne of Blood (1957)
    Toshirô Mifune in Throne of Blood (1957)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Toshirô Mifune
    Toshirô Mifune
    • Taketoki Washizu
    Minoru Chiaki
    Minoru Chiaki
    • Yoshiaki Miki
    Isuzu Yamada
    Isuzu Yamada
    • Lady Asaji Washizu
    Takashi Shimura
    Takashi Shimura
    • Noriyasu Odagura
    Akira Kubo
    Akira Kubo
    • Yoshiteru Miki
    Hiroshi Tachikawa
    • Kunimaru Tsuzuki
    • (as Yôichi Tachikawa)
    Takamaru Sasaki
    • Kuniharu Tsuzuki
    Gen Shimizu
    Gen Shimizu
    • Washizu samurai
    Kokuten Kôdô
    Kokuten Kôdô
    • Military Commander
    Kichijirô Ueda
    Kichijirô Ueda
    • Washizu's workman
    Eiko Miyoshi
    Eiko Miyoshi
    • Old Woman at castle
    Chieko Naniwa
    Chieko Naniwa
    • Old Ghost Woman
    Nakajirô Tomita
    • Second Military Commander
    Yû Fujiki
    • Washizu samurai
    Sachio Sakai
    • Washizu samurai
    Shin Ôtomo
    Shin Ôtomo
    • Washizu samurai
    Yoshio Tsuchiya
    Yoshio Tsuchiya
    • Washizu samurai
    Yoshio Inaba
    Yoshio Inaba
    • Third Military Commander
      • Akira Kurosawa
    • Writers
      • Hideo Oguni(screenplay by)
      • Shinobu Hashimoto(screenplay by)
      • Ryûzô Kikushima(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Originally, Akira Kurosawa was planning on building merely a facade castle for the film, but this proved to be an impractical step, prompting the building of full castle sections to use in shooting. These were built with the help of United States Marines who were based in the area.
    • Goofs
      When the witch runs in the forest, she briefly can be seen wearing sneakers.
    • Quotes

      Lady Asaji Washizu: Admirable, my Lord. You, who would soon rule the world, allow a ghost to frighten you.

    • Connections
      Featured in A Japanese Film Festival (1957)

    User reviews171

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    A warlord consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife murders enemies and takes the rule for himself
    Prestigious recounting marked by evocative production design , unflinching violence, intense drama and fatalistic atmosphere . It is an incredibly detailed vision in its own right . Akira Kurosawa masterful retelling of Macbeth transports the tale to Medieval Japan and the world of Samurai . As it is so steeped in Japanese style that it bears little resemblance to the Shakespearean Macbeth original . It deals with two war-hardened generals Washizu , Toshiro Mifune , and Miki , Chiaki, who after securing an important victory on the battlefield return home, they are to rewarded by their overlord after having put down a rebellion , as they are promoted because of their breathtaking victory. Then they come across a spirit-alike seer and tell them of their future . But they find themselves lost on woods on their way to their castle . Then they meet at a maze-like the mysterious old woman, a spirit-like who prophesizes that Mifune will soon rule , but his realm will be short . The witch is missed as crazy but her prophesies come to pass . The tough general egged by his scheming as well as ambitious wife lady Adaji , Yamada , works to fullfill a prophecy that he would become lord of spider's cobweb castle but with unexpected consequences . As Washizu takes action winding up to its inevitable result .

    Big budgeted production , with lavish setting , lots of mood , impressive battles , sad atmosphere, though it holds limited likeness to the Shakespearean play , due to Samurai and Japan style . Classic tragedy is performed with a celebrated lead acting by Toshiro Mifune, he is the tragic lord as a demonic leader of a feudal society who is prophecised to have a short reign . Mifune gives an extraordinary acting as the angry lord who receives a prophecy by a witch , as he one day will become the main ruler, while Miki'son will someday govern as Great Lord as well . It contains stunning fight scenes , fine performances, overwhelming sets , intense drama in which all of the fire , ambition, and doom of the Shakespearean text come brilliantly to life.

    The motion picture titled Cobweb castle or The castle of the Spider's web was stunningly directed by Akita Kurosawa . He was a master filmmaker who made a lot of masterpieces . He realized several films about Samurai world such as Ran , Kagemusha , Yojimbo , 7 Samurai , The hidden fortress , Rashomon . And influenced in American and European cinema . As Rashomon inspired The outrage by Martin Ritt , Basic by John MacTiernan and Yojimbo inspired Sergio Leone's For a fisful of dollars . And he directed other versions based on Dostowieski's The Idiot, and Ran based on Shakespeare's King Lear. Other notorious films by Kurosawa were Doden Kaden , High and low, Sanjuro, The bad sleep well, Red beard, Scandal , A quiet duel , On wonderful Sunday, The lower depths, I live in fear, Ikuru . With the help of admirers Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, he made the samurai tale Kagemusha (1980), which Kurosawa described as a dry run for Ran (1985), an epic adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear" . His last films were a larger-scale Russian co-production Dersu Uzala (1975) , it is an epic tale and nature ode as well as adventure in turn-of-the-century Siberia , the colorful : Dreams in which plays Martin Scorsese , and finally , Rapsody in August 1991 about Hiroshima atomic bombings .

    Other films based on Macbeth are the followings : Macbeth 1948 starred and directed by Orson Welles with Daniel O'Herlihy , Roddy McDowall, Jeanette Nolan , Macbeth 1971 by Roman Polanski with John Finch, Francesca Annis , Martin Shaw, Macbeth 1976 with Eric Porter, Janet Suzman , Macbeth 1990 with Michael Jayston, Leigh Hunt , Macbeth 2015 by Justin Kurzel with Michael Fassbinder, Marion Cotillard, Paddy Considine , Sean Harris.
    helpful•5
    1
    • ma-cortes
    • Oct 14, 2018

    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 22, 1961 (United States)
      • Japan
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Gotemba, Shizuoka, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Toho Company
      • Kurosawa Production Co.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 50 minutes
      • Black and White

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