Written by: Shinobu Hashimoto, Ryūzō Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura, Akira Kubo, Yōichi Tachikawa
Rating: [4.5/5]
Seeing source material specifically told through the lens of one population allows for any adoption through a different culture in quite an enriching manner. Not only does it display the universality of the source material but it also allows different filmmakers to take a crack at it as seen through Throne of Blood bringing the story of “Macbeth” to Feudal Japan and the world of samurai to spectacular results.
After helping his lord land victories on the battlefield, Taketoki Washizu (Toshiro Mifune) meets a Witch (Chieko Naniwa) on his way home that prophesied a future where he could supplant Lord Kuniharu Tsuzuki (Takamaru Sasaki). Telling this to his wife, Lady Asaji Washizu (Isuzu Yamada), she tries to convince him to take the opportunity of Lord Tsuzuki staying in their home to kill him and take his place.
As someone who admittedly has trouble getting through watching Shakespeare adaptations that try too hard to utilize the exactly flowery language of the original author, allowing someone like Akira Kurosawa to take a pass and filter it through the culture he wants to highlight proved a wise decision. It makes the entire experience much more palatable, especially in the manner it gets played out in this feature. Incredibly ominous in its build-up, it takes this harrowing story and elevates the quality to the max with the potential it inherently tells, making this feature my undisputed favorite Shakespeare film adaptation.
The story of “Macbeth” has always contained this aura of horror emanating through it with the conversation of the witch and the manner in which Lady Macbeth begins to spiral mentally but this feature delivers this in even more exquisite style. Utilizing its setting to perfection, the moments in the first third of this feature continually have this ominous feeling to them, which makes the ultimate reveal of the witch quite unsettling. This fog and lack of visibility serve as a warning for Washizu and he does not heed it as he learns about the potential fortune he has ahead of him if he manages to strike when the opportunity arises. The rest of the feature displays this rise and fall spectacularly with much of the praise rightfully going to these towering performances at the center.
Casting Toshiro Mifune for this role makes perfect sense because the man could fully embody both the charisma and madness of Macbeth. You just know we would get some incredible yelling scenes from him and his delivery did not disappoint as he portrays this incredibly conflicted man trying to balance both his ambition and conviction in doing what it takes to gain and maintain power. His descent into madness gets perfectly matched by an equally enchanting performance by Isuzu Yamada who goes toe to toe in the wonderful role of Lady Asaji Washizu. Lady Macbeth has always presented actors with the opportunity to strut their stuff and Yamada does an impeccable job handling the power and mental weakness of this character. Each of them gets their moments to deliver their long-awaiting soliloquies so as not to miss the opportunity to make them incredibly impressionable in setting forth the plot and how it impacts the narrative as a whole. Getting these two roles right carries great importance to the success of any feature adapting this source material and Kurosawa hits a complete bullseye here.
Taking us right into sequences of battle, this feature demonstrates quite a level of scale. For something capturing many conversations with rooms between Washizu and others, when it comes time to bring out the swords, horses, and banners, this feature utilities them well. It demonstrates exactly what this level of power gives someone as they command armies and order them to do one’s will. However, with that command to lead, the feature also demonstrates the fickle nature of loyalty to leadership in the way they can change their allegiances with a gust of the wind going the wrong way. Groups can smell weak leadership from a mile away making Washizu’s decline in strength and mental resolve a precursor for a turn to unfortunate events.
So many distinct moments in this feature stand out in displaying the overall rise and fall of Washizu. Of them all, it’s hard to pick out one that carries more weight than the moment when arrows get shot at our lead protagonist. A moment meaning so much to what transpires in the feature but symbolically displays the larger themes this feature seeks to display. Within an illustrious filmography, this feature contains some of the most striking imagery for Kurosawa as cinematographer Asakazu Nakai decided to bring his A-game to the visual of this feature capturing everything Kurosawa sought to elicit through this story.
Excellently acted and visually stunning, Throne of Blood takes a classic Shakespearean tale most know of and adapts it into a setting adding much more character and flair. Akira Kurosawa takes the opportunity to adapt this source material and take us through this descent into madness buoyed by the desire for more mixed with the guilt of the actions taken. At times operating as a horror film, this feature demonstrates exactly what makes this feature such a tragedy and one that has such unique staying power as proven by this feature. One can never truly get tired of hearing Toshiro Mifune scream and we get this in spades here with this sensational portrayal of this man pulled in different directions and melting completely under it all.
Films with Josh 
