Throne of Blood (1957)

Why so much hype?

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Akira Kurosawa was most well known for The Seven Samurai, which was made in America as The Magnificent Seven. I have seen both and they are good films. This movie is from 1957 and is in black and white. The non color aspect gives it a very haunting look. The story comes from Macbeth. An ambitious soldier wishes to take over a castle and will do anything to succeed. He has an equally ambitious wife who also is without scruples. The message is as old as mankind; be careful what you wish for, or, karma can be one hell of a bitch. The cinematography is brilliant, as the horses gallop into the foggy Japanese equivalent of Shakespeare's moors. The bard's tragedies hold up well.

My favourite Macbeth cinema adaptation, Akira Kurosawa takes an already spooky play and places it in a haunted feudal period Japan, complete with evil spirits and forests of death. Not to mention the most foreboding and eerie-looking mist you'll ever see on screen.The old Japanese obsessions of fate and evil spirits result in a more convincing story than witches and kings could have in this environment, yet it still feels very loyal to the original story.'Throne of Blood' is a minimalist and bleak film: all extraneous characters from the main plot in the play are excised, creating a tight and focused work; the film seems shorter than its 110 minutes.The brilliant Toshiro Mifune's ultimate demise to a rainfall of arrows is a wonderfully insane performance, worthy of Klaus Kinski at his peak.

This is based on the classic play Macbeth. It changed so that in takes place at the same time Macbeth was supposed to save taken place. But instead of being about Scotland it is about Japan. This is a classic horror story. It has a great story line. It also has great acting. It also has great special effects. It is very scary. It got an 8.1 which is good rating. But it is such a great film that 8.1 is underrating it. I give it 10 out of 10 because it is a awesome movie. It is one of the best horror movies ever. This about an evil emperor of Japan who gets supernatural powers from spirits. The is a great movie see it. Macbeth (1948) is better. But still this a great movie. It is a must see.

"Throne of Blood" is an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth", by the Japanese master Akira Kurosawa. It stars Toshiro Mifune as Washizu: a brave and honorable general whom, upon hearing a prophecy on how he will become Lord of Forest Castle, goes down a spiral of wrath and corruption.As usual Kurosawa's staging is masterful. His camera glides and smoothly pans across the scenes, showing us the main drama, but also revealing other actions occurring in the background - this gives the viewer a much more heightened sense of immersion into the world. The film's pace is infamously slow, but this was a personal choice by Kurosawa, who was greatly influenced by the Japanese style of theatre, "Noh". By adopting this very formal and specific influence, Kurosawa creates an interesting fusion between stage and film.The only detail that bothered me in "Throne of Blood" was the way Kurosawa lessened Washizu's (Macbeth's) thirst for power. While he is still seen as a tyrant, I couldn't help but empathize with him more than with the original Macbeth. Washizu is more reluctant to believe the prophecy and it is only after his wife convinces him that it is either "kill or be killed" that he actually commits the first murder. The first Lord he murders is also seen as a less noble one than King Duncan, as he actually also came into power after murdering the previous lord. Details such as these ended up toning down on Washizu's craving for power, which in turn made the film lose some of its as well.Nevertheless, "Throne of Blood" is still a great adaptation of Macbeth; encapsulated in a gorgeously shot, black and white feudal Japan, which paints a terrifying portrait of Man's relentless ambition and lust for power.