Essential Art House: Throne Of Blood |  | Director: Akira Kurosawa
Actors: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura, Akira Kubo
Studio: Criterion
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $13.91
as of 5/22/2012 02:05 MDT details
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New (30) Used (11) from $9.99
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Subtitled), Japanese (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: IMEDEAH028D
UPC: 715515050814
EAN: 0715515050814
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
The greatest screen adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth is Akira Kurosawa's visceral THRONE OF BLOOD (Kumonosu jo), starring Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada as the ambitious warrior and ruthless wife who try to murder their way to power and glory. Featuring some of the Japanese master's most unforgettable, hallucinatory imagery, inspired by Noh theater as much as the classical source, this is Kurosawa at his atmospheric best.
A champion of illumination and experimental shading, Kurosawa brings his unerring eye for indelible images to Shakespeare in this 1957 adaptation of Macbeth. By changing the locale from Birnam Wood to 16th-century Japan, Kurosawa makes an oddball argument for the trans-historicity of Shakespeare's narrative; and indeed, stripped to the bare mechanics of the plot, the tale of cutthroat ambition rewarded (and thwarted) feels infinitely adaptable. What's lost in the translation, of course, is the force and beauty of the language--much of the script of Throne of Blood is maddeningly repetitive or superfluous--but striking visual images (including the surreal Cobweb Forest and some extremely artful gore) replace the sublime poetry. Toshiro Mifune is theatrically intense as Washizu, the samurai fated to betray his friend and master in exchange for the prestige of nobility; he portrays the ill-fated warrior with a passion bordering on violence, and a barely concealed conviviality. Somewhat less successful is Isuzu Yamada as Washizu's scheming wife; her poise and creepy impassivity, chilling at first, soon grows tedious. Kurosawa himself is the star of the show, though, and his masterful use of black-and-white contrast-- not to mention his steady, dramatic hand with a battle scene--keeps the proceedings thrilling. A must-see for fans of Japanese cinema, as well as all you devotees of samurai weapons and armor. --Miles Bethany
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