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Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Minoru Chiaki, Takashi Shimura, Akira Kubo ... see more see more... , Takamaru Sasaki , Yoichi Tachikawa , Chieko Naniwa , Eiko Miyoshi , Hiroshi Tachikawa , Kichijiro Ueda , Kokuten Kodo

Macbeth is reimagined as a samurai in feudal Japan in director Akira Kurosawa's classic adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy. Familiar with Orson Welles's more faithful adaptation, Kurosawa chose t... read more read more...o place a more personal stamp on his version by translating the events and characters to historical Japan. The equivalent of the tragic Scottish lord is Taketoki Washizu (Toshiro Mifune), a valiant warrior whose life is transformed by an encounter with a ghostly female spirit. The spirit offers several predictions, finally stating that Washizu will rise to power over the current warlord. When these predictions begin coming true, he and his ambitious wife decide to ensure his ascendancy to power by murdering the current ruler. As with Macbeth, Washizu achieves his goal, but his guilt and the suspicions of others soon bring about his downfall. The shift to Japanese settings is seamless, creating a historically accurate and resonant work with a culturally distinct visual style. The supporting performances also recall Japanese tradition, particularly Isuzu Yamada's creepily unemotional take on Lady Macbeth, while Mifune proves consistently gripping in the sheer intensity of his performance. The intelligence of Kurosawa's alterations retains the drama's tragic impact, especially during the conclusion, in which Washizu makes a memorable final stand against an advancing army. Impressive in every regard, Throne of Blood seems secure in the pantheon of superior film adaptations of William Shakespeare. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

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18,501 ratings

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33 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Release Date: January 1, 1957

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DVD Release Date: May 27, 2003

Stats: 1,083 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,083)

  • cosmo313
    April 6, 2012
    cosmo313
    Throne of Blood is basically William Shakespeare's Macbeth, only set in Feudal Japan. The setting is quite fitting given the subject matter, and in the hands of a master like Akira Kurosawa, you know the results will be great.

    And great they are. I'm familair with the source mat... read moreerial (I read it way back in high school), but even though I don't have it committed to memory, I know enough to be able to say that, despite taking some liberties with the material, Kurosawa did a great job of getting the general point across. So, while it succeeds as an adaptation, it really works best as just an epic character study about power, control, paranoia, ambition, and guilt.

    The costumes, sets, and period details are all top notch and brimming with accuracy. The cinematography is quite gorgeous, and I love the repeated shots of fog. The only thing that really sorte of bugged me (and even then only from time to time was the music. It's period appropriate, but it sometiems comes in very jarringly, and isn't always easy on the ear.

    As for the acting, I probably don't need to say much. Mifune is perfect as always, and his work only solidifies the fact that he was and still is the greatest Japanese actor of all time. Isuzu Yamads is great as the Lady Macbeth counterpart, and whoever played the forest spirit is effectively creepy and forboding.

    There's a great sense of style and mood here, and the battles are quite thrilling (both the fighting kind and the emotional/mental). The end sequence is quite brilliant, as we see Mifune's Washizu give a daring and intense final stand against an approaching group of soldiers.

    All in all, this is excellent stuff. Then again, Kurosawa almost always delivered, so everything I just wrote pretty much goes without saying. Whether you dig Shakespeare or not, give this film a go. It's awesome.
  • animegirlaya
    August 5, 2011
    animegirlaya
    Akira Kurosawa film adaptations of a Shakespeare play? And without a doubt the best thing ever done on Macbeth easy. Just add my country --Japan-- and you have another hit.

    The amazing Toshirō Mifune is of course in this epic by Kurosawa. Nicely done music and settings...... read more.I loved the landscapes and production aspects. Beautiful costumes and camera work and direction.

    Oh hell it's my second favourite Kurosawa and one of my top 20 you go figure.
  • wildaly14
    July 11, 2011
    wildaly14
    Watching this Japanese version was strange for me and I wasn't exactly sure what to think of it as I watched. Some parts were different but great (the cultural aspects of Japan embedded in what is supposed to be English play) while others just plain weird (i.e. the witches being ... read morereplaced by some sort of eerie ghost spirit). Lady Macbeth was very creepy. Slowly the film gets better and towards the end it definitely had my attention. Being a definitely interesting re-working of Shakespeare's Macbeth, this was worth the watch.
  • gokhale1
    May 3, 2011
    gokhale1
    Akira Kurosawa sure leaves no stone unturned when it comes to delivering a product that is an adaptation of a literary work of William Shakespeare. And of course, one wouldn't expect anything less from a prolific director like Kurosawa...he would be the last filmmaker on earth to... read more make the Bard turn in his grave!

    "Throne of Blood" is Kurosawa's rendition of "The Tragedy of Macbeth". Those familiar with the story of Macbeth would know how it plays out. Despite the predictability of the story (only because the story is known to many and there have been various adaptations of the play over the years), Kurosawa crafts a powerful and gripping drama, transposing the plot of Macbeth to feudal Japan.

    The film tells the story of a Samurai Commander, Washizu (Toshiro Mifune), a valiant warrior working under Lord Tzuzuki. Triggered by an ominous prediction by an 'evil spirit', and further fuelled by the poisoning of his mind by his wife, Lady Asaji, Washizu turns greedy and his lust for power makes him commit regicide. The rest of the film details the bitter aftermath of his actions.

    Akira Kurosawa supposedly takes significant liberties with the original plot but the differences are insignificant, as the focus lies on the heinous acts committed by the central character, abetted by his wife, and the eventual catastrophe that lies in store for the both of them. There is a lot of ironical symbolism going on in the film. So while the evil spirit (akin to the three witches in Macbeth) makes prophecies about what the future holds for Washizu, there is that long yet outstanding sequence in which Washizu and Commander Miki are trying to find their way to the castle through the dense fog...they cannot really "see ahead". At one point, they are shown riding into the fog, into the screen and away from the viewer, they soon come back riding to the same point, visible again on the screen, showing how uncertain they are of their direction. The fog then probably represents the inherent inability of a human being to see "what lies ahead"!

    There is a constant sense of doom and despair in the latter part of the film, just like in Kurosawa's adaptation of another tragedy of Shakespeare ('King Lear'), the magnificent "Ran". Kurosawa's use of some Japanese chants in the beginning and the end of the film add an eerie touch to the narrative. Especially the beginning which shows the remains of what used to be Cobweb Castle. "Throne of Blood" also has one of the best, masterfully filmed climaxes in the history of Kurosawa films...one, during which you are likely to skip a beat!

    The camerawork is astounding as usual...which is not entirely a surprise, for this is, after all, a Kurosawa film! I can't help but mention here that Kurosawa would've excelled in making a horror film as well, and it shows with the manifestation of his vivid imagination of a radiating ghostly being spinning a yarn on a wheel deep in the dark woods....and its reappearance later amidst some excellent sound effects..these scenes are spine-chilling to say the least!


    There are some shortcomings though, which albeit minor, must be highlighted. Although the main focus of the film is the character of Washizu, some other very important characters are hardly developed or get almost no screen time! Best examples are the characters of Miki (Minoru Chiaki) and Noriyasu (Takashi Shimura). Takashi Shimura is one of the finest talents from the Kurosawa camp, yet he gets about five minutes of screen time in this! Ditto for Minoru Chiaki (who played the memorable role of Heihachi in "Seven Samurai"), who I think gets about five minutes more than Shimura!

    As for Lady Asaji, the scheming wife of Washizu, played by Isuzu Yamada; this character makes quite an impression, but one wonders why Kurosawa had to get such inconsistent and hence, unnatural acting done from her. For example, when she is doing some of her brainwashing acts on Washizu, she appears deadpan, stares at the wall and acts almost ghost-like with hardly any expression and talks without any tone modulation. But then again in other scenes, particularly during a feast and in a later, very important scene she seems to go overboard with animated emotions! She pulls both these extreme acts really well, but then the inconsistency in mannerisms of the character renders the character unnatural! Perhaps she is supposed to be another 'evil spirit' personified and hence such a representation?! Maybe....

    But the man who rules the film in the acting department has to be the great Toshiro Mifune, whose fantabulous performance leaves you breathless and gasping for more! His amazing display of a range of emotions and the sheer energy he puts into his performance is applause-worthy.


    All said, "Throne of Blood" is a terrific film, and one of Kurosawa's greatest works. But it is very short by Kurosawa standards with a running time of about 105 minutes. The film itself is captivating and reaches its end before you know it. However,...and I rarely say this, the film should've been longer by at least another half hour; to focus more on the aforementioned important characters that drive the story.....or simply for giving Takashi Shimura some more screen time!
  • ajv2688
    January 6, 2011
    ajv2688
    Having already seen Macbeth in more traditional forms, I could see where the Shakespeare tale fit into this movie, and I wasn't very surprised by anything that happened. The style is pretty good, though, and the actors are good too, but for some reason I wasn't all that impresse... read mored by this version of Macbeth. Not that it isn't good, I just think it could have been better.
  • sanjurosamurai
    March 26, 2010
    sanjurosamurai
    akira kurosawa's version of shakespears macbeth. this is the film i chose to watch on kurosawa's centennial birthday, and this most recent viewing was the best. part ghost story, part betrayal story, mifune plays a rare role as a villian and does a magnificent job as always bri... read morenging out the stregth and passion of his character. there were some chilling shots in the film, especially because of kurosawa's phenomenal use of the fog and forest landscapes, and the story was told well. a story about a woman with a poisonous tongue confusing her loyal husband into betrayal and treason against his lord in fuedal japan. the wife plays a character riddled with evil. a wonderful tale about how ambition misdirected leads to a doomed path.
  • SirPant
    November 25, 2009
    SirPant
    This is nothing short of genius. Kurosawa does Shakespeare better than anyone else ever has. The last scene is just awesome cinema!
  • webalina
    October 4, 2009
    webalina
    Akira Kurosawa's version of Shakespeare's MacBeth is stunning in my opinion. The decision to move the story from Elizabethan England to the samurai culture of feudal Japan was a stroke of genius.The story -- for those of you living under a rock for the last 400 years, of a man's ... read morecraving for power and position (gently shoved along by his wife) and the paranoia that develops when that power is obtained -- translated perfectly. Toshiro Mifune as Washizu is always great to watch, but my vote for best performance here goes to Isuzu Yamada in the Lady MabBeth role, known here as Lady Washizu. She's calculating and evil when she is pushing her husband to greater political heights, and both scary and sympathetic after she has mentally gone off the deep end. Like Kurosawa's film Ran, this is done in a theatrical Noh style, which gives it fairy-tale/nightmare quality. I've always loved what Kurosawa does with rainstorms, and the storm in the woods is powerful and spooky and wonderful. The film is slow-moving at times, but I feel that adds to the film rather than takes away from it. The first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes alone are worth the price of admission. An amazing achievement for all involved.
  • DrBenway
    June 29, 2009
    DrBenway
    It's funny how the most satisfying movie adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays are not necessarily the most faithful. While Laurence Olivier made high quality versions of Henry V and Richard III, there can be more fun to be had watching the Ian McKellen Richard III. Throne ... read moreof Blood is a must see for people who wanted to see Shakespeare plays from a different perspective with its' burly battles, cast of hundreds, and larger-than-life performances in the samurai genre.

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  • flixsterman
    January 27, 2009
    flixsterman
    Kurosawa's compelling "samurai" adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. This isn't just a typical retelling of the story or a film version of the stage play, this is much more of a character study with surprising depth and motivation. An epic film, in every sense of the word.

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
July 1, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Akira Kurosawa's remarkable 1957 restaging of Macbeth in samurai and expressionist terms is unquestionably one of his finest works -- charged with energy, imagination, and, in keeping with the subject... Full Review

Glenn Abel
June 16, 2003
Glenn Abel, Hollywood Reporter

Widely regarded as one of the most successful film adaptations of a Bard play.

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

We label it amusing because lightly is the only way to take this substantially serio-comic rendering of the story of an ambitious Scot into a form that combines characteristics of the Japanese No thea... Full Review

Ken Hanke
June 9, 2010
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

More an impression of Macbeth than an actual Macbeth>/i>. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
May 30, 2008
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

One of Kurosawa's best and arguably the best Shakespeare ever filmed. Full Review

Beth Accomando
October 6, 2007
Beth Accomando, KPBS.org

In fact, in the scene where Lady Asaji leaves a room and disappears into the darkness to get sake to make the guards drunk, the ominous rustling of her silk gown is as chilling as Lady Macbeth's lines.

Dennis Schwartz
April 5, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Toshiro Mifune gives a winning quirky performance. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
January 4, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Transplanted to medieval Japan, Kurosawa's brutal film is one of the best Shakesperean adaptations on screen, with a tour de force performance from Toshiro Mifune; it makes a fascinating double bill w... Full Review

David Parkinson
December 30, 2006
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine

With its all-pervading sense of doom, this is a serious contender for the finest celluloid Shakespeare of them all. Full Review

February 9, 2006
Time Out

It's visually ravishing, as you would expect, employing compositional tableaux from the Noh drama, high contrast photography, and extraordinary images of rain, galloping horses, the birds fleeing from... Full Review

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