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Throne of Blood (1957)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
November 1st (Thursday)
5:00-6:50pm at McEniry
One of the most celebrated screen adaptations of Shakespeare into film, Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood re-imagines Macbeth in feudal Japan. Starring Kurosawa’s longtime collaborator Toshiro Mifune and the legendary Isuzu Yamada as his ruthless wife, the film tells of a valiant warrior’s savage rise to power and his ignominious fall. With Throne of Blood, Kurosawa fuses one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies with the formal elements of Japanese Noh theater to make a Macbeth that is all his own classic tale of ambition and duplicity set against a ghostly landscape of fog and inescapable doom.
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Overall, I felt this movie was interesting enough to keep my attention the whole time. After viewing this movie in class today, I came up with a moral of the movie. "Assumptions will be your downfall, so don’t ever assume; always look at the picture as a whole." The reason(s) that lead me to this moral are: (1) the evil guy in the woods, made predictions. All of them came true, but the last one was miss-interpret by Mitsogo? (MS). (2) We can interpret things in anyway that benefit us, but the truth will always be the truth, you need to keep an open mind. Overall the movie was very entertaining and insightful. I liked it.
The film wasn’t that great in terms of video quality and acting ability. The scenes were kind of choppy to me; they didn’t seem to have and flow or transition to them. It sometimes just went from scene to scene with no explanation, and that made things somewhat difficult to understand. However, it was what I expected from a black and white 1950’s movie, and the plot was pretty creative and interesting. So overall, though I may be a sucker for special effects, it was still an okay movie.
At first, I was pretty confused as to what was actually happening (and why) and who was who, but that may have a lot to do with the fact that everyone was speaking Japanese. Eventually, when the two were in the forest, I got on track and started to get what was going on.
When the spirit of the forest told Washizu that he would soon control the Spider Web’s Castle—the place the “king” was—I knew that Washizu would become leader and kill the king to do it. And when the spirit told Miki that his son would control the Castle, I knew that Miki would be killed by Washizu, or because of him, and that Miki’s son would become king. I actually thought that Miki’s son would be the one to kill Washizu, but I was wrong. Anyway, Washizu was present with event after event that allowed him to fulfill the prediction of the spirit, and he would jump at every chance to do so: including killing the king, getting into Spider Web’s Castle to take his place as the king and getting rid of Miki. However, when I really think about it, I don’t think Washizu would have done all of this by himself. I certainly don’t excuse him for murdering his way to become king, but without the “encouragement” of his wife Asaji, I don’t think Washizu would have done anything—but obviously, the spirit foresaw it to happen this way. Asaji kept instilling him with fear and doubt (and eventually guilt) causing him to try to fulfill the prophecy himself. What neither of them realized, until it was too late, was that even as they were fulfilling the prophecy for themselves, they were in actuality fulfilling it for Miki’s son. But in the end he realized that too late and paid for it with a barrage of arrows from his own men, which for some reason was very funny. Perhaps it was because it took so many arrows for him to die, and he walked around for like a two minutes with an arrow in his neck. I don’t think it was supposed to be funny, but it was for a bunch of American college students. Still, I’d say it was a very fitting end for this movie.
I really liked this movie because it was a version of one of my favorite plays, Macbeth. It was basically the tale of a man who was easily swayed by the words of his power-hungry wife and decided to live up to an evil spirit's prophecy. He was happy with his status, but the more he thought about the prophecy, the more he took matters into his own hands. Soon his leader and his best friend were dead by his hands and his wife went crazy. This was all finished off with his own death by his best friend's son, just as the evil spirit predicted, but not how the main character thought it would be. The lesson in this story is that you should be happy with what you have and turn a cheek to the nay-sayers...
As for the film itself, I wasn't used to this type of cinematography, but it was ok. It did seem like those guys were lost in the fog for hours though..I mean, I get it,they're lost...
Plus the sounds made by the dancers in the ghost scene kind of make me uncomfortable, it's just creepy and it was dark in the movie room :(
Overall, I liked the movie, but if they made a newer version it would be better.
The movie was pretty good, and mostly predictable. Some of the scenes seem to drag on, but the characters’ emotions were quite strong, so by no means was the movie boring or uninteresting. It was pretty easy to predict how it was going to end (minus the part where ‘trees’ are actually shown as ‘walking’ and coming to attack Washizu). Taking what the spirit in the forest says to heart, Washizu is convinced he will rise to power. Under the conniving instructions of his wife, he ends up killing his fellow Miki.
I thought it was interesting that the dark, hazy, and slightly confusing plot was mirrored in the cinematography. The “Spider’s Web Castle,” and the characters’ tiring navigation through the dingy cobweb forest in foggy, rainy weather went hand in hand with the dark story. I really liked looking at the architecture of the castle. Even with cheesy effects, (again, those walking trees, and the endless shower of arrows at the end of the movie, things like that) the movie was captivating. Elements of Japanese drama were also interesting to take note of. The way the actors displayed emotion was pretty dramatic (especially of Washizu when he was hallucinating at his banquet, and of his wife who kicked everyone out after that).
Overall, it was a good movie. I wouldn’t have ever though of putting Shakespeare’s work in a Japanese context, but as this movie shows, it works out pretty well. I give it a 7 out of 10.
I would have to say that this is a typical Kurosawa film, where he throws you right in the mist of things. Eventually he explains the characters and then produces the story's plot, which is usually poor thought out plot, but in the end some how I'm still sitting there looking at the movie. I would have to say that this movie reminds me of his other movie "Ran"
which had a silmiar setting but different characters. I guess the moral of this movie would be "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Also I would like to say that one of the reasons that I wanted to watch this movie would have to be the infamous "arrow through throat" scene. Over all it was on par of what I thought it would be, I hope to see more of Kurosawa's films in the future
I have a soft spot for old movies (especially black and white) and Japanese culture, so this film couldn't miss with me. Occasionally the timing seemed odd to me and the movie didn't flow well, but I chalked these gripes up to the time period in which it was made. Overall, I enjoyed the film and loved the incorporation of elements of Noh. The old woman spinning yarn who turns out to be an evil demon was the exact example that was in the video we watched in class. I don't know if anyone else picked up on that. Maybe I was the only one awake during the video. The music in the film was great. It gave me goosebumps at times. The song the demon lady sings when we first meet her was so wonderfully morbid and gloomy. The finale was incredible when the soldiers turned Washizu into a pin-cusion with a rediculous ammount of arrows.
Overall, i think this movie is fine, maybe because i saw too much Asian movie before. this story was pretty interesting, but i can foreshadow the ending at the beginning. After watch the movie, it added my point-of-view of moral values; human are stupid, especially when they pass the point of no return...
I think in most of Asian movie that at the ending, the bad guy alway refused to see what they have done wrong, for example the main character, he doesn't believe that the tree will "attack" the castle, well, if he used his mind, he would know that trees are the best subject to cover you while in war...
Finally, the movie is interesting, i think i like it a lot.
Comments on Throne of Blood
Kelly Main
I thoroughly enjoyed Akira Kurosawa’s vision of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The pace of the film was appropriate and did not dwell too long on any particular scene, except perhaps when Washizu and Miki were searching for Spider Web’s Castle on horse through the fog.
This scene, as well as the scene where Washizu is attacked by Spider Web’s Castle’s archers, seemed unintentionally humorous through either sheer duration or exaggerated gestures from the actor. Also, Asaji’s garment made a noticeable sound as she shuffled across the room which could be considered from either a foreboding or comical perspective.
I have seen it suggested that Noh played a large influence in this movie, and I would agree. In both the actual Noh performance in the movie, as well in Asaji’s character, it is easy to perceive Noh influence.
Some parts of the film were unclear. For instance, I was not aware that Washizu had ordered Miki’s death until the man tasked with the assassination arrived with his head. This was in spite of Miki’s appearance as a ghost. I could easily see this as an intentional effort to build mystery, or else I had missed something in watching the film. Also, how Spider Web’s Castle was destroyed was not revealed. It seems that with Washizu’s death, the castle defenders may have reason to chosen to surrender rather than fight. Even so, given the castle’s prized location, it did not seem appropriate to have it destroyed.
Altogether, I enjoyed the film, although I suspect that it may not have wide appeal. Anyone with an interest in Macbeth, however, would likely enjoy it thoroughly.
If you've read or seen Shakespeare's MacBeth, you pretty much already know how this film will turn out. Well, on second thought, the scenes foreshadow obvious events that will occur. It was interesting to see a different form of MacBeth and I think using the Samurai genre works well with the Asian audience. I've seen another film based on MacBeth using the Mafia attracting the Italian audience. The film had certain scenes where it seemed to just drag on and was slow, making it hard to comprehend the situation. Other than that, it wasn't too bad. It was nice to see MacBeth in a different perspective.
This movie is a Japanese adaptation of Macbeth. Set in feudal Japan, the traditional music, attire, and samurai appeal custom tailor the tragedy of Macbeth to Japanese audiences.
There is not much to talk about plot wise. Most of us have already read Macbeth a hundred times. We all know the gripping plot and heart wrenching tragedy.
I personally did not enjoy the music. Yes it is traditional, but it does not hold my attention well at all. It was probably my first remark to Susan while watching this movie.
I feel the acting was stellar on Washizu's part. Although the focus is on Washizu, everyone else's performance was lackluster.
The movie quality was definately subpar to today's standards, but it was impressive for a movie that old. I think it would have been more interesting if it were in color. For example, it was hard to make out the blood in the room while they were trying to clean it.
All in all, I found this movie a refreshing refresher of the tragedy Macbeth; however, I might just have to put it on mute next time.
The movie was good even though it was in black and white and had to be read through subtitles. However, I will say that it was superbly acted as you almost didn't need the subtitles to know what was going on. The emotion in their faces was especially good. I liked the twist, which begged the question: if they hadn't known their futures, would things have been different, or is your future unavoidable? It was just interesting to think about.
All in all I enjoyed the movie, Throne of Blood. I've never seen any other black and white Japanese film before, and I'm glad this is my first experience because it was very entertaining. There were some parts that dragged on way too long such as the scene in the Spider’s Web Forest, but I guess that was the director’s purpose because I did feel frustrated and lost like the characters must have felt.
I really like the guy who played Washizu; he had awesome facial hair and crazy bewildered eyebrows. He fit the part perfectly. The old ghost in the forest was freaky, because he reminded me of that Noh play we watched in class about that old lady who spun yarn all by herself in the mountains. Noh theater thoroughly scares me. So I was further surprised and scared when Washizu’s wife came on the screen. She played her part so well; her words, her facial expressions and her movements on screen were so great and creepy. Her face reminded me of a Noh mask, because it showed little expression while hinting to Washizu he should kill the King.
The part that really confused me was when Washizu’s wife told him she was pregnant, and therefore he should kill Miki and his son for the throne. I thought she was only saying it so Washizu would kill them because she didn’t seem very happy. And even when she came out with a “belly” it clearly looked like she stuffed a pillow under there and I thought this was intentional costuming, though after she had birth and a stillborn baby I guess it was supposed to be believable. Oops.
Even though this movie was made around the 1950’s, I think the entire movie set was beautifully designed. I especially liked the room that Washizu and his wife had to stay in when the King was sleeping over. It did seem like a haunted room, and the splattered bloodstains of the previous owner added to that effect.
I really liked this movie a lot more than Macbeth. Maybe this is because the only Macbeth play I’ve ever seen was through an interpretive dance/play, and the lead character Macbeth was stabbing people whilst wearing tights and leaping across the stage majestically. My opinion may be a little biased, but I did enjoy both the original Macbeth, and Throne of Blood.
Throne of Blood was a great movie compared to Macbeth. It held my attention to the end, whereas with Macbeth I had to struggle to stay awake. Kurosawa did a good job shaping the story of Macbeth to make it his own. The acting was also very in depth and extremely enjoyable. I reccommend this movie to fans of Shakespeare and Japanese motion pictures alike.
I thought that this movie was pretty bad. I was expecting some sort of elaborate adaptation of Macbeth with samurai and sword fights. Instead, I was given a film that looked like it was made in the woods of someone's backyard and a shit ton of dry ice. It felt like they just listed important points of Macbeth and tried to match them with the Japanese equivalent. Very little originality. And the 3 minutes of riding back and forth on horses. What? I don't even understand the point of that. Were they lost, or did they just not ride far enough in the abusive amounts of fog so that it looked like they were travelling further?
As far as a Macbeth adaption goes, I guess they followed the story well, but there were some differences. Atleast they kept his manliness intact by letting him walk around with an arrow through his neck.
It was interesting to see Kurosawa's take on MacBeth. I enjoyed the movie but, I felt that many of the scenes were long and drawn out. I know understand the concept but, I really didn’t feel that it was necessary to have Mikio and Washizu ride back and forth on there horses for several minutes. There were a number of differences between the two versions. I can’t say I like this one better. I would have been much more interesting if Washizu was killed the same way MacBeth was. I felt really bad for Washizu. A man could only dodge arrows for so long.
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