(Throne of Blood, Akira Kurosawa, 1957)Macbeth, on which Throne of Blood is based, is not my favorite Shakespeare play. That distinguished honor goes to King Lear. But Throne of Blood is my favorite Kurosawa adaptation of any Shakespearean work (we'll discuss Ran at a later date). I know that's kind of an odd statement to make, but I kind of feel like this blog is a safe place for odd statements to congregate. But I digress.
The most entertaining thing about Throne of Blood is how seamlessly Kurosawa is able to take something that was written in 17th century England and convert it to feudal Japan. The system of government at that time was remarkably similar, and Kurosawa is able to recognize the importance of a warrior based culture in both settings. What we get as a viewer is something that feels wholly unique. Even if you've read Macbeth, or seen it performed, Throne of Blood is a very different experience, although a familiar.
Most of the credit for this fact can be placed squarely on the shoulders of Toshiro Mifune and his portrayal of Washizu, the Macbeth character. He brings a level of intensity that is palpable, showing immense greed and hubris while still finding time to scream at his underlings in a bug-eyed rage. It's a tour-de-force performance, helped largely by an extremely imposing presence.
That said, Mifune doesn't carry the movie alone (although he probably could). His Lady Macbeth (Asaji, played by Isuzu Yamada) is an excellent femme fatale who seems even crazier than anything Shakespeare ever concocted. His friend, Miki (the Banquo character, played by Minoru Chiaki) is the innocent bystander who is brought along for the ride, willingly or not.
But despite these standout performances, the true star of this movie is Kurosawa's direction. In the hands of a lesser director, Throne of Blood would fall flat, appearing to try too hard to be something it's not. Instead, Kurosawa made ample use of the fog that shrouds Mount Fuji (where the film was shot), giving everything an immediate air of mystery and deception. Nothing inherently scary ever happens, but the viewer is tense the entire time, expecting something to come raging out of that fog. The best part is that you don't even see it until a forest is descending on Washizu's castle, and he realizes he's at his end.
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Okay, I'll be honest and start by saying this: Throne of Blood probably would have been a lot better if I had, you know, payed attention to it. When we watched Throne of Blood I had just purchased a new game for my computer and, needless to say, found it very distracting. Which normally would be alright, except that Throne of Blood is directed by Kurosawa, which means it's in Japanese, which means there are subtitles, which means that actually paying attention is kind of crucial. I know that this kind of goes against the spirit of our whole experiment here, but seeing as we have 994 more films to watch we figured that we could just let it go and try harder with the next subtitled film.
For those of you who don't know, Throne of Blood is Kurosawa's adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. We watched it when we did because I'd just spent about 5 weeks reading and analyzing Macbeth and was inhumanly excited about it because I'm such a nerd. So we watched Throne of Blood. And what I saw of it was pretty amazing.
I'm always intrigued to read or watch different adaptations of well known stories, and because Shakespeare's work has been around so long it lends itself especially well to adaptation. I think that what I like so much about these various adaptations is seeing what things are changed when the material is placed in different hands. Obviously, Kurosawa chose to set Throne of Blood in Japan and recast the title king as a samurai. Big surprise. I don't think anyone was or will ever be surprised by that. That's fine. What I found that I liked so much about this film was that all of the other changes to the story were really, well...cool. For example, instead of three unholy witches, Kurosawa used a single old woman as a ghostly forest spirit. And instead of the film opening with her, she is not seen until Washizu (the Macbeth equivalent) and General Miki (essentially Banquo) find her in the forest. And the scene is absolutely breathtaking. It's beautiful and chilling, exactly as it should be.
However, probably the best change made by Kurosawa is the way that Washizu dies. Rather than being beheaded (by the character of Macduff in the original story), Washizu is shot repeatedly by his own archers. The death is spectacular, and made even more striking by the intense fear on Washizu's face. What makes it even more striking is that all the fear the audience sees is real, as all of the arrows shot that don't make contact are real arrows that are actually being shot at the actor playing Washizu. It is no longer acting, but true fear of being impaled by incoming projectiles.
Looking back on Throne of Blood I know I've done myself a disservice by not giving in the attention it deserves. So, I say right now, that someday, when I don't have 994 other films waiting to be watched, I'll come back to it and give it my undivided attention.
For those of you who don't know, Throne of Blood is Kurosawa's adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. We watched it when we did because I'd just spent about 5 weeks reading and analyzing Macbeth and was inhumanly excited about it because I'm such a nerd. So we watched Throne of Blood. And what I saw of it was pretty amazing.
I'm always intrigued to read or watch different adaptations of well known stories, and because Shakespeare's work has been around so long it lends itself especially well to adaptation. I think that what I like so much about these various adaptations is seeing what things are changed when the material is placed in different hands. Obviously, Kurosawa chose to set Throne of Blood in Japan and recast the title king as a samurai. Big surprise. I don't think anyone was or will ever be surprised by that. That's fine. What I found that I liked so much about this film was that all of the other changes to the story were really, well...cool. For example, instead of three unholy witches, Kurosawa used a single old woman as a ghostly forest spirit. And instead of the film opening with her, she is not seen until Washizu (the Macbeth equivalent) and General Miki (essentially Banquo) find her in the forest. And the scene is absolutely breathtaking. It's beautiful and chilling, exactly as it should be.
However, probably the best change made by Kurosawa is the way that Washizu dies. Rather than being beheaded (by the character of Macduff in the original story), Washizu is shot repeatedly by his own archers. The death is spectacular, and made even more striking by the intense fear on Washizu's face. What makes it even more striking is that all the fear the audience sees is real, as all of the arrows shot that don't make contact are real arrows that are actually being shot at the actor playing Washizu. It is no longer acting, but true fear of being impaled by incoming projectiles.
Looking back on Throne of Blood I know I've done myself a disservice by not giving in the attention it deserves. So, I say right now, that someday, when I don't have 994 other films waiting to be watched, I'll come back to it and give it my undivided attention.
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