Review of Throne of Blood (1957) by Mike W — 23 Jul 2010

Throne of Blood' is Akira Kurosawa's screen adaption of William Shakespeare's Macbeth set in medieval Japan and in my opinion the best Shakespearean adaptation of all time. It is rare to see a film that takes a source material and does so much with it, whilst remaining true to the text. I obviously do not need waste time in explaining the plot as it is known to all (if not I would suggest acquiring a complete works for around £20/$25), so I will focus on the merits of the film itself.

Firstly, the film is very well cast and contains a stand out performance from Toshiro Mifune, who as many of you will know is present in most of Kurosawa's great works until their falling out after the shooting of 'Red Beard'. Mifune's performance in this film is one of the great oversights of cinema history, and in my opinion easily stands up to De Niro's 'Jake La Motta' and O'Toole's 'T.E. Lawrence'. The brilliant performance culminates in the most spectacular fashion with Mifune suffering a dramatic human pin cushion death at the hands of his own archers. Mifune manages to capture the look of desperation in a man that knows he is about to die, and uses the on screen energy he is so famous for to great effect.

In terms of direction we are truly watching the master at work. The use of wide shots of landscapes is truly mesmerising, and in many cases creates an overwhelming sense of suspense. This is a huge achievement in itself as creating suspense in a film where the audience already knows the outcome is no mean feat. There is extraordinary use of fast cuts and kineticism in the mise en scene which keeps the film going at a fast pace. This accompanied with brilliant tracking shots of peoples feet makes you feel like you are watching an action epic, when in actual fact there is very little in terms of action in the film.

Despite the fact that Kurosawa is also famed for his scriptwriting prowess, I believe that his main triumph in 'Throne of Blood' is his outstanding use of silence in scenes of dialogue. It is also very important to mention that whilst this film is fast paced, it is also subtle in the sense that rather than showing us scenes of murder, we are often left in another room for the culprit to return from the deed. Whilst at times this could be considered frustrating, the scenes are directed so well that it is a tool used to great effect.

Overall, I would highly recommend this film to any fans of cinema and/or Shakespeare. The performances are outstanding and Kurosawa's direction is the best I have seen from him. Many may disagree but as an adaptation I believe it surpasses his later and more recognised film 'Ran', which I would also like to highly recommend (review of Ran coming soon).