Review of Throne of Blood (1957) by Alex K — 09 Jan 2009

If you need to adapt a Shakespeare play, look no furthur that Kurosawa to do it for you. He really knows how to hit every single note, and bring all of the proper emotions into his own world, even contributing and editing it into a more perfect shape than it might have been originally.

In Throne Of Blood, Kurosawa is playing. He's investigating what he can do with cuts and edits, he's seeing how far he can take us down the path the original play went before losing us, and he's seeing how much he can really haunt us with this tale that may seem dated and historical.

He succeeds on absolutely every count. Kurosawa sweeps us through fog, makes castles dissapear and reappear, and shoots arrows through necks seamlessly as he does things with his camera that no director should've been able to do in the fifties.

But it's not just about the technique, it's about the feeling of mystery and the supernatural that we're given, and we need that to enter the mind of Toshiro Mifune's character, as he becomes more and more disturbed by the world around him; the ghosts of the forest, the pressing evil of his wife, and the knowledgeof his own crimes.

Speaking of Mifune, his blend of lunacy and theatrics work perfectly as he portrays the eccentric mutiner who rises to power out of blood and goes too far. I've seen few black and white movies as visually stunning as Throne of Blood, almost transcending the color spectrum with its vivid layout, and it's probably the closest you'll ever get with a Shakespeare adaptation.

You'll be scared, you'll be affected, and you'll know that somehow, everything you feel is applicable.