Throne of Blood

Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood is a film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, set in medieval Japan.

The film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 1957 Venice Film Festival. Kurosawa's 1950 film, Rashomon, won the award several years prior.

Fast Facts

1. Director: Akira Kurosawa
2. Distributor: Toho Company Ltd
3. Released: January 15, 1957
4. Running Time: 105 minutes
5. Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura

Oh Noh!

Kurosawa staged the film in the style of a Noh drama, making each sequence appear as it would on stage. The sets and filmmaking process were made to look as real as possible to heighten the realism of the performances. For example, Washizu's death scene used real arrows fired toward Toshiro Mifune to create the appearance of imminent danger.

Critical Reception

Japanese films gained popularity in the 1950s, partially based on Kurosawa's efforts, and Throne of Blood continued this trend. The film has a 97% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, considered by many critics to be the best film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Director Roman Polanski's The Tragedy of Macbeth would be released in 1971.

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