Throne of Blood ***** [Kumonosu-jô] (1957, Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki) – Classic Movie Review 3732

Director Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 film masterpiece is a superb and stirring Japanese take on William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, topped off with a particularly rousing and exciting climax.

It comes complete with a great central performance by Toshirô Mifune in the Macbeth role, wonderful black and white visuals by cinematographer Asaichi Nakai, and a thrilling screenplay (by Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto and Ryuzo Kikushima).

Mifune plays the raging samurai Taketoki Washizu, whose chilly wife Lady Asaji Washizu (Isuzu Yamada) urges him on to kill his overlord Noriyasu Odagura (Takashi Shimura) to fulfil a prophecy that he will become lord of Spider’s Web Castle.

The Spider’s Web Castle set was built on the volcanic slopes of Mount Fuji.

In 1985, Kurosawa filmed his version of William Shakespeare’s King Lear as Ran.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3732

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com