Throne of Blood (1957)

[蜘蛛巣城]

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada

Synopsis:
A samurai receives a prophecy of his rise to power, but a price must be paid in treachery and blood.

Impressions:
This is certainly a fine film in its own right, but it warrants special attention as an example of cross-cultural adaptation done right. It manages to keep with the spirit of the original (Shakespeare's Macbeth in case you didn't know) while adapting it to be more relatable to the Japanese audience. You see something similar with efforts to modernize Shakespeare's plays, but those have varying degrees of success and none so good as this. I remember hearing about how Tolkien was disappointed reading Macbeth when the prophecy of the forest moving turned out to just be soldiers holding branches (resolving that disappointment is a large part of what inspired the Ents and their counterattack on Isengard). I bring that up because the scene is rendered quite powerfully here with whole trees advancing on the castle through a blanket of thick fog. Just as you can expect excellence from Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune is in top form as the steadily maddening Washizu and Isuzu Yamada as Washizu's wife Asaji is the best Lady Macbeth I've seen thus far. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Own It