A distinctive retelling of Macbeth set in feudal Japan. Akira Kurosawa directs (he also did Ikiru, which I adore) and the movie stars Toshiro Mifune. It is an interesting take on a classic, and Kurosawa seems to have done well in finding a mirror of 11th century Scotland.
Despite sweeping landscapes, hundreds of extras, and huge sets, a lot of 'Throne of Blood' feels understated. We rarely see any battles, and every time that it seems like a huge one is about to take place it either happens off-camera or fails to happen at all. I'm not sure if this was an intentional course of action to create a more theater-like performance (you never got to see the actual war in the play either, obviously) or if the decision was budget-influenced. Probably both, but either way I'm not crazy about the result.
The wife is played by Isuzu Yamada, and she does a great job at being pale and creepy. At first I thought that she would be immobile for the duration, but then we see her float about (and she can really move with that spear) to the accompaniment of the vip vip vip of swishing fabric. The witch is also a fun character, I like her kind of sassy indifference and general fuck-youedness (General Fuck-youedness). The dialogue does well at retaining a Shakespearean quality while feeling distinctively Japanese. They didn't have to scream everything, though.
A quite interesting fact is that they used real arrows in the making of the movie. This is especially impressive in the final minutes, as Taketoki is fired at by hundreds of his own archers (the image of the endless arrows thudding into the wooden wall all around him would later be echoed by many other movies, most notably - for me - 2002's 'Hero').
A pleasing if not excellent retelling of the classic tragedy.
Throne of Blood: 64.1