Throne of Blood (1957)

01/15/1957Drama, History1h 48m
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Overview

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Top Billed Cast

  1. Cast 1

    Toshirō Mifune

    Taketoki Washizu

  2. Cast 1

    Isuzu Yamada

    Lady Asaji Washizu

  3. Cast 1

    Takashi Shimura

    Noriyasu Odagura

  4. Cast 1

    Akira Kubo

    Yoshiteru Miki

  5. Hiroshi Tachikawa

    Kunimaru Tsuzuki

  6. Cast 1

    Minoru Chiaki

    Yoshiaki Miki

  7. Cast 1

    Takamaru Sasaki

    Kuniharu Tsuzuki

  8. Cast 1

    Gen Shimizu

    Washizu samurai

  9. Cast 1

    Kokuten Kōdō

    Military Commander

I think that this is a superb tragi-adventure story that stands out well amongst the numerous loose adaptations of Shakespeare that have been made over the years. Kurosawa takes the Scottish play and gives it the "Noh" treatment that delivers an enigmatic and tautly directed rendition of a story of betrayal, power and insanity. Toshirô Mifune is magnificent as "Washizu" who after getting lost with his colleague (Minoru Chiaki) in the doleful "Spider's Web" forest is given a cryptic prophecy that one day he too is destined to rule the great "Spider's Web castle"... Initially reluctant to embark...