Throne of Blood (1957)
1957 · Feature film · 110 min · dir. Akira Kurosawa
- Drama
- samurai cinema
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis from TMDb
Details
- Director
- Akira Kurosawa
- Writer
- Shinobu Hashimoto
- Composer
- Masaru Satō
- Cinematography
- Asakazu Nakai
- Studio
- TOHO, Kurosawa Production
- Released
- 1957-01-15
- Original title
- 蜘蛛巣城
- Running time
- 110 minutes
Cast & crew
Akira Kurosawa Director
Hiroshi Tachikawa
Chieko Naniwa
Asao Koike
Sachio Sakai
Takeshi Katō
Takamaru Sasaki
Shōbun Inoue
Kichijirō Ueda
Reviews on the Internet Archive
★★★★★ · a Masterpiece · Promytius Syl · 2026-02-15
I first saw this film in college in 1965, on the A/V team, after the presentation, we ran the film to the assassination scene and went frame by frame through the scene; the technical perfections you never notice make so much of a difference. Kurosawa is one of the Master Filmmakers. Few others rise to his level of cinematic insights and revelations. This is, of course, his adaptation of Shakespeare's McBeth. The 5 stars is based on the original, not this particular copy; so grateful to find it once again.
★★★★★ · Throne of Blood - Kurosawa · Nigel Middlemiss · 2026-03-24
Formidable. Especialy mad laughter of Macbeth re forest moving, desperate hand -washing of Lady Macbeth. High tension. High drama.
Amazing · Savannah Talley · 2026-02-20
Watched this in college as part of a Shakespeare class, absolutely gripping movie!
