Throne of Blood (1957) (Kumonosu-jô) (1996)

Macbeth in a Japanese feudal setting

“I am more of a Seven Samurai, Ran and Hidden Fortress fan myself when it comes to Akira Kurasawa's films. However I do think alongside the likes of Welles' Chimes at Midnight, Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing and Olivier's Richard III to be one of the finest films based on Shakespeare's work ever made. Throne of Blood is a somewhat loose adaptation of Macbeth, not as bloody perhaps and set in a Japanese feudal setting, and I am aware that it has been criticised for one-dimensional characters and its dramatic structure. For me though, the dramatic structure, even with the purposefully slow-moving pace(at times), was compelling and sometimes even moving in places, and the characters while not exactly complex are not that one-dimensional in comparison to other characters in other movies. Take” read more

Watched films in 2022 (175 movies items)

"28.1. Blu-ray Suuruudenhullun vaimon vallaton vallanhimo tekee muuten ansioituneen, mutta ihan vähän vallasta kiinnostuneen miehen vallan hulluksi. Akira Kurosawan tekninen nerous on sekin hullua. Lopun nuolisadekohtausta, joka ilmeisesti toteutettiin ihan aidoilla nuolilla, on aika vaikea käsittää toteutetuksi."

Movies the giraffe watched in 2021: February (25 movies items)

"First viewing - Feb. 22nd Mifune Monday Turns out I was able to find one more Toshirô Mifune movie on Max, which is why I wound up making his films my Monday routine this month. And Throne of Blood is just excellent all around. The Shakespearean influence is obvious, but I was never bored with it and dug the way it played out. It's a great film and I'm glad I finally managed to catch it after all these years of wanting to see it."

Mustanaamio7's Movie Diary 2020 (149 movies items)

"27.2. 2020 Kurosawa's version of "Macbeth" is too slow-paced and partly tedious but still visually engaging film that carefully examines greed for power. "Throne of Blood" doesn't really offer any significantly new viewpoints so it can be said that the film is clearly one of the more forgettable works by the director. Kurosawa's methods work better in some of his more original works."

Films Watched in 2019 (328 movies items)

"8.7 Will it never be gone? The blood. I wash and wash, yet the blood remains - and the smell! Will my hands never again be clean?"

Ranking Movies Of: Akira Kurosawa (33 movies items)

"Rating LIFF: 8,32 "

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (1950's) (126 movies items)

" Notes: To be honest, it has been ages since I have seen this flick, I don't remember it in details and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. In fact, when I was much younger, there was a time when I saw a whole bunch of vintage movies directed by Akira Kurosawa and this movie was one of them. Well, this movie was quite unique as it was combining a typical Kurosawa Samurai tale with a classic from Shakespeare and, if I’m not mistaken, I think it was in fact the very first version of "