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Throne of Blood

888

Market price: ~~$39.95USD~~

Our price: $30.06USD
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Status:

IN-STOCK
Released: 2003-05-27

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Throne of Blood DVD Cast & Features Cast:
Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Minoru Chiaki, Takashi Shimura, Akira Kubo, Yoichi Tachikawa, Takamaru Sasaki, Chieko Naniwa

Director(s): Akira Kurosawa

Features:
New high-definition digital transfer with restored image and sound
Audio commentary by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck
Original theatrical trailer
New essay by Stephen Prince (writer of "The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa")
Two different subtitle translations, each by a world-renowned translator of Japanese films: one by Linda Hoaglund, the other by Donald Richie
Notes on subtitling by Linda Hoaglund and Donald Richie
Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

Throne of Blood DVD Details

Video:
Pre-1954 Standard
Audio:
Dolby Digital Mono
Language:
japanese
Subtitles:
English

Running Time: 109
Genre: Foreign Film [dub Or Subtitle]
Item Weight: 2
UPC: 037429175828
Product Code: CRRNTHR130DVD
Format: DVD
Year:1957
Studio: Criterion

Throne of Blood DVD Summary Macbeth is reimagined as a samurai in feudal Japan in director Akira Kurosawa's classic adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy.

Familiar with Orson Welles's more faithful adaptation, Kurosawa chose to place a more personal stamp on his version by translating the events and characters to historical Japan.

The equivalent of the tragic Scottish lord is Taketoki Washizu (Toshiro Mifune), a valiant warrior whose life is transformed by an encounter with a ghostly female spirit.

The spirit offers several predictions, finally stating that Washizu will rise to power over the current warlord.

When these predictions begin coming true, he and his ambitious wife decide to ensure his ascendancy to power by murdering the current ruler.

As with Macbeth, Washizu achieves his goal, but his guilt and the suspicions of others soon bring about his downfall.

The shift to Japanese settings is seamless, creating a historically accurate and resonant work with a culturally distinct visual style.

The supporting performances also recall Japanese tradition, particularly Isuzu Yamada's creepily unemotional take on Lady Macbeth, while Mifune proves consistently gripping in the sheer intensity of his performance.

The intelligence of Kurosawa's alterations retains the drama's tragic impact, especially during the conclusion, in which Washizu makes a memorable final stand against an advancing army.

Impressive in every regard, Throne of Blood seems secure in the pantheon of superior film adaptations of William Shakespeare.