Kurosawa’s acclaimed resetting of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in feudal Japan is a visual descent into a world of greed and superstition.
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu (Toshirô Mifune) and Miki (Minoru Chiaki) are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures, including that the battle-hardened Washizu will become the true heir of Spider’s Web Castle. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife Asaji (Isuzu Yamada) presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place.
Throne of Blood has the dual honour of being one of the most acclaimed films in Kurosawa’s filmography, and one of the finest screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s renowned tragedy.
This film is part of our Akira Kurosawa retrospective, running 10 March to 2 April. Join us in celebrating some of the finest work of the Japanese master of cinema.
- DIRECTOR: Akira Kurosawa
- CAST: Toshiro Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada
- LANGUAGE: Japanese with English subtitles
