Drenched and Dripping

"Throne of Blood"

In 1985 director Akira Kurosawa released a film called Ran.  Ran was a project of his that was based on playwright William Shakespeare's King Lear.  I've been a fan of Kurosawa's since my days as a freshman in high school.  I know that Seven Samurai is regarded as his magnum opus, but I thoroughly enjoy Ran much more than any of the other films I've seen from him.  One aspect that I found most impressive about the picture his way he adapted such a classic play to fit into the samurai warrior culture.  That takes talent.  Throne of Blood which was released about thirty years before Ran is Kurosawa's take on another Shakespeare play, Macbeth.  Kurosawa once again takes another classic tale and transports it into his realm of cinema making Throne of Blood out to be just as swift and powerful as a katana blade.

Generals Miki (Akira Kubo) and Washizu (Toshiro Mifume) are making their way back to Spider's Web Castle.  While journeying through the eerie and confusing forest on which the castle boarders they come across an evil spirit that predicts the two men's futures.  Much to their disbelief, the spirit's predictions start to come true after Miki and Washizu are both promoted.  Washizu's wife, Lady Asaji (Isuzu Yamada) wants much more for husband.  She wants him to be become the new great lord of Spider's Web Castle.  This means murdering the current great lord, which of course Washizu does at the request of his wife.  With the blood unable to be washed from both of their hands Washizu and Asaji are haunted by the treacherous deeds they have committed.  Soon Washizu begins to go mad. 

Kurosawa does a fine job of creating a macabre mood for his picture.  His characters commit an unforgivable act of violence and he makes them pay for it.  The mental torture that Washizu and Asaji go through is fantastic to watch unfold.  Watching Mifume's performance as anguish consumes Washizu is the work of a great actor.  There is no path to redemption for these characters and that's fine with me.  I want them to suffer for their actions.  There's a scene where the evil spirit appears at dinner, but is only visible to Washizu.  To watch Mifume tremble in fear and then proceed to hack and slash his way through the air and stumble around in anger and terror is great.  

There are scenes that definitely come off as being very theatrical where Kurosawa has framed the shot in such a meaningful way but not so that we aren't paying attention to his actors.  Despite dealing with such unpleasant subject matter, the film actually incorporates a tremendous amount of beauty that bleeds it way through the picture.  When it wants to be, Throne of Blood can incredibly cinematic as well.  Kurosawa knows when to let his actors do the talking and when his frames should.  

Exquisitely framed and acted with such pain and agony, Throne of Blood is a must see for fans of Shakespeare or Kurosawa.  Although the film isn't quite the masterpiece that Ran comes off as being, Kurosawa has such a firm grasp on the material and knows how to stay faithful to the plot and characters of Macbeth. .  Also, he creates such an unsettling atmosphere that we almost get smothered by the mood; and I mean that in a good way.   There are many more features from the Japanese auteur occupying my Netflix queue and I will get to them eventually.  When watching a master such as Kurosawa whip out his brush and paint such fine lines of character and story that is something to truly admire for any cinephile.