THRONE OF BLOOD | KUMONOSU-JŌ

JAPAN | 1957 | B&W | DCP | 110’ | JAPANESE

One of the greatest Shakespeare adaptations the cinema has ever known, “Throne of Blood” takes “Macbeth” to the eerie, foggy world of medieval Japan to tell the story of the rise to power of an overambitious usurper samurai seduced by a dark prophecy and his ruthless wife. Stripping the plot of “the Scottish play” to its essentials and incorporating elements from traditional Japanese Noh theatre, Kurosawa transforms the familiar story about the terrifying consequences of power-hunger into a riveting masterpiece where the narrative is primarily motivated by a shocking iconography, and natural elements create a sense of inevitable doom, right up to the unsurpassed, transcendent finale worthy of an ancient Greek tragedy.

DIRECTOR: Akira Kurosawa
SCREENWRITERS: Shinobu Hashimoto, Ryūzō Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni
DoP: Asakazu Nakai
MUSIC: Masaru Sato
EDITOR: Akira Kurosawa
PRINCIPAL CAST: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura

AKIRA KUROSAWA
Japanese filmmaker, legend of world cinema. He was recognized more than any of his Asian counterparts and had an overall and profound influence on Western film culture. 30 films, a multi-award winning body of work (Oscar, Golden Lion, Golden Palm, among others), a legendary 16-film collaboration with Toshiro Mifune, a life and work that marked globally the artistry of the 20th century.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTED)
1990 Dreams 
1985 Ran 
1970 Dodes’ka-den 
1965 Red Beard 
1963 High and Low 
1961 Yojimbo 
1960 The Bad Sleep Well 
1958 The Hidden Fortress 
1957 Throne of Blood 
1954 Seven Samurai 
1952 Ikiru 
1951 The Idiot 
1950 Rashomon