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Throne of Blood
[Blu-ray 4K]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (8th June 2025). |
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The Film
 "Throne of Blood" 「蜘蛛巣城」 (1957) After successfully defending their fortresses in battle, General Washizu (played by Mifune Toshiro) and General Miki (played by Chiaki Minoru) are ordered by their Lord Tsuzuki (played by Tachikawa Yoichi) to return to their castle. Sifting through a thick fog and through a massive forest, they encounter a ghostly witch (played by Naniwa Chieko) who foretells them their future: Washizu would be promoted to head the north garrison while Miki would be promoted to the head of the first fortress. In addition, she tells them that Washizu will eventually rise to become the lord of the castle, with Miki’s adult son Yoshiteru (played by Kubo Akira) taking the reign afterward. After returning to the castle, the first fortune comes true, with both of them receiving the said promotions. Washizu is perplexed but also in awe that the prophecy came true, as it would also mean his rise to the throne would also come. But his wife Asaji (played by Yamada Isuzu) is upset that the prophecy also stated that they will eventually be dethroned by Miki’s son. But is the future already set, or do they have the opportunity to change their fates? Kurosawa Akira made an incredible impact worldwide with his artistic and commercial masterpiece “Seven Samurai” in 1954. An epic period film that more than double the length of many films and also extremely costly due to the construction of the town and lengthy shooting schedule, his follow-up in 1955 “I Live in Fear” was a sharp contrast. A social commentary on the effects of a traumatized postwar society, it was a smaller film that was a critical hit in Japan but mostly overlooked by audiences and by international eyes. His next feature was a high anticipated return to the samurai genre, though it would be a unique one, with the story not being based on Japanese history, but with William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. Shakespeare’s story may have been originally set on the other side of the world in Scotland, but the tale of fate, greed, ambition, and the supernatural fit perfectly in the Sengoku era of Japan, in which the country was torn between warlords for over a century. Kurosawa was an avid reader, including non-Japanese works, and this would be his second feature to be adapted from foreign literature, following Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot” in 1951. Along with his frequent writing partners Hashimoto Shinobu, Kikushima Ryuzo, and Oguni Hideo, the four crafted a story that at its base was “Macbeth” in Japanese form and it works harmoniously. The violence, the supernatural, the character themes work hand in hand with Japanese mythology and the belief of spirits, as well as fortune telling being a considerable part of culture. Though it seems quite rare in Japanese culture to have a ghost foretell the future – whether good or bad, as they are usually symbols of past lives, it somehow works very well in this setting. But “Throne of Blood” is not only famous for being a well adapted telling of “Macbeth”, but for being a unique version and for its visuals. As Shakespeare’s plays were conceived for the stage, Kurosawa decided to take inspiration from the stage for the adaptation. Noh is the oldest form of theater art in the world that continues to be performed, with intricate use of music, chants, slow delicate movements, and masks to tell traditional stories. Adapting the story as a straight Noh performance would be incredibly difficult as it is not a cinematic medium. Instead, certain elements were borrowed. The character of Asaji is the closest example to a Noh performance put to screen. Her movements are very slow, calculated, her facial expressions are either subdued or in shock depending on the sequence. Most of her expressions come from subtle body movements. In comparison, Washizu is much more animated in his bodily expressions. But his facial expressions with the makeup applied make him look like he is wearing Noh masks as he showcases fierceness and his other emotions. The sequence with the witch feels as if it straight out of a Noh performance, as the witch speaks extremely slowly while spinning yarn, and using very simple stage tricks for the appearance and disappearance on screen. And like Noh performances on stage, Kurosawa had the production crew construct the castle grounds and interiors that would be well showcased. For the outdoor scenes they were filmed on the slopes by Mount Fuji with the castle exteriors being constructed there. Battle scenes are minimal, yet he employed quite a number of extras for wide shots featuring armies. Interiors were constructed at Toho studios. Shooting began on June 29th, 1956 and was again a costly one at 120 million Yen. While it was about half the budget of “Seven Samurai”, it was still more expensive than the average Toho feature at the time. Kurosawa was meticulous with the set designs, costume designs, and shooting on location with massive crowds and they are shown on screen to the fullest effects. Even in black and white, the detail is shown wonderfully with the visuals. For the cast and crew, many Toho regulars and Kurosawa regulars were present. Shimura Takashi is third billed yet is in quite a smaller role as Odagura, one of the generals who eventually becomes an enemy to Washizu. Tsuchiya Yoshio, Kimura Isao, Miyagawa Seiji, and Nakamura Nobuo appear in cameo roles. Yamada's performance as Asaji is always championed as being the strongest, being one of the few female characters in the story and having the heaviest lifting due to the demanding role. Most adaptations of "Macbeth" have the character of Lady Macbeth being seductively controlling, with some being more over the top than others. Here, her performance is incredibly constrained, yet her force is extremely strong with the subtle movements and gestures. The two scenes of her trying to clean the blood off her hands, the first with actual blood, the second with her madness taking over due to the dead baby) are incredibly impactful that even Kurosawa was astonished during the filming of how powerful she was in each take. It's also impossible to discuss the film without discussing the ending, which is one of the most famous and most dangerous endings in film history for a character's demise. It is true that Mifune was getting shot at by archers and that there were no tricks involved such as arrows being poked out from behind walls or strings to pull them in. The scene gives gasps to any person who sees it, as they can see that the arrows are really hitting the walls by Mifune. While many have praised Mifune's performance in that sequence, he admitted that he was scared to death during the filming the scene and had nightmares about it for years. As for trivia, the gory sounding effect of the piercing arrow through the flesh was created by stabbing a Japanese citrus fruit called citrus natsudaidai with a paring knife. The film premiered theatrically in Japan on January 15th, 1957. The film grossed 190 million Yen theatrically, which was a hit yet not a major one, as the film cost 120 million Yen to produce. The film was just out of the top 10 grossing Japanese films of the year, and a far cry from the top grosser "Emperor Meiji and the Great Russo-Japanese War", grossing over 500 million Yen. It was still a critical hit, being ranked 4th in Kinema Jumpo's top Japanese films of the year (and Kurosawa's next film also released in 1957 "The Lower Depths" ranking 10th). Yamada was named Best Actress at the Kinema Jumpo Awards and it won two awards from the Mainichi Film Concours, with Best Actor for Mifune and Best Art Direction for Muraki Yoshiro. Muraki also won awards for his art direction from the Blue Ribbon Awards and the Eizo Gijutsu Sho (Technical Visual Awards) and Yamada also won a Geijutu-Sensho award for her performance. Over the years it has gone on to become one of Kurosawa's most famous works and also one of the most accessible by foreign audiences due to its source material and being a visual marvel plus outstanding performances from the actors. When first studying Shakespeare for English class in high school, the works did not connect with me immediately, as is for many. When I enrolled in drama class, performing rather than just reading Shakespeare gave me a much stronger appreciation for the works. The Old English may have been the initial barrier, but the cadence in rhythm, the themes presented, and the interactions from fellow actors made me become, shall I say a fan. After my introduction to Kurosawa following Seven Samurai, learning that he adapted Shakespeare not once not twice but three times, it sparked great interest in trying to see these features. Following high school, my parents moved to Bangkok, Thailand, where my dad invested in a DVD player. He told me that there were some amazing DVD vendors there, and if there was a movie I was looking for, they would have it since they had “every movie”. I gave him a small list of movies I wanted to see, and one was “Throne of Blood”. He went shopping, came back with a stack of movies for himself, but said “They didn’t have anything on your list.” But I thought these places had “every movie” as he said, but looking at his purchases, I realizes they were all just bootlegs of the newest movies. There was no way they would have a Japanese movie from 1957, which at the time in 2000 did not even have a DVD release anywhere in the world. It was with the Criterion DVD release in 2003 that I was finally able to experience “Throne of Blood” and it did not disappoint. The film has been issued a number of times on different home video formats. It has finally received a 4K UltraHD Blu-ray release, from the BFI in a worldwide first. Note this is a region ALL 4K UltraHD Blu-ray
Video
The BFI present the film in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio in 2160p HEVC with HDR10 / Dolby Vision grading. The original 35mm negative was scanned and restored in 4K resolution by Toho. When it was released on Blu-ray by Criterion in 2014, their notes stated that the transfer was from a fine grain master positive as the original negative was considered “lost”, so it might have been that the negative was discovered by Toho. I couldn’t find any confirmation on that and there are no in depth notes from Toho on the restoration process for this particular film. In comparison to previous transfers of the film, this is an incredibly strong one. The black and white image is absolutely wonderful, with the dark of the shadowed parts of the castle interiors looking excellent, while bright portions such as the pale white witch looking great as well. Greys in between are well defined, with detail on faces, wardrobes and sets being sharp. Telecine wobble has been corrected for a stable image from start to finish, and damage marks such as speckles and scratches are almost entirely eliminated, while still keeping a healthy amount of film grain for a naturally filmic look as intended. The HDR10 /Dolby Vision grading, which is exclusive to this BFI release gives the greys a great boost in detail. Overall another excellent job by Toho and the BFI for the transfer here. The film's runtime is 109:29.
Audio
Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 The original Japanese audio is presented in lossless form. The mono track has its limitations, with some dialogue being a bit hard to hear with yelling and screaming moments being slightly distorted, and the chorus of the opening and closing songs due to limited fidelity. Standard one-on-one dialogue scenes sound very good, as well as the music cues. There are no issues with hiss, pops, or other damage to the track, and the audio is well balanced with the dialogue, music and effects. It is not a track that will show off a home theater system, but is faithful to the original audio without any major problematic elements. There are optional English subtitles in a white font which are well timed and easy to read, without errors.
Extras
Audio commentary by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck (2003) Jeck provided an incredibly detailed and entertaining commentary for "Seven Samurai" which was featured on Criterion's Laserdisc and subsequently their DVD, Blu-ray, and UHD releases. His "Throne of Blood" commentary is just as essential. Talked about are the background of the film's production, differences from the Shakespeare play, the influence of Noh, details on Japanese culture that foreign audiences might miss, the filming of the ending battle, and much more. Always lively and filled with detail, it's a shame that Jack has only done two audio commentaries. Note this was originally recorded for the US Criterion DVD release from 2003. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles 2016 introduction by Sir Ian McKellen (1:59) Ian McKellen played Macbeth on stage as well as the highly regarded 1979 television version of "Macbeth", here for BFI's 2016 "Shakespeare on Film" which celebrated the cinematic works, McKellen gives a non-spoiler basic introduction on Shakespeare on film and the uniqueness of Kurosawa's adaptation. This is also available to watch for free on the BFI Player. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create – Throne of Blood" 2002 featurette (22:44) For the Japanese DVD releases of Kurosawa's films on the DVD format, Toho produced a series of featurettes and documentaries focusing on each of their films, with interviews with the surviving cast and crew with great behind the scenes information. This featurette starts with newsreel footage of Kurosawa leaving Japan for the first time to attend the international premiere of the film at the 1st BFI London Film Festival, then going back to how the film's production began. From the use of Noh theater, the placement of Shakespeare into feudal Japan, behind the scenes information on the set designs and the battle scenes, there is a lot to uncover in this well produced featurette. There isn't much in the adaptation process by the writers, as much of the featurette focuses on the production itself. There is a small error with the subtitles concerning a date, as the subtitles state that the opening ceremony of the London Film Festival was on "November 17th" but the narrator actually says "November 11th", which is the correct date. "1" and "7" sound fairly similar in Japanese, so it is an understandable mistake. Note that the Criterion Blu-ray and DVD had the correct "November 11th" date in their subtitles. A clip of the featurette has been embedded below, courtesy of The Criterion Collection. in 1080i60 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 with optional English subtitles 2012 introduction by Mamoun Hassan (7:25) The late Mamoun Hassan was head of production at the BFI and has a limited yet impressive list of credits as a writer, producer, and director gives an introduction to "Throne of Blood", screened at the National Film Theatre on March 19th, 2012, as he talks about Kurosawa's fascination with Shakespeare inspired by his older brother, the constant intensity seen in the film and some behind the scenes information without too many spoilers. The introduction can also be seen on the Mamoun Hassan archive Vimeo channel. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Macbeth" 1945 short (16:11) Fully titled "Famous Scenes from Shakespeare No. 2: Macbeth - Act II. Scene 2; Act V. Scene 1", this short film directed by Henry Cass and starring Wilfrid Lawson as Macbeth and Cathleen Nesbitt as Lady Macbeth only showcases two scenes from the play, shot in stark black and white with great use of closeups and shadows. It's almost unfortunate that it is only a short and the whole play was not filmed by the production crew. This was the second and final short in the series, with the first being "Famous Scenes from Shakespeare No. I: Julius Caesar". The image is quite good with a sharp black and white transfer from original film elements, though there is a bit of hiss to the dialogue. Both shorts are also available to watch for free on the BFI Player. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 1.0 without subtitles Original Theatrical Trailer (3:44) The original Japanese trailer is presented here, which has some key scenes as well as some costume test footage that is not seen in the final film. It has not gone through a thorough remaster like the film has, as it shows some damage marks and flickering. On the positive side it has good detail and the sound is fairly good. The trailer has also been embedded below. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 1.0 with optional English subtitles Booklet A 24 page booklet is included with the first pressing. The first essay simply titled "Throne of Blood" by filmmaker and critic Alex Barrett is an excellent spoiler heavy look at the film's production, its themes, and its influences. This is followed by an introspective look by Kurosawa himself on the making of the film, edited and translated to English by noted Japanese film scholar Donald Ritchie, which was originally published in Sight and Sound, Volume 33, No 3, from July 1964. Next is "Kurosawa and Shakespeare" by Ben Nicholson, which breaks down the three films "Throne of Blood", "The Bad Sleep Well", and "Ran". There is also a review of the film from 1958's Monthly Film Bulletin written by Kenneth Cavander. There are also full film credits, special features information, transfer information, acknowledgements and stills. The film was previously released by the BFI on DVD back in 2001, which just had text biographies and a trailer, and unfortunately burned-in English subtitles. They issued it on Blu-ray in 2014 as part of the “Kurosawa Samurai Collection”, and included the commentary by Michael Jeck, originally from the US Criterion DVD (and later Blu-ray) plus the trailer. The BFI’s 4K UHD release marks the film’s worldwide debut on the format, which is quite unusual that it was released before Toho released their own edition. The BFI’s was released on May 19th, 2025 while Toho’s was released just two days later on May 21st, 2025. Like their other 4K Kurosawa releases, it was graded in SDR. In addition, the only extras are a stills gallery and a trailer. For some reason, Toho decided NOT to port their excellent “It Is Wonderful to Create” documentaries and featurettes created for the Kurosawa DVD releases to the HD and UHD formats. Thankfully, they were included on international Blu-ray and UHD releases of Kurosawa’s features, including this BFI release. As this BFI release ports all the Blu-ray extras found on the 2014 US Criterion Blu-ray and adds exclusive extras, it is the best release of the film there is at the moment. It is odd that a stills gallery is not included, as that is fairly standard for a BFI release and there was a gallery on the Japanese UHD. Other notable clips: A clip from the documentary "Life Work of Akira Kurosawa", demonstrating the final arrow shot BFI's 2016 "Shakespeare on Film" promo TCM's introduction for the film by Ben Mankiewicz Promo for a stage adaptation, which premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2010 Promo for a stage adaptation at KAAT, the Kanagawa Arts Theater from 2023
Overall
"Throne of Blood" remains one of the greatest of Shakespeare adaptations to screen, with intense performances and incredible visuals. It is one of Kurosawa's most beloved and most famous works, and deservedly received the high praises that it has for over half a century. The BFI's 4K UltraHD Blu-ray release is excellent, with a great 4K transfer and great extras. Highly recommended. Note that the BFI has released two separate editions. The one reviewed here is the 4K release. There is also a standard Blu-ray release, which has the same extras but the film in HD and on a region B Blu-ray. They are linked below: Amazon UK link - 4K UltraHD Blu-ray Amazon UK link - standard Blu-ray
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