New 4K Restoration
A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he will become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
A vivid, visceral Macbeth adaptation, Throne of Blood sets Shakespeare’s definitive tale of ambition and duplicity in a ghostly, fog-enshrouded landscape in feudal Japan. As a hardened warrior who rises savagely to power, Toshiro Mifune gives a remarkable, animalistic performance, as does Isuzu Yamada as his ruthless wife. Throne of Blood fuses classical Western tragedy with formal elements taken from Noh theater to create an unforgettable cinematic experience. [110 min; drama; Japanese with English subtitles]
"Throne of Blood defeats categorisation. It remains a landmark of visual strength, permeated by a particularly Japanese sensibility, and is possibly the finest Shakespearean adaptation ever committed to the screen." — Derek Malcolm, Guardian
“Akira Kurosawa's remarkable 1957 restaging of Macbeth in samurai and expressionist terms is unquestionably one of his finest works—charged with energy, imagination, and, in keeping with the subject, sheer horror.” — Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"With its all-pervading sense of doom, this is a serious contender for the finest celluloid Shakespeare of them all." — David Parkinson, Empire
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