Throne of Blood 蜘蛛巣城
Original Japanese poster
Directed by	Akira Kurosawa
Produced by	Sojiro Motoki Akira Kurosawa
Written by	Shinobu Hashimoto Ryuzo Kikushima Akira Kurosawa Hideo Oguni William Shakespeare (play)
Starring	Toshirō Mifune Isuzu Yamada Takashi Shimura
Music by	Masaru Sato
Distributed by	Toho
Release date(s)	January 15, 1957
Running time	105 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Throne of Blood (蜘蛛巣城, Kumonosu-jō^?, literally "Spider Web Castle") is a black and white 1957 film directed by Akira Kurosawa, which transposes the plot of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth to medieval Japan. It is regarded as one of Kurosawa's best films, and by many critics as one of the best film adaptations of Macbeth, despite having almost none of the play's script. Image File history File links Throne_of_Blood_Poster. ... Kurosawa redirects here. ... Shinobu Hashimoto (橋本 忍助手 Hashimoto Shinobu) (April 18, 1918-) was a Japanese screenwriter, director, producer, and frequent collaborator with Akira Kurosawa. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Toshiro Mifune in Yojimbo. ... Takashi Shimura as the doomed bureaucrat Watanabe in Ikiru. ... Masaru Sato (May 29, 1928 – December 5, 1999) was a Japanese composer of film scores. ... The English-language version of Tohos famous logo, used from the early 1960s to the late 1990s. ... is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Black-and-white or black and white) can refer to a general term used in photography, film, and other media (see black-and-white). ... The year 1957 in film involved some significant events. ... Kurosawa redirects here. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article is about Shakespeares play. ...

Plot

Kurosawa follows the events of Macbeth fairly closely, although Kurosawa’s Washizu Taketori (played by Toshirō Mifune) is arguably less evil than Macbeth, while his wife Asaji is even nastier than Lady Macbeth. As with the play, the main character's comrade (General Miki, played by Minoru Chiaki) is killed when he's perceived as a threat to the throne, only to return as a ghost. There is no Macduff character in this picture; hence Washizu does not meet his end in a duel. Instead, in a spectacular scene he is shot by his own archers and stumbles forward like a porcupine before being shot in the neck. He slowly descends the stairs and dies, collapsing dramatically on the fog-soaked ground. Toshiro Mifune in Yojimbo. ... Lady Macbeth by George Cattermole, 1850 Lady Macbeth is a character in Shakespeares play Macbeth. ... Minoru Chiaki (30 July [some sources say 28 April] 1917 - 1 November 1999) was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Akira Kurosawas Seven Samurai (as the good-natured samurai Heihachi) and The Hidden Fortress. ... Macduff is a fictional character in Shakespeares play Macbeth. ...

The film creates a phantasmal world of haunted forests, desolate landscapes and eerie encounters with a malevolent ghost that foretells Washizu's fate--a prophecy that leads him into a web of treachery and deceit, which results in his demise... For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation). ...

Production

Kurosawa was an admirer of Noh drama, and acknowledged the stylistic influence it had on Throne of Blood. This influence can be seen in many aspects of the film, from the staging, to the characterizations, to the editing and direction. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Washizu's famous death scene, in which his own archers turn upon him and fill his body with arrows, was in fact performed with real arrows, a choice made to help Mifune produce realistic facial expressions of fear. The arrows seen to impact the wooden walls were not superimposed or faked by special effects (this is disputed, however, as cables are visible several times during the sequence), but instead shot by choreographed archers. During filming, Mifune waved his arms, ostensibly because his character was trying to brush away the arrows embedded in the planks; this indicated to the archers the direction in which Mifune wanted to move. Special effects (abbreviated SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved by normal means, such as depicting travel to other star systems. ...

Isuzu Yamada and Toshirō Mifune in Throne of Blood

Image File history File links Throne_of_blood. ... Image File history File links Throne_of_blood. ...

Reception

The American literary critic Harold Bloom judged it "the most successful film version of Macbeth, though it departs very far from the specifics of the play."^[1] Harold Bloom (born July 11, 1930) is an American professor and prominent literary and cultural critic. ...

In popular culture

In an episode of popular TV show Smallville, Lex Luthor claims that a sword that is hanging on the wall of his study is a prop from Throne of Blood, his "favorite Akira Kurosawa movie".^[2] Smallville is an American television series created by writer/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and was initially broadcast by The WB. After its fifth season, the WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which is the current broadcaster for the show in the United States. ...

References

Harold Bloom (born July 11, 1930) is an American professor and prominent literary and cultural critic. ... The Warner Bros. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• "Shakespeare Transposed" essay by Stephen Price
• Program note from the 1957 San Francisco International Film Festival
• Throne of Blood at the Internet Movie Database
• Throne of Blood (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database