Film Forum

Japan, 1957
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Starring Toshirō Mifune, Isuzu Yamada
Approx. 110 min. 4K DCP.

…or CASTLE OF THE SPIDER’S WEB, the literal translation of the Japanese title. Shakespeare’s Macbeth transformed into a medieval Japanese legend, as General Toshirō Mifune, with Minoru Chiaki’s “Banquo” at his side, gallops through a seemingly endless forest to his encounter with a single witch, then, as dense fog lifts, finds himself before a looming castle. With the legendary Isuzu Yamada as his Lady, this is a partnership of titans.

Reviews

“As a piece of cinema, however, 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, The Guardian

“A catalyzing work.”
– Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times