Ryan Monsour

RTVF 272

Film Makers Project

Throne of Blood

Kurosawa’s 1957 film “Throne of Blood” was a very impressive accomplishment for the director and as a film for various reason. It takes a classic piece of literature, “Macbeth”, and manages to not focus strictly on what was written. Instead the film focuses more on the actions and deeds of the characters, all the while not straying too far from Shakespeare’s original version of the play. Additionally, the film has many very memorable scenes that follow the original play very well, but, at the same time, add a very unique Japanese flair. Also, impressive was some of the well coordinated stunt work near the end of the film that would eventually go on to inspire other scenes in future movies.

The idea of altering a work of art into a film format is more than simply complex. There are a plethora of ways to approach doing so; unfortunately this rarely turns out well and leaves much to be desired. This is particularly true of works that are considered the pinnacle of achievement. Shakespeare is no exception this, especially when dealing with film adaptations. But herein lies Akira Kurosawa’s secret to success with “Throne of Blood” it is not a direct textual adaptation of “Macbeth”. Instead it takes the over arcing themes and basic story and sculpts them into a form that suits the silver screen. Since a direct translation of the original play had lost much of its written wit, Kurosawa used the story and adapted it into a form that is still clearly “Macbeth” but at the same time modernized to suit a Japanese and eventually international audience. Kurosawa does this by setting the film in feudal Japan instead of 16^th century Scotland. Further more, the set design and location shooting help to give the film a foreboding sense of paranoia along with an eerie feeling of lingering doom. All this was exactly as the director had intended it. Additionally, set parts of the book, such as the three witches at the beginning and end of the play, would be adjusted to fit the film and the feeling the director was trying to convey. An example of this, is that the three witches are transformed into one for all intents and purposes of the film. But the single witch is presented in a very Japanese form, much like how a witch would be portrayed in Japanese Noh theater. Thus adding a level of complexity while changing a classic tale, but being able to still keep the overall feeling and plot line. On that note, much of the film is portrayed in the style of Noh theater. From the bare sets, the music, and even in the way the actors seemed to almost overly stylize their movements. This fusion of European and Japanese theater helps to pull the film further from just a straight adaption and places it in a league all its own.

Along with the unique way Kurosawa adapted the story of “Macbeth”, he also made great use of his actors and even went so far as to place them in harms way to get them to really feel the role they were playing. Kurosawa was well know for doing this. From his second film onwards he would make his actors essentially live the life of the character they were to portray. “Throne of Blood” was no exception to this. His star actor Toshiro Mifune, lived the feudal life for several months while filming on location near Mt. Fuji. In addition, in Mifune's characters famous death scene, where his own soldiers turn on him, actual arrows were used. They were fired by a coordinated set of stunt archers who took physical cues from Mifune. The reason for this risk was to get Mifune to have the most realistic facial expression possible. Most would agree it worked like a charm.