Throne Of Blood
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1957. NR. 110 min.
- Sun, Sep 12, 5:30 pm
Presented on 35mm.
Originally intended to be made in the 40’s, Kurosawa’s version of Macbeth was long delayed, partly by Orson Welles’s own production that was underway. In this reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic, the setting is transferred to feudal Japan, a decision that yields new insight into a familiar story. Many of Kurosawa’s period films are very Noh in style, resulting in a fascination with the tiniest or grandest of movements and a minimum of dialogue. The weather plays a major role in creating the mood, and the growing claustrophobia of the Macbeth character’s paranoia and delusion. Isuzu Yamada’s turn as Lady Macbeth has a stillness that draws us in as she pulls the strings and pushes the buttons that fuel her husband’s madness. It all comes to a climax that builds to a level of intensity unmatched in cinematic history. (Ted The Fiddler)