Throne of Blood | Samurai Film Review 

exactly , there is a lot of internal diologue asking about the events, makes you fell deeper into de paranoia aspect, i guess the shogunate is an expert in cinema like akira was, lol.

That look of fear has become absolutely iconic.

Nothing obscure once they are part of the Criterion Collection.

@@justinkauffman731 Wasn’t always the case though. Also to say criterion doesn’t have any obscure films in its collection is wild 😂

Once you have made Criterion you have made it. People are either aware or unaware at that point but it is easily accessible to all now.

@@justinkauffman731 🙄🙄🙄

Haha you the man

I understand your sentiment, yet as a review, I try to give my honest opinion about the piece after going through the categories which I outline at the end when I give it a formal rating in my eyes. I don't wish to detur others from watching it yet it's unfortunate if my review or any review by anyone has that effect.

I have to disagree. Not once have I experienced it; quite the opposite. The music fits well and isn't disruptive at all

You're not wrong. That is a strong argument too that I genuinely agree with on most accounts. But I still have my own perspective on what I would have liked to see none the less.

Honestly Kagemusha, but it's much slower. It covers a more interesting topic and shows some very unique views of important Sengoku figures.

Definitely check out Rashomon.

I own both Kagemusha and Throne of Blood. They are both spectacular. You should see them both.

@@TheShogunate it is a shame that Uesugi Kenshin, the yang to Shingen’s ying and his rival, is short changed except for the Japanese released version

I also recommend Heaven and Earth.

I think you might be right. She was almost as creepy as the Witch, with her stillness, quiet voice and those weird black teeth of hers. In truth, it almost feels as if she's been possessed by the Witch, because she barely seems human.

Regarding the castle, since they didn't have much to built any great sets, Shakespeare would often have the characters mention where they are and what time it is so that the audience knew. But that also gives anyone who works on a play by Shakespeare alot of freedom. And yes the characters are sketchy, Macbeth is the shortest of all his plays and he probably focused and the two main characters.

I assumed it was noh theatre inspired

Yet, Miki's son thinks a horse getting wild is a bad omen. So he was under superstition spell too.

Didn't he say it's not wise to make plans based on what a witch says?

Cobweb castle...at least that's what it says on the subs

“Castle of the Spider’s Web” was the Japanese title directly translated. English releases retitled it “Throne of Blood.”

Most people read Shakespeare these days instead of going out to find a proper Shakespeare production or watch a stylized film interpretation.

@@TheShogunate I don't know about "most people." Or what "stylized" even means in this context. I still think it's odd to look at his plays like they're something to be read; they're just scripts, after all. They were meant to be watched, and there are plenty of ways to do so. Even here on RU-vid.

​@@manthathascomputer Knowledge of Macbeth is not necessary nor of the Nash equilibrium but it helps to spot it. I didn't have any when it blew me away in my teens late at night on PBS years ago and hooked me to Kurosawa. I don't know if the director stumbled upon the work of Von Neumann & Morgenstern or Forbes Nash in the 40s-50s but this movie, contrary to the Shakespearean play, is a great example of the prisoner's dilemma, which raises Kurosawa's take above the original work in my book. The genius shift, is when lord Tsuzuki wants to counterattack and propose Washizu to lead the charge, a great honor to him but also a great danger has noticed by his wife, while all safe the role of his friend/accomplice is. You don't have that in Macbeth, already full of ambition and wondering about the gains and feasibility of the murder. Here, it ups the stakes by insinuating a divulgation and a trap. In Shakespeare, the witches at the beginning are predicting the future but could be reading Macbeth's boiling mind of what he harbors. Here, since there's a danger to the status quo, you can ask yourself: is Washizu acting out of ambition or out of fear of what could be if he doesn't act or both? Would his decision be the same if he didn't know about the future? If knowing the future alternates the future, is the witch predicting the future or shaping the future by making public predictions? Things like that. Note that in A beautiful mind, the principle is not followed (scene at bar if you seen this one) and that Macbeth is not given the worst possibility, like the wife of Washizu exposed.

Colin Haun however it’s a Japanese film based on a Shakespearean play written centuries before the US existed...

@@squiddie96 All Empires are the same rerun, no matter the time, place, flag, name or logo.

@@colinhaun2790 If you're referring to the fact that they eventually fall, then yes; there has yet to be an immortal political power. To say that the film is *about* the US, however, implies that Kurosawa somehow kept the US in mind while directing the film, which doesn't seem right.

Well, this was in 50’s, Post WW2 environment, and the then-contemporary Lucky Dragon incident might be relevant to Japan though.

Profetic

You must be familiar with McBeth to appreciate this film.

Man, you have jsut shown your ignorance and of only scratching the surface and understanding nothing, at all. That is why you feel like this. No trouble at all, only it screams of these things. I say you should not watch deep films nor masterpieces like this, that need prior knowledge and deep thinking. No offence meant, my apologies if I sound too harsh, I just feel that talking about such a masterpiece in such a degrading and disrespectful tone is insulting. Not to me personally, although it upsetted me, but to art lovers. It is also insulting to the director although dead, and the actors too, ( dead as well), and their audiences, who revere this film, and for a reason. It is okay not to watch something if you do not like it or understand it and it is okay not to like it but unless that film truly is rubbish, talking about it like this is insulting to all.

I am not someone who appreciates the abstract, that is true. I don't deny there is a heavy artistic focus in this film. My point still stands: this is boring as heck for a samurai themed movie since there is barely any fighting and impactful action scene. You could get the same story across with so much less effort, so anything more than that is just wasteful. Is it too much to ask to show at least one epic battle to establish how talented the main character is?

@@42kellys as i said, i have different ratings on this movie, as a film and as an action movie. I did not say the film was bad as a story telling piece at all. Other than that, you can try to persuade me otherwise that it is also a good action movie.

@@colodius But this film is not a real samurai film, at all. I have been trying to say this, but my answer got deleted, by some PC/ Internet problem. It is a film that places Machbeth into the samurai era. There are not fights, actions because that is not the focus at all. If you want to see real samurai films check out Mifune's other samurai films, because this one is only a set..if you get I mean. The samurai things are nothing but set pieces..it is a drama and it uses the story of the drama Machbeth and the Noh theatre traditions. It is not supposed to have too much action. In the drama the action is mentioned but they do not show much of it. Some actions they do, actually unlike this one, but that is not the focal point there, either. So, if you watch this film expecting a samurai film and actions you are to be disappointed. You came to the wrong film. This film has to be watched as a scary phsycological drama of greed becoming power hunger, fear and paranoia, descending into literal madness. It is about the feelings and thoughts of people, not about action.