Throne of Blood (1957)

It's my dad's 50th birthday today, so I thought it only fair he help me decide which movie I watch. We don't have much in common as far as favourite movies go, dad likes samurai movies, I usually like anything other than that (it's nature, you know, hate what your parent's love and vice versa). But anyway, he particularly likes the work of director Akira Kurosawa. Coincidentally, if Kurosawa had been alive today it would have been his 101st birthday, and since he's dad's favourite director and since they're both born the same day, I thought it only fair to do a Kurosawa film.

I gotta say I was dreading this, but Throne of Blood is strangely good. It's loosely based on Shakespeare's Macbeth except it's told as a samurai story set in feudal Japan. Two army generals, Washizu(Toshiro Mifune) and Miki(Minoru Chiaki), return from battle and are greeted by a spirit creature which predicts that one will become king and the other's son will also become Lord of the Spider Web Palace. When they return home they are both instantly promoted, causing Washizu to believe what the Spirit Creature has foretold. Aided by his wife, he murders the Lord, taking his place as the leader.

I should probably mention the impact Kurosawa has had on Hollywood. Not only did his movies get turned into westerns like The Magnificent Seven, they have influenced a countless amount of directors and filmmakers. Throne of Blood inspired the death scene in Carrie and apparently TS Eliot loved it too(well whaddya know).

I have a lot of love for Throne of Blood. Kurosawa creates this wonderfully eerie setting with smoke and the looming Spider Web Palace in the background. Visually, it's a beautiful film, I think if you pause it at any stage it will look quite dynamic, the characters have this force about them that you can't help but watch. The music is atmospheric and fits the setting and subject matter perfectly, it was probably my favourite aspect of this movie.

The acting isn't perfect, there are a few death scenes that may make you chuckle but I don't think that matters too much, this film is as more about ambience and setting the scene perfectly. I love that constipated expression on Washizu's face for the second half of the film, it's the personification of paranoia. In fact, I like his facial expressions in general, they're so close to being over the top. And his wife Asaji(Isuzu Yamada) is nicely played as this manipulative and evil woman. She scared me a little... honestly.

This was a good opportunity to watch something that I'd never choose myself and I really enjoyed it. It's important to push yourself out of your comfort zone sometimes, you know? Sometimes you'll be pleasantly rewarded and it's what makes something like this blog work.