Throne of Blood (1957)
Throne of Blood (1957)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Throne of Blood is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Max Amazon Channel
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
Cast & Crew.
Toshirō Mifune
Taketori Washizu
Isuzu Yamada
Lady Asaji Washizu
Takashi Shimura
Noriyasu Odagura
Akira Kubo
Yoshiteru Miki
Hiroshi Tachikawa
Kunimaru Tsuzuki
Minoru Chiaki
Yoshiaki Miki
Takamaru Sasaki
Kuniharu Tsuzuki
Gen Shimizu
Kokuten Kōdō
Military Commander
Kichijirō Ueda
Washizu's workman
Eiko Miyoshi
Old Woman at castle
Chieko Naniwa
Old Ghost Woman
Nakajirō Tomita
Military Commander #2
Yū Fujiki
Washizu samurai
Sachio Sakai
Washizu samurai
Shin Ōtomo
Washizu samurai
Yoshio Tsuchiya
Washizu samurai
Yoshio Inaba
Military Commander #3
Takeo Oikawa
Miki party member
Akira Tani
Washizu soldier
Ikio Sawamura
Washizu soldier
Yutaka Sada
Washizu samurai
Seijirô Onda
Miki party member #2
Shinpei Takagi
Commander
Masao Masuda
Commander
Shōbun Inoue
Servant
Takeshi Katō
Guard killed by Washizu
Hitoshi Takagi
Tsuzuki guard
Michiya Higuchi
Tsuki guard
Senkichi Ōmura
Washizu samurai
Gorô Sakurai
Servant
Shirō Tsuchiya
Commander
Takeo Matsushita
Commander
Jun Ōtomo
Commander
Kamayuki Tsubono
Servant
Fuminori Ōhashi
Samurai
Isao Kimura
Phantom samurai
Seiji Miyaguchi
Phantom samurai
Nobuo Nakamura
Phantom samurai
Masaru Satō
Original Music Composer
Sōjirō Motoki
Producer
Yoshirō Muraki
Costume Design / Production Design
Ryūzō Kikushima
Screenplay
Akira Kurosawa
Producer / Editor / Director / Screenplay
Asakazu Nakai
Director of Photography
Shinobu Hashimoto
Screenplay
Hideo Oguni
Screenplay
William Shakespeare
Theatre Play
Media.
Details.
Release DateJanuary 15, 1957
Original Name蜘蛛巣城
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 48m
Box Office$13,422
Filming LocationsJapan
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Throne of Blood (Japanese: 蜘蛛巣城, Hepburn: Kumonosu-jō, lit. 'The Spider Web Castle') is a 1957 Japanese jidaigeki film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of English dramatist William Shakespeare's play Macbeth (1606) from Medieval Scotland to feudal Japan, with stylistic elements drawn from Noh drama. The film stars Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada in the lead roles, modelled on the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
As with the play, the film tells the story of a warrior who assassinates his sovereign at the urging of his ambitious wife. Kurosawa was a fan of the play and intended to make his own adaptation for several years, delaying it after learning of Orson Welles' Macbeth (1948). Among his changes was the ending, which required archers to shoot arrows around Mifune. The film was shot around Mount Fuji and Izu Peninsula. With a budget of US$350,000 (equivalent to $3,797,000 in 2023), the film was one of the most expensive films ever made in Japan at the time of its release.
Despite the change in setting and language and numerous creative liberties, Throne of Blood is often considered one of the best film adaptations of the classic play, and has received much critical praise. The film won two Mainichi Film Awards, including Best Actor for Toshiro Mifune.