THRONE OF BLOOD

(November 1961, U.S.)

Over the last few years, aside from the movies I've discussed on my blog, my time and efforts have been largely concentrated on the movies of my childhood released during the late 1970s and early 1980s. My commitment to these films is what has enabled me to write and publish my first book, IT'S STRICTLY PERSONAL: A Nostalgic Movie Memoir of 1975-1982 (available now for purchase on Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com and iTunes.Apple.com). Somewhere along the way, though, I lost sight of the films that hold a great deal of importance to not only myself, but the world of cinema, in general. The great works, particularly the early black and white classics, by men like Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini and Akira Kurosawa cannot be ignored, and I decided it was time for me to revisit these important pieces of art. As timing would have it by way of the alphabetical order in which my blog functions, Kurosawa's THRONE OF BLOOD is the first film I'm rediscovering among the many art house essentials that I own on DVD.

Like me, you probably had to read four years of Shakespeare in high school. MACBETH may have been one of them (it was for me in the tenth grade). THRONE OF BLOOD, which translates into "Spider Web Castle" in Japanese, is a samurai film based on ol' William's tragic work about the consequential physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for their own ambition. In Kurosawa's translation, the models of "Macbeth" and "Lady Macbeth" are played by Toshiro Mifune (a longtime Kurosawa collaborator) and Isuza Yamada and the time is feudal Japan instead of Medieval Scotland. Like the great tragedy, the film tells the story of a warrior, who through the manipulation of his ambitious and calculating wife, plots to assassinate his sovereign lord. What makes the role of "Lady Macbeth" so intriguing is that through most of her constant manipulation of her husband, she manages to maintain a persistent stoic look on her face. The face would suggest a passive and even obeying wife who has been trained to know her rightful place with her domineering husband, all the while cleverly twisting and turning her husbands thoughts and feelings into intents of violence and betrayal in order to achieve a higher status in the kingdom, which of course, will bring about a higher level of existence to the wife, as well.

All of this ambition and betrayal is first foretold by an old and dark spirit in the forest who is meant to adapt the three witches of the original MACBETH. This old spirit is a rather freaky looking image that one might equate with a B-movie horror story on late night TV instead of a literate Shakespearean tale...

Throughout the film, the spirit's predictions of lust and power are fulfilled and blood is spilled. And as "Lady Macbeath" herself become engrossed more deeply into the oncoming tragedies, the blood cannot wash from her hands. Unlike the original play whereas the simple dialogue of "Out damn spot!" is enough to suffice the torment of one's crimes, Kurosawa's heroine (so to say) is frantic with grief and panic as she continuously struggled to remove the blood-soaked stains from her hands of sin.

Like any tale of the samurai, the film is not without its great photography of great warriors riding into battle and fighting to their death. The end of "Macbeth" himself is a rather graphic and terrifying one as the great master's troops turn on him for his treachery and begin firing a multitude of arrows at him from seemingly every direction and every corner (real arrows, by the way, shot by skilled archers). One cannot help but feel the horror of one's oncoming and ultimate demise as we study the look of terror on Mifune's face as he watches the arrows hit the wall nearby, barely missing him...

Inevitably, however, the great king succumbs when an arrow leaves a mortal wound and his enemies approach the castle gates to secure their victory.

THRONE OF BLOOD is a brilliant visual descent into the jaws of ambition, greed and spiritual superstition. Like all of Kurosawa's black and white films, the simple cinematography of natural elements like trees, fog, mist, wind and rain doesn't fail to compliment the story it's telling. While it may not exactly be Shakespeare's MACBETH, per say, it's one of the most graphic and powerful versions of the play that would surely make even Orson Welles himself stand up and take notice.

And so, my quest to replenish my life with the essential art films that really matter begins with Akira Kurosawa and THRONE OF BLOOD...

Favorite line or dialogue:

Lady Asaji Washizu: "It won't go away! The blood won't go away!"