Throne of Blood: Close Analysis

Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood (1957) is a masterful transposition of Shakespeare’s Macbeth into feudal Japan. Noh Theatre inspires all aspects of the film’s aesthetics as Kurosawa crafts the elements of performance, set design, sound, editing and cinematography to evoke a haunting atmosphere of fate, ambition, and moral decay. In doing so, this classic film transforms a western classical tragedy into a uniquely Japanese cinematic experience while remaining all the elements vital to Shakespeare’s play. This analysis uses the order of Kurosawa’s name familiar to western audiences (given name/surname). Other Japanese names are similarly ordered for consistency. Apologies if any names or Japanese words are mispronounced. Film Analysis Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?https:/...