Throne of Blood
1957
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Synopsis
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
Throne of Blood (1957) is a 1h 48min drama feature film by Akira Kurosawa. Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures.
Key facts
Cast
Toshirō Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura, Akira Kubo, Hiroshi Tachikawa, Minoru Chiaki, Takamaru Sasaki, Gen Shimizu
Original language
Japanese
First release
January 15, 1957 (Germany)
Production companies
Toho
Based on
Macbeth
Awards
Blue Ribbon Awards
Setting
Japan
Filming locations
Japan
Crew
Screenplay
Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Ryuzo Kikushima, Shinobu Hashimoto
Producer
Akira Kurosawa, Sōjirō Motoki
Cinematography
Asakazu Nakai
Editing
Akira Kurosawa
Music
Masaru Satō
Trailer
Stills
Reviews
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Titles
| Alternate title | Il Castello ragnatela | |
| Alternate title | Kumonosujo | |
| Alternate title | Le Château de l'araignée | |
| Alternate title | Le Trône sanglant | |
| Alternate title | Le Trône de sang | |
| Alternate title | Macbeth | |
| Alternate title | The Cobweb Castle | |
| Alternate title | The Throne of Blood |
Soundtracks
| Vinyl LP | The Throne Of Blood (2015) | 2 releases, 2015: Doxy Cinematic |
| CD | 蜘蛛巣城 オリジナル・サウンドトラック = The Throne Of Blood (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Masaru Sato (2001) | 1 release, 2001: Toho Music |
Releases & classifications
| Theatrical | Germany | January 15, 1957 |
| Theatrical | Japan | January 15, 1957 |
| Theatrical | United States | January 15, 1957 |
| Theatrical | United Kingdom | January 6, 1958 |
| Theatrical | Italy | October 9, 1959 |
| Theatrical | Denmark | October 1, 1965 |
| Theatrical | France | April 27, 1966 |
| Theatrical | South Korea | April 16, 2004 |
| Television | Czech Republic | November 23, 2008 |
| Theatrical | Philippines | September 14, 2010 |
| Theatrical | Australia | October 26, 2024 |
| Classification | Germany | 16 |
| Classification | United Kingdom | 12 |
Versions & editions
| Home video | Netherlands | March 15, 2005 |
| Home video | France | March 8, 2017 |
Full credits
| Director | Akira Kurosawa |
| Cast | Toshirō Mifune (Taketoki 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 (Washizu samurai), 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), Mitsuo Asano (Washizu samurai), Shōbun Inoue (Servant), Asao Koike (Tsuzuki soldier), 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) |
| Screenplay | Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Ryuzo Kikushima, Shinobu Hashimoto |
| Producer | Akira Kurosawa, Sōjirō Motoki |
| Cinematography | Asakazu Nakai |
| Editing | Akira Kurosawa |
| Music | Masaru Satō |
| Production design | Yoshirō Muraki |
| Sound | Ichirô Minawa |
| Costumes | Yoshirō Muraki |
Additional data: TMDB.
Source: Cinémathèque québécoise, linked catalogue data (CC BY 4.0)
