If one were to have a discussion about the greatest filmmakers of all time, one would be remiss to not mention the master himself, Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa's work is vast, formidable, universally praised and has had a lasting impression on film as a whole. Whether it be by his influence or someone blatantly lifting his ideas, Kurosawa's mark is not often hard to find. Amidst his thirty films, many of which are part of the Criterion Collection, I chose for my first Kurosawa entry to be one where he used a form of inspiration; "Throne of Blood". "Throne of Blood" is Kurosawa's own take on Shakespeare's play"Macbeth",with the setting moved to feudal Japan and also adapted to a time in Japanese history that greatly mimicked the Scottish story it was embracing. With only minor alterations to the original work, the film exists as a remarkable re-imagining of Shakespeare's heralded play, which coincidentally is my favorite of his plays.
The film begins with messengers warning of an oncoming invasion from a rival clan, which is then swiftly halted by two armies led by Washizu (Kurosawa favorite Toshiro Mifune) and Miki, two very promising samurai. While returning to base, the two find themselves terribly lost in a forest where they come across an old forest spirit that foretells the two samurai's futures within rank and power. Once free of the forest and back to their daimyo (territorial leader), they are instantly promoted and the first of the spirit's predictions comes true. Here is where the films overall themes of greed and ascension by any means necessary begin to take shape.
The truest of any comparisons to "Macbeth" lie within the performance of Isuzu Yamada. Her character, Asaji, is, for all intents and purposes, the Lady Macbeth of the film and I have never encountered such a haunting, downright creepy and numb portrayal of the character. After receiving the foretold promotion, Washizu shares the remaining prophecies with Asaji, and she is the one who spurs Washizu on towards corruption, power and murder in order to attain what has been predicted to be his anyways. This leads Washizu on a downward spiral of betrayal towards not only his friend Miki, but towards his own people while at the same time he is enjoying, to an extent, his rise in power and prestige. In the end, Washizu is turned on by his own people and, unlike the duel that does in Macbeth, Washizu is given an amazingly powerful sendoff that is very fitting of the story and of Kurosawa's style.
With "Throne of Blood", Kurosawa is able to take this renowned tale, give it his own interpretation, and make it a beast all it's own. Whilst retaining the overall moral tale, the film also incorporates its own history to the tale, along with a visual style that is positively astounding considering the film was made in 1957. I don't see it often mention about the film, but there also exists quite a horror element to the overall film. From the forest spirit, the near "walking dead" nature of Asaji, countless visions of those Washizu betrayed to the atmosphere of the film, Kurosawa builds a very dark world for the story to take place in, and I feel that it couldn't possibly be more fitting.
No comments:
Post a Comment