Akira Kurosawa - Throne of Blood (1957) A couple of days ago I watched a pretty run of the mill Shakespearean adaptation ith 2018's Ophelia, now to cleanse my palate I watch a truly great adaptation of Macbeth in Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. What Kurosawa does here is a complex translation of the play into a Japanese context, this is an adaptation that goes far beyond language and setting and characters, it also adapts cultural signifiers, symbols and motivations into a Japanese context. Kurosawa does this by making Shakespeare within the context of Noh theatre, the film is full of allusions, ways of acting, and moving in the scene that refer to Japanese classical theatre. If you think sometimes character's faces look exaggeratedly expressive that's simply because they are mimicking masks. Look at Mifune's face with the fixed downward mouth and angry eyes, or Yamada's white painted face expressionless with lips that almost do not move as she speaks. These aren't faces, these are masks, this is Kurosawa translating the respect that Shakespeare achieved in the West to a Japanese reality where Noh is the noble form of theatre Kurosawa also changes elements of the story, the witches of Macbeth become forest spirits which serve the prophetic function much more easily in the Japanese context. And then the is film is also a work of beauty, the fog around the castle, the trees moving through the fog, the hut of the ghost and the final death scene are all astounding. Also I want the screen that is at the back of the Spider Web castle Hall for my house. Thanks. (4.5/5) #akirakurosawa #movie #film #throneofblood #cinema #japanese #japanesecinema #cinephile #movieposter #filmposter #takashishimura #drama #samurai #toshiromifune #japan #shakespeare #macbeth (at Lisbon, Portugal) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1DUJy-FWXa/?igshid=kpj8lz58qt4g