Kumonosu-jou (1957)

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Shinobu Hashimoto (writer)
Ryûzô Kikushima (writer)

Release Date:

22 November 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Fantasy | Thriller | War

Plot:

A ruthlessly ambitious lord, egged on by his wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become Emperor.

Plot Keywords:

Prophecy | Forest | Spirit | Shakespeare's Macbeth | Surrealism

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Toshirô Mifune	...	Taketori Washizu
Isuzu Yamada	...	Lady Asaji Washizu
Takashi Shimura	...	Noriyasu Odagura
Akira Kubo	...	Yoshiteru Miki
Hiroshi Tachikawa	...	Kunimaru Tsuzuki (as Yoichi Tachikawa)
Minoru Chiaki	...	Yoshiaki Miki
Takamaru Sasaki	...	Kuniharu Tsuzuki
Kokuten Kodo	...	Military Commander
Kichijiro Ueda	...	Washizu's workman
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Old Woman at castle
Chieko Naniwa	...	Old Ghost Woman
Nakajiro Tomita	...	Second Military Commander
Yû Fujiki	...	Washizu samurai
Sachio Sakai	...	Washizu samurai
Shin Otomo	...	Washizu samurai

Also Known As:

Throne of Blood (UK) (USA) (original subtitled version)
Cobweb Castle
Macbeth (USA)
Spider Web Castle
The Castle of the Spider's Web

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording) | Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:PG | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Switzerland:14 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1991) | UK:12 (re-rating) (2001) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Izu Peninsula, Shizuoka, Japan

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

The famous arrow scene near the end was in fact done with real arrows. That is, the arrows hitting the wooden planks were not done with special effects, but rather choreographed with archers. Mifune waves his arms to brush away the arrows sticking from the planks, indicating to them that he wanted to go in that particular direction. The real arrows were included to get Mifune's facial expressions of real-life fear, which is exceptionally hard to imitate. Of course, the arrows that hit the Mifune character were bamboo fakes.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Mifune and his friend come to the forest clearing where the spirit dwells, as they get down from their horses, all of Mifune's arrows fall out of his quiver. In the next shot however, the quiver is full of arrows again.

Quotes:

Taketori Washizu: I am drunk...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

Kurosawa's masterful retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth

Akira Kurosawa would end up using Shakespearean influence on two of his films. Throne of Blood is Kurosawa's adaptation of Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, but in a feudal Japanese setting.

The film begins with Taketoki Washizu (Toshiro Mifune) and Yoshaki Miki (Minoru Chiaki) winning a fierce battle for their lord. Afterwards, they are invited to the lord's castle. On their way there, they come across a spirit in the forest. the spirit tells Washizu that he will soon become in command of a castle but that he will not rule long, and Yoshaki's son will soon takeover. Washizu is soon convinced that these predictions will come true, and becomes consumed with greed and evil in order to make sure that they do indeed come true.

In this film Kurosawa uses a more still and quiet filming style than was used in his previous films (with the exception of Ikiru). A style that he continued to use for the rest of his career. The Shakespearean influence is obviously there, not only in story, but the film itself has a very theatre-esque feeling to it.