Film: Throne of Blood (Kumonosu-jo)

March 2, 1999

Film: Throne of Blood (Kumonosu-jo)
Director: Akira Kurosawa. (1957, 110 min.)
With Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Minoru Chiaki, and Takashi Shimura
Miller Theatre, Columbia University (116th St. & Broadway)
6:00 PM

In the first of his adaptations of Shakespeare plays to a Japanese historical context (the other being the 1985 Ran, based on King Lear), Kurosawa sets Macbeth in Japan of the 15th or 16th century. The film is full of the imagery of the Noh drama, and viewers are plunged into an atmosphere of obsessive madness and supernatural compulsion. Stylized Noh-like acting and impeccable authenticity of historical details result in a film of overwhelming power and beauty.  Film stars Toshiro Mifune, as the Macbeth-figure, and Isuzu Yamada, as his wife, give two of the most memorable performances of their long, celebrated careers.

Film: High and Low (Tengoku to Jigoku)
Director: Akira Kurosawa. (1963, 143 min.)
With Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyoko Kagawa, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Takashi Shimura,  Susumu Fujita
Miller Theatre, Columbia University (116th St. & Broadway)
8:30 PM
Well known for the variety of his sources (including Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, Gorki, as well as American Westerns and Kabuki and Noh dramas), Kurosawa here adapts an American detective thriller (King’s Ransom by Ed McBain) to contemporary Japan. When the son of a   wealthy executive’s chauffeur is kidnapped by mistake—the executive’s own son was the target—the businessman is faced with a moral dilemma. Should he throw away his personal and corporate fortune to rescue the poor underling’s child? As might be expected, Kurosawa’s humanism is combined with dazzling visual style and narrative technique to produce a drama of unforgettable power.
Part of “Kurosawa Remembered” Film Series