Throne of Blood is a 1957 Japanese jidaigeki film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of English dramatist William Shakespeare's play Macbeth (1606) from Medieval Scotland to feudal Japan, with stylistic elements drawn from Noh drama. The film stars Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada in the lead roles, modelled on the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
Theatrical release poster
Noh was an influence on the film.
Cast and crew members on the open set of Throne of Blood, published in the early September 1956 issue of Kinema Junpo. (from left to right) Shinjin Akiike, Fumio Yanoguchi, Kuichirō Kishida, Samaji Nonagase, Takao Saito, Toshiro Mifune (in the jeep), Minoru Chiaki, Takashi Shimura, Teruyo Nogami (scripter), Yoshirō Muraki, Akira Kurosawa, Hiroshi Nezu, Asakazu Nakai, and Sōjirō Motoki.
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed 30 films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dynamic style, strongly influenced by Western cinema yet distinct from it; he was involved with all aspects of film production.
Kurosawa on the set of Seven Samurai in December 1953
From the left: Kurosawa, Ishirō Honda, and Senkichi Taniguchi with their mentor Kajirō Yamamoto, late 1930s
Kurosawa (left) and Mikio Naruse (right) during the production of Avalanche (1937)
Filming of The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, 1945
