Throne of Blood Akira Kurosawa's Term Paper

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The friendship is established early in the film as it is between Macbeth and Banquo but the sense of betrayal is particularly poignant in Throne of Blood. At the start of the film, Washizu and Miki seem like ordinary samurai: jock-like and summarily aggressive. They are not necessarily good people, and they are certainly not saints, but neither were they corrupt. Indeed, Miki's conscience remains unsullied, whereas his former best friend falls into the trap laid by Asaji. More conniving than any other character in the movie, Asaji is the sole driving force behind the plot as well. The witch did influence Washizu but not nearly to the extent that Asaji did. The witch merely pried into Washizu's soul, reading there is hidden desire for greatness. Asaji tore into her husband's heart, rendering asunder any modicum of reason or humanity within him. The audience can see the slow breakdown of Washizu's character even more so than we notice it in Macbeth. At first Washizu disagrees strongly with his wife. He argues with her while she disparages Tsuzuki and Miki. Yet his will dissolves slowly. Washizu comes to believe his wife not because he is a bad man but because he was aware of the precarious power samurai leaders have. In other words, Washizu came to fear his wife's words and acted out of self-protection. Doing so he unfortunately sacrificed not only his personal integrity but also his ability to trust. When towards the end of the film Miki apparently retains his faith in his best friend, the audience feels the full impact of the betrayal.

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Miki said to his son that Washizu promised him the throne in lieu of his own heir; those were Miki's last words spoken on-screen as the next thing we know he has died.

Incorporating Japanese imagery into Macbeth enhances the original Elizabethan story, too. The desolate landscape must be nearly opposite to the verdant Scottish highlands upon which Shakespeare's tale was told. The lone witch seems more sinister than the three who chant around their cauldron: her solitude makes her extremely powerful. She is shot in striking whiteness, which contrasts with the bleak darkness of the Cobweb Forest. Symbolism is also more striking in Kurosawa's film than it is in Shakespeare's play because Kurosawa includes an array of motifs ranging from birds to spiders. Many of these are relevant in Throne of Blood precisely because of the impact of Shinto and indigenous Japanese religion.

Kurosawa honors to the Bard with his 1957 production Throne of Blood. Almost true to form to the original play, Throne of Blood diverges just enough to make the Japanese version compelling. Superior in some ways due to the auditory and visual impact of the film medium, Throne of Blood also proves the universality of Shakespearean themes. Macbeth may lend itself especially well to Japanese feudal society. The social and political structures in the play and the movie are the same: including themes like corruption, treason, and….....

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