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Throne of Blood: The Criterion Collection
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Criterion Collection Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (8th January 2014). |
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The Film
 What can possibly said about Akira Kurosawa that hasn't already been said? Arguably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Kurosawa's career was long, ambitious, varied and led to some of the most iconic, inspirational and exciting films to come out of japan and is the source of influence for countless filmmakers. How's that for a career? His films are not just moving pictures, they're art, which makes sense considering Kurosawa trained as a painter before embarking on his adventures in film. Interestingly enough, instead of storyboards, he paints full scale paintings to imagine his films. He started as an assistant director in the late 30's and quickly made the transition to director with "Sanshiro Sugata" (1943) and from then he would make 6 features before breaking out with "Drunken Angel" (1948), his first film outside of studio influence and would mark his first collaboration with Toshirô Mifune - whom he'd work with for the following decades and making their most memorable and impressive films together (16 films altogether), "Throne of Blood" being one of them. "Throne of Blood" is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragic play Macbeth, instead of taking place in Scotland the Kurosawa's film takes place in feudal Japan. After a significant victory, the war-hardened Taketoki Washizu (Toshirô Mifune) and Yoshiteru Miki (Akira Kubo) find themselves lost in the Cobweb Forest as they venture on an invitation to visit Lord Tsuzuki (Takamaru Sasaki). It is here that they encounter a mysterious and evil spirit who predicts the future and sees great things for the pair. After the strange encounter both Washizu and Miki are given titles and prominent placements, but Washizu's wife, Lady Asaji Washizu (Isuzu Yamada) is not satisfied and encourages her husband to seek out his destiny and make the spirit's prophecy even more true, especially if it means having to kill their beloved Emperor. Kurosawa has crafted a moody and atmospheric film based on The Bard's play, structured liked a Noh (A form of classical Japanese drama with men often playing both the male and female roles). The camera rarely moves, instead the film's focus is presided squarely on the actor's and their performances. The performances are overtly "theatrical" embellishing their actions, reactions and movements feel as if performed on a stage rather than captured on film. This process was intentional and helps to highlight the film's themes of power and how it can corrupt a person. At the center of all this is the always incredible Toshirô Mifune, who embodies his role of Washizu with great passion and bravado, delivering one his finest and most impressive screen appearances. The film's location (Mt. Fuji), its environment and the volcanic black sand found there offer up a unique visual aesthetic that lends to the film's overall brooding atmosphere - combined with elements of fog and haze, impeccable production design and Kurosawa's shot selection help towards immersing the viewer in this tragic and brutal world. Immersing viewers into the environments is one of Kurosawa's core strengths as a filmmaker and they couldn't be better present than here in "Throne of Blood". It's easy to see why this film in Kurosawa's filmography isn't his most universally embraced like other classics such as "Rashomon" (1950), "Ikiru" (1952), "Seven Samurai" (1954), "The Hidden Fortress" (1958), "Yojimbo" (1961), "Sanjuro" (1962) among many others - primarily because this film is one of his most moody pictures with more emphasis on the scene and the interactions between actors, the result are long takes with little to no camera movement, that process can seem drawn out and not to many people's tastes. It's a film that requires full attention and patience, but the gems are scattered throughout the film and are plentiful, I've seen this at least a dozen times and I'm constantly finding new things within Kurosawa's frame. "Throne of Blood" is truly a masterpiece and I'm extremely pleased with having it finally released in high definition on Blu-ray.
Video
Presented in the film's original ratio of 1.37:1 mastered in high definition 1080p 24/fps using AVC MPEG-4 compression. This all new Blu-ray release boasts a 2K image transfer, and for a film of its age and circumstance (the original negative no longer exists, so the transfer was created using a fine-grain master positive). As fas as detail goes it looks solid, however softness can be a slight issues in some scenes, dirt is also evident in parts, mostly between scene transitions. However, these gripes are minor considering the amount of work Criterion put in to present this film in the best possible way. Blacks are deep, gray and white levels look good.
Audio
The Criterion Collection has included the film's original audio track, a Japanese LPCM 1.0 mono track. The film is predominately dialogue-centric and the dialogue comes across clean and clearly. The audio track was also given a significant restoration with all flaws common to these tracks virtually eliminated, I couldn't hear any hiss, cracks or pops. The film's score comes across well and adds further depth to an otherwise limited single channel track. Optional subtitles are also included in English (translated Japanese film-translator by Linda Hoaglund) and English (translated Kurosawa expert by Donald Richie). Both these subtitle options are slightly different, essays in the liner notes explain the key differences but primarily the methodology used to translate the film.
Extras
The Criterion Collection has released this film on Blu-ray some well produced supplements, an audio commentary, a new documentary, the film's original theatrical trailer as well as a liner notes booklet, the package also includes a DVD version of the film. below is a closer look. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY The feature-length audio commentary features Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck, produced in 2003 for the initial Criterion DVD release, this track offers some excellent insight into the film, it's filmmaker and process of adapting one of Shakespeare's most popular plays into a feudal Japanese epic. He comments on Kurosawa's directorial style among other things in this highly informative track that's a must listen. A documentary on the making of the film is also included which was created as part of the Toho Masterworks series "Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create" (1080i) which runs for 22 minutes 44 seconds, this clip features features archival interviews with the film's director and some key cast and crew as they discuss the creative process on the making of this film. The film's original Japanese theatrical trailer (1080i) is also included which runs for 3 minutes 45 seconds. DISC TWO: DVD This is the DVD version of the film. Included in the case is a 28-page liner notes booklet featuring the following essays: - "Shakespeare Transposed" by film historian Stephen Prince. - Notes on the subtitling by Linda Hoaglund. - Notes on the subtitlig by Donald Richie.
Overall
"Throne of Blood" is a terrific film and one of Kurosawa's greatest, featuring brilliant atmosphere and theatrical performances, The Criterion Collection delivers a solid transfer with restored audio and while not plentiful they are quality supplements.
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