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One of the movies we watched in the Kurosawa course I audited was Throne of Blood, which was an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth set in 16th century Japan. Like some of Kurosawa's other adaptation, this is a loose one that basically follows a little bit of the plot structure and not much else. His version begins with two lords, Washizu (Toshiro Mifune - who else?) and Miki(Minoru Chiaki), who come across a mysterious figure in a forest on their return trip from a victorious battle. The person/spirit predicts their immediate futures, which prove to be true when they return home. Washizu's evil wife urges him to push these predictions, even killing the Emperor.

This is a somewhat slow-paced movie in between all of the battle scenes. There's a lot of heated conversations in unadorned Japanese rooms, and honestly, since the class was right after lunch, I got a bit sleepy. One thing is certain - Kurosawa was good at developing evil female characters. But I don't think it was simply me. In the beginning, when the two characters are riding home in the fog, to emphasize the idea that the fog confuses them, Kurosawa shows multiple shots of them stopping and starting on their horses while they try to get their bearing. The shots aren't particularly creative and don't make the audience feel the confusion - the characters have to announce their confusion - it just looks like watching repetitive takes of the same scene, whereas if a camera had followed them along for a certain amount of time and filmed from behind them so we could see their point of view, we might be able to identify with them. There are different ways to emphasize ideas, and sometimes I feel as if Kurosawa had a set idea in mind and didn't have an editing eye. The length of this movie showed that to me.

That's not to say there aren't plenty of perfect shots in the film, which certainly looks grand. The spirit figure also tells Washizu that his reign will end when the trees attack, which sounds like a vague and harmless remark, but at one point, Washizu looks out on the forest, and it appears as if the forest has come to life and is storming his fortress. It turns out to be men with trees, but Washizu has no idea, and the effect is a memorable one.

The scenes with the mysterious figure are transfixing as well. And of course, at the very end, there's a battle scene with arrows flying all over the place that sticks in my mind. I liked hearing about some of Kurosawa's methods, one of which in this scene was to hire professional archers, who actually did shoot arrows right next to Mifune. It definitely adds to the scene and makes us feel the severity of his danger and imminent demise.

So, while Throne of Blood wasn't my favorite movie in story, it was memorable in other ways, and for that reason I am glad I had a chance to see it and learn about it.