Throne of Blood (1957) on Netflix
A spirit in the Spider's Web Forest foretells the futures of the commanders Washizu and Miki. Its first words come true, and Washizu's wife Asaji presses him to seize the lordship.
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Trailer
Plot summary
Victorious in battle against their lord's enemies, the commanders Washizu and Miki are summoned to Spider's Web Castle. In the Spider's Web Forest, a spirit tells them what lies ahead: Washizu is to be given the Northern Garrison, Miki the first fortress, Washizu will later rule Spider's Web Castle, and Miki's son Yoshiteru will one day be lord. Neither man takes the words seriously until then. At the castle, Lord Tsuzuki grants them exactly the posts the spirit named. Washizu tells his wife Asaji what was foretold, and she urges him to speed the prophecy along by killing Tsuzuki and taking his place.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Throne of Blood (1957)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
SPOILER
Washizu's death scene in Throne of Blood, where his own archers turn on him, was performed with real arrows shot by skilled archers; Toshiro Mifune waved his arms to signal which way he would move so they would not hit him by accident.- Building the castle set was so hard, with too few people and a location far from Tokyo, that a nearby U.S. Marine Corps base and a whole MP battalion helped clear the ground and build it.
SPOILER
Toshiro Mifune's death scene was the inspiration for Piper Laurie's death scene in the 1976 film Carrie, where Carrie White throws knives at her using her psychic powers.- Throne of Blood was the first film to be screened at the 1st BFI London Film Festival, on October 16, 1957.
- Akira Kurosawa had wanted to film his own Macbeth since finishing Rashomon, but he postponed the project for several years after learning that Orson Welles had released his own version of Macbeth in 1948.
- The scene of the Spider's Web Forest trees advancing on the castle was made by Toho's special effects department under Eiji Tsuburaya, and was originally longer until Kurosawa cut several shots of trees because he was unimpressed by them.
