Many movies have been made based on Shakespearean plays. Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, and Taming of the Shrew are but a few of the many film adaptations. Akira Kurosawa, a Japanese director of live-action movies most famous for The Seven Samurai, made a version of Macbeth set in feudal Japan titled Throne of Blood. So did Kurosawa just throw out the knights and put in samurais instead? Or did he make an unfaithful adaptation with dragons and rats?

Overall, Kurosawa was pretty faithful to the original play, especially in the beginning. The basic plot remains the same, with names obviously changed, until the end. The Macbeth character is attacked by his own people, assaulted with hundreds of arrows and still living! It’s unintentionally hilarious to watch him as he tries to escape to a safe corner, only to find a dozen more arrows skewered through him.

This movie is rather hard to find, but would prove interesting to Kurosawa fans or Shakespeare buffs.

I give Throne of Blood *** out of ****.