Throne of Blood | Blu-ray

The first of Akira Kurosawa's three Shakespeare adaptations (along with The Bad Sleep Well and Ran). Throne of Blood is perhaps the most natural of any of them, turning Macbeth into a chanbara drama, to which the original text so easily fits.

As with the other two films, one of the most startling things about Kurosawa's adaptations in relation to other similar attempts from other directors, is just how well he understands the underlying themes of the text. So that his adaptations can depart liberally from Shakespeare's actual prose without losing sight of the fundamental story being told.

Unsurprisingly, Toshiro Mifune brings yet another masterpiece performance to the screen, commanding every scene as Taketoki Washizu (Macbeth). Chieko Naniwa also delivers a career highlight performance as the ominous and ghostly witch. Stands alongside Polanski's 1971 production as the best versions of Shakespeare's play on screen.