04-28-2020, 11:04 AM
Kurosawa does Shakespeare, modeling this on MacBeth. I'm way out of my depth here, having read little Shakespeare. Toshiro Mifune plays General Washizu (Macbeth) and Isuzu Yamada plays his wife (Lady Macbeth), who will never ever catch the coronavirus, let me tell you.
The acting is over the top (Noh drama style), with Mifune at his expressive peak. After repelling invaders, General Washizu (Mifune) and General Miki (Akira Kubo) are on their way to Spider Web Castle to receive commendations, but they become lost in the surrounding Spider Web Forest with its labyrinthine trails. Eventually they encounter a spirit who prophecies great things for them, planting seeds of ambition that grow out of control and lead to tragedy.
The Japanese title is Kumonosu-jō, which translates to "Spider Web Castle," and there are web and spinning motifs throughout.
There are few surprises in this, even if you haven't read Macbeth (which I haven't), as it's a morality play, and the prophecies (and their odd wording) give fair warning to the viewer every step of the way. But Mifune is Mifune, and he is so electrifying here that it bears watching for his performance alone. And the final death scene (am I allowed to reveal that? It is a tragedy, after all) is so incredibly powerful, and I'm still trying to figure out how all that was shot (sections of footage could not have been reversed (a common trick) because, well, you can't reverse all that stuff!)
Not as satisfying for me as other Mifune fare, because I like surprises, and like I said, this is a morality tale with everything prophecied beforehand, and done in a Noh drama style. But still, it has some very powerful moments. That forest is so well done near the end, and the death scene, and Mifune. Yeah, gotta see this.
Oh, Takashi Shimura is present, essentially playing McDuff, so he beats Mifune for a change! Oh, and I noticed Otsu (Kaoru Yachigusa) putting in a brief appearance near the end, though uncredited.
The acting is over the top (Noh drama style), with Mifune at his expressive peak. After repelling invaders, General Washizu (Mifune) and General Miki (Akira Kubo) are on their way to Spider Web Castle to receive commendations, but they become lost in the surrounding Spider Web Forest with its labyrinthine trails. Eventually they encounter a spirit who prophecies great things for them, planting seeds of ambition that grow out of control and lead to tragedy.
The Japanese title is Kumonosu-jō, which translates to "Spider Web Castle," and there are web and spinning motifs throughout.
There are few surprises in this, even if you haven't read Macbeth (which I haven't), as it's a morality play, and the prophecies (and their odd wording) give fair warning to the viewer every step of the way. But Mifune is Mifune, and he is so electrifying here that it bears watching for his performance alone. And the final death scene (am I allowed to reveal that? It is a tragedy, after all) is so incredibly powerful, and I'm still trying to figure out how all that was shot (sections of footage could not have been reversed (a common trick) because, well, you can't reverse all that stuff!)
Not as satisfying for me as other Mifune fare, because I like surprises, and like I said, this is a morality tale with everything prophecied beforehand, and done in a Noh drama style. But still, it has some very powerful moments. That forest is so well done near the end, and the death scene, and Mifune. Yeah, gotta see this.
Oh, Takashi Shimura is present, essentially playing McDuff, so he beats Mifune for a change! Oh, and I noticed Otsu (Kaoru Yachigusa) putting in a brief appearance near the end, though uncredited.
I'm nobody's pony.
