How Do You Say "The Scottish Play" in Japanese?

 Macbeth.

A play so dark and violent, actors refuse even to speak its name out loud; although truthfully, there are far worse in Shakespeare's repertoire. Titus Andronicus, anyone? Coriolanus? And don't even get me started on John Webster (but I digress).

Macbeth, of course, tells the story of the extremely brutal Medieval Scottish warrior who is told by a trio of witches that he will one day be King and (with a little encouragement from his wife) decides to murder, well, everyone, really. 

Things do not go well (sorry; spoilers).

Over the years, several films have attempted to update this ultra-violent tale of ambition, blood-lust and walking trees. Depressingly, the basic story seems to work beautifully in virtually any historical context, as long as that context features aggressive, ambitious men (hmmm). To wit, there have been re-tellings of Macbeth set in the American Mafia...

in Michelin-starred restaurants...


in hamburger joints (don't ask)...


and (most relevant to us this week) in Feudal Japan.


Throne of Blood is Akira Kurosawa's specific take on Macbeth; very closely following the basic plot of Shakespeare's original, but re-inventing it as a tale of warring Samurai, and staging it in the style of Noh-Theatre.


It is, I think, significant that many people regard this as the best version of Macbeth on film, despite the fact that it doesn't actually use any of Shakespeare's text. Toshiro Mifune plays Macbeth (or Washizu , as he is here) as a very effective warrior, but a hopelessly inept leader; completely out of his depth once he seizes power.





It says a lot about Shakespeare that films as radically different as Throne of Blood and 10 Things I Hate About You can both be directly adapted from his writings.

We will be screening Throne of Blood at the Victoria Park Baptist Church on Thursday, the 10th of February at 7.30pm. Come and see for yourself!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's not about the dragon...

Image
Imagine a story about a kingdom that is being tormented by a monstrous, fire-breathing dragon. The only way to keep the dragon at bay is to offer up a virgin girl as a sacrifice twice a year. Inevitably there comes a day when the daughter of the king is selected for sacrifice, and it falls to a brave and dashing young hero to slay the dragon and save the kingdom (and the Princess). Does this story sound familiar? Does it sound a trifle clichéd? Does it... remind you of anyone? The story of St. George and the Dragon has been a popular narrative trope for millennia, and of course depictions in the visual arts are legion. The basic elements of the story are generally the same: the imperilled virgin; the fearsome dragon; the brave hero.  Occasionally, there are variations. "So I was out one morning, walking my dragon, when this horrible man comes along..." Given cinema's love for all things beastly, it was inevitable that Hollywood would eventually turn its attention to the
Read more

The Night of the She-Cats...

Image
The moment is come. This Thursday is the 31st of October, and that can only mean one thing. It's Halloween! coffee and cake will be available... When we gather for our night of revelry, we shall dance and sing and conjure up the unholy denizens of the night. Then we shall offer up our tributes to the dark forces that dwelleth underground as we feed off the vital forces of the innocent. Also chocolate. an unholy denizen of the night Before we do all that, we will of course be showing our traditional Halloween film, as has become our wont at this time of year. Since the theme of our current series is Genre Fluid , I have chosen a horror film that stretched the definition of horror when it was first released in 1942. It also happens to be one of the great films of all time. In 1942, the horror genre was dominated by Universal Studios, who had enjoyed runaway success with their screen versions of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man etc.  ...which were followed (very successfully) by fi
Read more

How Do You Say "Glasnost" in Klingon?

Image
Funny thing about wars. They end . They might not end gracefully, and they might not end the way you want them to, but there will always come a point when the slaughter stops; sometimes because there is simply no one left to slaughter.  Or no one left with the ability to continue. Those of you who have been following my current film season ( Genre Fluid ) will know that I have been exploring portrayals of the Cold War over the past few weeks. The Thief was explicitly a Cold War espionage story, albeit one that didn't have a lot to say for itself (if you know what I mean). The Big Country was an epic pacifist Western, but director William Wyler had intended the story as a very obvious allegory for the escalating hostility between the two superpowers. Our next film is an allegory for the end of the Cold War, although it might not be the one you were expecting. This is Nicholas Meyer. Back in 1991, Nicholas Meyer was a successful and highly respected writer/director in the very pri
Read more

We Really Have to Show This One...

Image
Our current series (as you probably know by now) has been showcasing films that are re-workings of classic works of literature and drama. Some of these films have been very well-known ( Forbidden Planet; O Brother, Where Art Thou? ); some, possibly less so ( In the Bleak Midwinter; All Night Long ).  There is one film, however, which almost inevitably must be included in a series like this. If we are really going to explore films that take classic stories and translate them into completely new contexts and environments, then we can't really let the series conclude without showing Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now - which takes Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and transports it to the Vietnam War. I'm just kidding. I have no plans to show Apocalypse Now . I have no plans to show Apocalypse Ever . Yes, it's based on Heart of Darkness , but... it's truly awful. No, the film I do mean is of course West Side Story .  As is very well documented by now, West Si
Read more

Down With... Netflix

Image
This week's film is rated 15 in the UK, and is in French, Arabic and Wolof, with English subtitles. Our next film tells the story of a young French girl growing up in a conservative Muslim household on the outskirts of Paris. Writer/Director Maïmouna Doucouré drew upon her own experiences growing up in just such an environment, drawing a stark contrast between the ultra-traditionalism of her family life and the loud, unrelenting pressure of life in the age of social media. It's a powerful (and very honest) film that tells a difficult story about a young girl torn between one world, in which women are little more than sexual objects, and another world. In which women are little more than sexual objects. The film was very well received at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Directing Award in 2020. The star, Fathia Youssouf, received a César Award for Most Promising Actress. Then it was picked up by Netflix for worldwide distribution. And all hell broke loose. That'
Read more