23 minutes to witness how Kurosawa turned Macbeth into cinematic poetry — and nearly killed his lead actor.
Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Throne of Blood" (1957).
Direction
Kurosawa's obsessive fog machine deployment that nearly suffocated Toshiro Mifune.
Production
The real volcanic ash locations that made actors weep.
Director
Yoshinari Okamoto
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Those were genuinely skilled archers firing real arrows at Toshiro Mifune, who wore protective boards under his costume. Kurosawa rejected the first takes because Mifune's fear looked 'too fake.'
Kurosawa chose volcanic Mt. Fuji foothills for Spider's Web Castle because the ash made actors naturally miserable — no acting required for psychological torture.
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