Throne of Blood

Kurosawa adapts my favourite Shakespeare play, creating a mood of oppressive gloom and venality, perfectly enacted by a bemused Mifune and icily sinister Yamada, who essentially steals the film (she has an epic “bitch, please!” moment early on). Shout out to JSchlansky, but Kurosawa does indeed manage to satisfy two disparate camps, producing an authentic Samurai picture combined with a full blooded Shakespeare adaptation; while none of the Bard’s prose is present, there’s nothing here that doesn’t feel completely at one with his style; even some of the overwrought performance choices feel right at home with this material.