The castle in the cobweb forest
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The castle in the cobweb forest |
| Original title | Kumonosu-jō |
| Country of production | Japan |
| original language | Japanese |
| Publishing year | 1957 |
| length | 105 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Akira Kurosawa |
| script | Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto , Ryūzō Kikushima |
| production | Akira Kurosawa, Sōjirō Motoki |
| music | Masaru Satō |
| camera | Asakazu Nakai |
| cut | Akira Kurosawa |
| occupation | |
| |
The castle in the cobweb forest ( Japanese 蜘蛛 巣 城 Kumonosu-jō , literally: "Castle spider web") is a film by Akira Kurosawa from the year 1957. The material was taken from the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare and transferred to historical Japan. The film is the Japanese Jidaigeki - Genre assigned.
action
The friends of the samurai Washizu and Miki are on their way to their prince after successfully fending off an enemy. They get lost in the cobweb forest and meet a ghost who prophesies Miki to rule the 'First Fortress' and Washizu to rule the 'North House'. Later Washizu will even succeed the prince himself - but a son of Miki will inherit him.
The first predictions arrive on the same day. Washizu's power-hungry wife urges her husband to murder the prince in order to take his place. Despite significant conflicts of conscience, Washizu gives in and takes control of the palace and empire. Finally, his wife forces him to give the order to kill his friend Miki, who knows about the prophecy, and his son.
However, Miki's son escapes and allies himself with the son of the old prince. When their armies march towards the castle, Washizu visits the ghost again. The latter prophesies Washizu that he cannot be defeated as long as the cobweb forest itself does not come close to his castle. Sure of victory, Washizu returns and proclaims the prophecy. But soon the trees of the cobweb forest actually approach, which the enemy army pushes as cover in front of them. Washizu's men then kill their own master out of fear.
Awards
The film was nominated for the Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival in 1957 . Isuzu Yamada received the Kinema Junpo Award , Toshirō Mifune was named best actor at the Mainichi Film Concours .
Reviews
- “(…) Striving for power that ends in madness and bloodlust, in stylized images of overwhelming, gloomy beauty; a key film of Kurosawa. ”(Rating: 3½ stars = exceptional) - Adolf Heinzlmeier and Berndt Schulz in: Lexicon“ Films on TV ” (extended new edition), Hamburg 1990, pp. 715–716
- “The wonderfully staged film follows the fable, but changed Macbeth's character. Nevertheless, the director succeeded in cinematically reflecting the profundity and sadness of the original. A congenial work that can become an experience for all open-minded viewers from 16 onwards. ” - Evangelischer Filmbeobachter , Critique No. 1/1966, p. 6
Web links
- Throne of Blood in the Internet Movie Database (English)