Throne of Blood

[MichaelB]

UHD release and separate BD reissue on 19 May 2025:

A new 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s astonishing film that’s considered to be one of the great adaptations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

A truly remarkable film, Throne of Blood manages to combine beauty and terror to produce a mood of truly haunting power. Starring the irrepressible Toshiro Mifune as the doomed warlord Washizu and a wonderfully creepy turn by Isuzu Yamada as the Lady Macbeth-inspired Asaji, the film shows Kurosawa's familiar mastery of atmosphere and action combined with the savagery of war.

• Restored 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Audio commentary by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck
• Other extras tbc

[andyli]

This is from Toho and they have not got around to do it yet. Interesting…

[midnitedave]

My face when I saw this thread!

[rapta]

Did not expect this so soon, wasn't aware Toho had a 4K restoration already. Surprising if they gave it to BFI first, but I suppose they might just be in the right place at the right time!

PS: Guessing BFI are kicking themselves a bit for not doing High and Low 4K...I suppose they might consider an upgrade when they do the next batch of Kurosawa titles in a year or two?

[domino harvey]

My face when I saw this thread!

[MichaelB]

PS: Guessing BFI are kicking themselves a bit for not doing High and Low 4K...

Trust me, they're not.

For all its critical standing, High and Low really isn't a particularly high-profile or commercially attractive title as far as the UK market is concerned, where Kurosawa is seen as a samurai director first and foremost and his films in other genres are generally regarded as niche curiosities. And since the BFI has released it it on more than one occasion in the past, they know precisely how popular it is because they have concrete figures to back this up.

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

THRONE OF BLOOD
A film by Akira Kurosawa
4K restoration

Released on BFI UHD & Blu-ray on 19 May 2025

A new restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s astonishing film, Throne of Blood, widely considered to be one of the greatest adaptations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, is released on 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray formats by the BFI on 19 May. Special features include a 2002 documentary about the making of the film that includes interviews with the director, cast and crew and an audio commentary by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck.

A truly remarkable work, Throne of Blood manages to combine beauty and terror to produce a mood of haunting power. Starring the irrepressible Toshiro Mifune as doomed warlord Washizu, and with a wonderfully creepy turn by Isuzu Yamada as the Lady Macbeth-inspired Asaji, the film displays all of Kurosawa’s familiar mastery of atmosphere and action combined with the savagery of war.

Special features
• Restored 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Introduction by Sir Ian McKellen (2016, 2 mins)
• Introduction to Throne of Blood by Mamoun Hassan (2012, 7 mins): the late writer, director and producer introduces a screening of Akira Kurosawa’s film at BFI Southbank
• Audio commentary by Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck
• Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – Throne of Blood (2002, 23 mins): this documentary about the making of Throne of Blood features interviews with Akira Kurosawa, production designer Yoshiro Muraki, Noh performer Mitsuhiro Honda (from the Konparu School) and actor Isuzu Yamada
• Macbeth (1945, 16 mins): two scenes from Shakespeare’s famous Scottish tragedy, with Wilfrid Lawson and Cathleen Nesbitt as a fine murderous duo
• Original trailer
***FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with writing on the film by Alex Barrett, an essay on Kurosawa’s adaptations of Shakespeare by Ben Nicholson, Kurosawa on Throne of Blood (1964) and an original review

Product details
UHD: RRP: £27.99 / Cat. no. BFIU0015 / 12
Japan / 1957 / black and white / 110 minutes / Japanese language with optional English subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.37:1 // UHD66: 2160p, 23.98fps, DTS-HD MA 1.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit)

Blu-ray: RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1541 / 12
Japan / 1957 / black and white / 110 minutes / Japanese language with optional English subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.37:1 // BD50: 1080p, 23.98fps, DTS-HD MA 1.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit)

[Michael Kerpan]

Region B only, I assume?

[nicolas]

A BR member received their copy of the 4K already and confirmed that David M / Fidelity in Motion did the encode and like Seven Samurai, the subtitles lack full stops.