Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
Cinematography
That spiderweb castle set and actual volcanic ash for fog? Pure nightmare poetry.
Direction
Kurosawa stages murder like kabuki horror—every frame a painting of dread.
Acting
Mifune's unhinged physicality; Yamada's whispered manipulation—both terrifying.
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Toshirō Mifune
Taketoki Washizu
Isuzu Yamada
Lady Asaji Washizu
Takashi Shimura
Noriyasu Odagura
Akira Kubo
Yoshiteru Miki
Hiroshi Tachikawa
Kunimaru Tsuzuki
Minoru Chiaki
Yoshiaki Miki
Takamaru Sasaki
Kuniharu Tsuzuki
Gen Shimizu
Washizu samurai
Kokuten Kōdō
Military Commander
Kichijirō Ueda
Washizu's workman
Chieko Naniwa
Old Ghost Woman
Nakajirō Tomita
Military Commander #2
Yū Fujiki
Washizu samurai
Sachio Sakai
Washizu samurai
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
JP
