Throne of blood 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Akira Kurosawa BFI British Film Institute

Two Akira Kurosawa classics in flawless 4K Ultra HD!

Introducing BFI's 4K Ultra HD (Region Free) Limited Edition release for 1957's Throne of Blood. A new 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s astonishing film that’s considered to be one of the great adaptations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

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.

Limited Edition Features:

• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Slip case
• 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 In Japanese, with optional English subtitles

Features:

• 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• 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
  

Technical Specs:

• Language: Japanese
• Year: 1957
• Runtime: 110
• spect Ratio: 1.35:1
• Subtitles: English (optional)