Qiu 1
MacBeth and Throne of Blood: Compared and Contrasted
The films Throne of Blood by Kurosawa and MacBeth by Polanski have many similarities and differences. These similarities and differences are shown through film style, characters, and plot. The film styles are different, shown through music, depth of characters, and naturalness of acting. The characters are similar because of the supernatural aspect, the insane wives, and the reluctant murder of the King and Lord. Finally, the plot is shown to be similar in the three aspects of the murder of the King and Lord, the rebellion from a high ranking official, and the defeat of the rebels against the odds.
First of all, the film styles of these two films show many differences. One clear difference is the background music used. In Throne of Blood, little background music is used. Unless one has seen the movie and know the plot, one will not know whether there is tension or joy. This was shown during the dinner party where Washizu was going to announce that Miki’s son is going to be the next Lord. There was no music during it, and everyone was silent. Therefore, one would not be able to tell whether it is a joyous event or a sad event. On the other hand, in MacBeth, there is much background music and one is easily able to tell whether the scene is joyous or sad. During the dinner party, there is a lot of festive music; therefore, one is able to tell that it is a very joyous event. Another similarity is the depth of the character. In Throne of Blood, the viewer only sees the persona the characters put on. One cannot see into the characters’ minds and cannot understand what their true feelings are unless they say it. This was evident during Washizu’s reluctance to kill the Lord. The viewer is not able to tell that he is reluctant until he actually said the things to his wife. However, in MacBeth, we see into the main characters thoughts and clearly see MacBeth is putting on a persona just to please the people around him. This was clearly shown when he was struggling to decide whether or not he should assassinate the King. During the dinner party, the most joyous scene in the film, one was able to see into his thoughts and see that he is in conflict with himself. Yet, when the King offered a toast, he joined in it. The last film style difference is the naturalness of the acting. In Throne of Blood, the acting seems very forced. It was not very natural, it seemed that everyone was yelling all the time. When the Lord was giving Washizu and Miki their promotions he still seemed to scream at them. This shows a very unrealistic acting style because in reality, people will not be talking like that at such an event. In MacBeth, the acting was very natural, although the speech was not. Everyone had the right expression and tone of voice depending on the situation. During MacBeth’s promotion, the King was smiling and seemed very happy. This shows the naturalness of the acting. During such an event, one should be happy and joyful. These aspects of film style clearly show how different the two films are. The music, depth of characters, and naturalness of acting makes the films seem very different from each other. However, another way to examine the film is through the characters.
One should be able to see many similarities within the characters of the two movies. Both movies had a supernatural aspect. In Throne of Blood, there was a shape-shifting spirit that foretold the future; while in MacBeth, there were witches that also had the ability to see the future. The evil spirit from Throne of Blood was there to foretell the future. This was shown when Washizu and Miki are riding through the Spider Web’s Forest on their way to report to the Lord of Inui’s defeat. It foretold that Washizu will become the Lord of the North Garrison and later the Lord and that Miki will become the Captain of the First Fortress and his son will become Lord after Washizu. The viewer sees all these predictions as they come to pass. This shows that the evil spirit really does have the power to foretell the future. A similar event occurs in MacBeth. On MacBeth and Banquo’s return to the castle, they meet three witches. The witches told them that MacBeth it to be Thane of Cawdor and later the King of Scotland. They also told Banquo that he would be the father of many generations of Kings. The film only shows MacBeth’s prophecies coming true, but not Banquo’s. This shows that the evil-spirit and the witches from the films are very similar because they’re both introduced after the rebellion and are both able to see the future. Another similarity between the movies is the wives of the protagonists. First of all, in Throne of Blood, Asaji, the wife of Washizu, knows her husband’s ambition to be Lord. She urges him to murder the Lord then take the title for himself. However, after the murder, she goes insane. Asaji thinks she still sees blood stains from the previous Lord on her hands and tries to wash it away, but since it is just a hallucination, it just will not go away. Similarly, in MacBeth, Lady MacBeth knows her husband’s ambition to be King of Scotland. Since the King had already appointed Malcolm the prince, he no longer has a chance to be King. Therefore, Lady MacBeth urges MacBeth to assassinate the King and take the title himself. After MacBeth becomes king, Lady MacBeth thinks she things there is blood on her hands that she cannot wash off. This clearly shows how similar Lady MacBeth and Washizu’s wife were. The final similarity is between Washizu and MacBeth. They are both reluctant when it comes time to kill the King and Lord. In Throne of Blood, Washizu’s wife gave him the idea of killing the Lord before the Lord even arrived at his garrison. However, it took him until the King was actually asleep to commit the murder. This shows that he had much conflict with himself as to whether or not he should do this or not. In MacBeth, MacBeth could not even enjoy the feast properly because he is questioning himself inside as to whether or not he should kill the King. Even when he is in the King’s chamber, he is reluctant and pulled the dagger back. However, since the King awoke and saw him with the dagger, he had to do it or he would have died. This shows that MacBeth was had a lot of emotional turmoil, just like Washizu. The characters in the films are not the only similarities between them. The plots of the films are also very similar.
The plots of these two films are similar from three aspects: the murder of the original King or Lord, the rebellion from a high ranked official, and the defeat of the rebels by the protagonist against the odds. The murder of the original King is a very important part of the plot in both film and they are very similar. In Throne of Blood, The Lord comes to Washizu’s garrison for a banquet. Asaji tells Washizu that this is the chance for him to make the spirit’s prophecy come true. Washizu is reluctant to kill the Lord. However, after some convincing from his wife, he decides to do it. The wife is to offer a drink with sleeping potion in it to the guards of the Lord. While the guards are asleep, Washizu sneaks into the Lord’s room and kills him. Then the wife took the weapon and put it into the guard’s hands, making it look like the guards killed the Lord. A similar situation happens in MacBeth. The King comes to MacBeth’s castle for a feast. Lady MacBeth tells MacBeth that this is his only chance to become King. MacBeth is reluctant to kill the King. However, after some taunting from the wife, MacBeth agrees to the deed. Lady MacBeth offered the guards of the King’s chamber a drink with sleeping potion in it. MacBeth sneaks into the King’s chamber while the guards are asleep. After MacBeth kills the King, Lady MacBeth takes the daggers back to the guards and makes it look like they committed the murder. These two situations are very similar to each other as they follow almost the exact same plot. Another similarity in the plot is the rebellion of a high ranked officer. In Throne of Blood, a high ranked officer, Inui, lead a rebellion against the fortresses of the Lord. He was winning the battle clearly and the Lord was getting ready to barricade himself in his castle. Again, similarly, in MacBeth, the original Thane of Cawdor rebels against the King of Scotland. With the help of the Norwegian King, the Thane of Cawdor appears to be winning this rebellion. These two situations are similar because high ranked officers have started a rebellion and they appear to be winning it. In the eyes of the rulers, victory seems impossible. However, the tides turn in both movies. This is the final similarity, the fact that the rulers’ armies win the rebellion even against the odds. In Throne of Blood, the last messenger comes and reports that Washizu and Miki have successfully warded off the rebel and have driven him back. The same happens when the captain reports to King Duncan in MacBeth. The captain reports that MacBeth has successfully defeated the Thane of Cawdor and quickly moved the troops back to the east to fend of the Norwegian army.
In conclusion, the two films Throne of Blood and MacBeth have many similar and different elements. They are shown through the plot, character and film style. This essay has only mentioned a few of the similarities and differences, however, overall, both movies seem to be very alike, the only thing that makes them different is the period in which they were filmed. If they had been filmed in the same period, they would have been almost exactly the same.