Medieval Scotland becomes feudal Japan in this enthralling adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. This Akira Kurosawa movie captures power, greed, cut-throat ambition and inescapable fate in their finest hour.
Captain Washizu and Captain Miki, captains of Fort 1 and Fort 2 of Lord Tsuzuki’s empire, victorious after a war, are on their way to Cobweb Castle where their Lord awaits them to congratulate them. They are riding through Cobweb Forest (a mazy forest that is known to confuse enemies who try to attack Cobweb Castle) when they get lost. While trying to find their way out, they encounter an evil spirit. The evil spirit tells Washizu that he would become Master of the North Castle and would eventually become Lord of the Cobweb Castle. She tells Miki that he would be given control of Fort 1 and that his son would succeed Washizu as the next Lord of the Cobweb Castle. Saying this, she disappears. The men eventually find their way to the castle.
The evil spirit’s predictions come true. Lord Tsuzuki, happy with their courage in the war, makes Washizu the master of the North Castle and Miki, master of Fort 1.
Lady Asaji (Washizu’s wife) convinces Washizu to kill Lord Tsuzuki so that he can become King. The murder takes place and the blame is placed on one of Lord Tsuzuki’s drunk guards. Lord Tsuzuki’s son however suspects Washizu and runs away. With no successor to inherit the throne, Washizu is made Lord of the Cobweb Castle, just as the evil spirit forecasted.
Lady Asaji becomes pregnant and tells Washizu to kill Miki and his son so that Washizu’s son can inherit the throne. A banquet is held one evening and Miki and his son are invited. Washizu plants assassins to kill Miki and his son. The assassin kills Miki but his son escapes.
Washizu starts living a life of remorse and guilt, haunted by Miki’s ghost and his own conscience. But his greed overshadows his guilt. He would do anything to stay in power and let his son inherit the throne.
Lord Tsuzuki’s son and Miki’s son join forces with another king, Noriyasu and plan to attack Cobweb Castle. At about the same time, Lady Asaji is born with a dead son. Confused by the happenings, Washizu goes to Cobweb Forest and seeks the evil spirit to ask her about his future. The evil spirit tells him that he would die only if Cobweb Forest starts moving towards Cobweb Castle. Washizu laughs loud at this dumb logic, relieved that nothing can cause his destruction. But in the end, Cobweb Forest DOES move and Washizu dies. The ending is much darker than Macbeth. There is no Macduff in the movie.
Toshiro Mifune slips into both positive and negative shades of Washizu’s character effortlessly. What an intense performance! His body language alone is enough to convey his emotions. His eyes are very expressive. There is this scene where Lady Asaji and Washizu are talking. Only Washizu’s feet are visible. As Lady Asaji convinces him that Lord Tsuzuki would seize North Castle from him, he actually emotes surprise and astonishment with his feet!
The screenplay and direction deserve special praise. Japanising Macbeth must have been quite an effort. The look and feel of the movie is very realistic. Kurosawa’s use of fog is poetic.
This movie is not for Shakespeare purists. But if you are the kind who doesn’t mind a few alterations, you’ll love this one.