My rating is more of a 4.5Thanks for reading!? ???? ? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ??? ? ??????????? ?????. ???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ????, ???? ?? ???? ? ????? ??.The first of Kurosawa’s films to be inspired by one of William Shakespeare's plays, ‘Throne of Blood’ was initially conceived soon after the release of Rashomon; opting to wait following Orson Welles’ release of ‘Macbeth’ in 1948, Kurosawa adaptation of this - transposing it from the setting of medieval Scotland feudal Japan - is considered when we the best versions of this particular story to be an existence.As with the play, this film tells the story of a warrior who assassinates his sovereign at the urging of his ambitious wife.For his portrayal of General Washizu, Toshiro Mifune earned a Mainichi Film Award for best actor. More than well deserved, his performance puts us in the headspace of the ill-fated egoist and his nuanced subtleties of rage balanced with audacious laughter meet and rise above the necessities and mere obligations of his script.(SUPER fun fact: The famed arrow scene near the end was done with REAL arrows, although some were strategically replaced with bamboo fakes. There were certainly less controversial ways to rouse fear out of Mifune, but this was certainly an effective one!) As with ‘Macbeth’, ‘Throne of Blood’ explores the power women are capable of having and using without compromising traditional notions of feminine delicacy. Isuzu Yamada encapsulates this Puppet-Master like paradigm with a stillness that chills - pestering and festering with every moment she’s on screen.Set in feudal Japan, Kurosawa makes use of elements that are culturally relevant and consequently results in retelling of ‘Macbeth;’ that is tickled fantasy; the costuming is to ?????????? and the set design is boldly immersive. Shot by Asakazu Nakai, his eye for composition keeps the action at what would be eye-level for his viewers unless the narrative is better served by a wider shot. As if written with an international audience in mind, the aesthetics of this particular time are indulged without alienating otherwise foreign viewers to Kurosawa’s purpose and intentions. ‘Throne of Blood’ is exceptionally easy to follow with enough information given to elaborate on contextual intricacies without subjecting its spectators to intermittent fogs of confusion.Certainly - the universal nature of Kurosawa’s creation here isn’t a complete accident. Macbeth at its core is a precautionary tale about the use of ambition as both a poison and an antidote albeit infused with supernatural (or, what some might consider otherwise farfetched) components. Additionally, ‘Throne of blood’ makes us privy to conflict that is intimately intertwined with loyalty - with it's bubbling discourse challenging traditional assertions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ as oppositional dichotomies. (This is probably best Illustrated when Washizu at one point desperately calls for help from the very apparition that ominously loomed his fate - and not by name, but plainly as “evil spirit”. It’s a nice touch of irony that is undeniably appreciated).Borrowing heavily from one of the greatest playwrights ever known (and, let's be honest, who doesn't at this point?), ‘Throne of Blood’ excels as an example of imitation that doesn't forfeit the influence of ingenuity. Kurosawa would likely suggest that there is a Macbeth - or in this case, a Washizu - inside of all of us: often folding under the strain of crumbling manifestos and our own warped forms of destiny. And through it all we cope: with the prophecies we write, with the prophecies we welcome, and with the prophecies that wither away.