Throne of Blood12A

Dir. Akira Kurosawa | Japan | 1957 | 1h 50m | Japanese w/ English subs | Starring Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura

In this vivid adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Akira Kurosawa transposes “The Scottish Play” into a deeply atmospheric exploration of warrior traditions in sixteenth-century Japan. Toshiro Mifune gives a feral performance as the doomed warlord Washizu striving for total power alongside his ruthless wife, portrayed by the brilliant Isuzu Yamada. Kurosawa fuses atmosphere and action with more formal elements taken from Noh theatre in this unforgettable, fog-laden re-telling of Shakespeare’s chilling tragedy.

If you buy a ticket for this screening of Throne of Blood as well as Seven Samurai (Sun 7 Nov, 16:30) and Yojimbo (Sun 7 Nov, 21:00) in a single transaction you will receive a 15% discount on the total cost. 

Reviews

‘It remains a landmark of visual strength, permeated by a particularly Japanese sensibility, and is possibly the finest Shakespearean adaptation ever committed to the screen.’
Derek Malcolm, The Guardian

 

          

Screening as part of Japan 2020: Over 100 years of Japanese Cinema, a UK-wide film season supported by National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network. bfijapan.co.uk

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Throne of Blood between November 7, 2021 and November 8, 2021.

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What else is on?

Today (Thursday 1st October)

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15:00

Late Fame 15
1h 37m
A forgotten poet turned postal worker (Willem Dafoe) is adopted by a circle of young admirers hoping to make him their literary figurehead. A wistful rumination on art and authenticity set in New York City.

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17:30

The Incomer 12A
1h 42m
A man and his sister survive on a remote Scottish island, hunting seabirds and retelling ancestral stories, until a council worker arrives to move them to the mainland. Domhnall Gleeson stars in Louis Paxton's Sundance award-winning comedy.

Book here

20:00

NTLive: The Misanthrope 15 TBC
2h
Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) stars in Martin Crimp's razor-sharp reimagining of Molière's The Misanthrope, playing a novelist who refuses to lie in a world built on it. Indhu Rubasingham directs this National Theatre production, filmed live on stage.

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Tomorrow (Friday 2nd October)

15:15

Pressure 12A
Descriptive Subtitles
1h 40m
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg have 72 hours to decide whether to launch the D-Day invasion, with everything ready except the one factor they can't control: the weather. Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott star in this historical thriller.

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17:45

Bad Apples 15
1h 41m
A teacher at a struggling school kidnaps her most disruptive pupil and locks him in her basement, then watches the rest of the class flourish. Saoirse Ronan stars in this satirical black comedy about how doing the wrong thing sometimes gives the right result.

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20:15

Manhunter 18
2h
FBI profiler Will Graham enlists imprisoned killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter to help hunt a new murderer. Michael Mann's genre-defining thriller returns in a new 4K final cut for its 40th anniversary.

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Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!