Throne of Blood Blu-ray - Toshirô Mifune

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Japan 1957

A vivid, visceral Macbeth adaptation, Throne of Blood, directed by Akira Kurosawa, sets Shakespeare’s definitive tale of ambition and duplicity in a ghostly, fog-enshrouded landscape in feudal Japan. As a hardened warrior who rises savagely to power, Toshiro Mifune gives a remarkable, animalistic performance, as does Isuzu Yamada as his ruthless wife. Throne of Blood fuses classical Western tragedy with formal elements taken from Noh theater to create an unforgettable cinematic experience.

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Theatrical Release Date: January 15th, 1957 - Japan

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Comparison:

Criterion Region 1 - NTSC vs. BFI - Region 2 - PAL vs. Criterion (Dual Format) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

BFI PAL DVD screenshots courtesy of Pavel Borodin

Box Covers			Re-issued as a single disc Blu-ray edition August 25th, 2015 Coming to Blu-ray by BFI in May 2025:
Distribution	Criterion Collection Spine # 190 Region 1 - NTSC	BFI Region 2 - PAL	Criterion Collection - Spine #190 Region 'A' -Blu-ray
Runtime	1:49:32	1:44:56 (4% PAL speedup)	1:49:53.837
Video	1.37:1.00 Original Aspect ratio Average Bitrate: 8.48 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.37:1.00 Original Aspect ratio Average Bitrate: 4.78 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 39,963,256,061 bytes Feature: 32,465,018,880 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.04 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Criterion
Bitrate: BFI
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	LPCM Audio Japanese 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, and none	English (non-removable)	English (Hoaglund), English (Richie), and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Home Vision Entertainment Edition Details Audio commentary by Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck Original theatrical trailer New essay by Stephen Prince (The Warrior’s Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa) Two alternative subtitle translations: a new version from renowned Japanese-film translator Linda Hoaglund, and Kurosawa expert Donald Richie Notes on subtitling by Linda Hoaglund and Donald Richie DVD Release Date: May 27, 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 24	Release Information: Studio: BFI Edition Details • Kurosawa & Mifune Biographies • Trailers DVD Release Date: October 22nd, 2001 Keep Case Chapters 18	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 39,963,256,061 bytes Feature: 32,465,018,880 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.04 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary featuring Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck • Documentary on the making of the film, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create (22:44) • Two alternate subtitle translations, by Japanese-film translator Linda Hoaglund and Kurosawa expert Donald Richie • Trailer (3:45) • One Blu-ray and one DVD, with all content available in both formats • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film historian Stephen Prince and notes on the subtitling by Hoaglund and Richie DVD included Blu-ray Release Date: January 7th, 2014 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters: 23

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray (December 2013): Solid upgrade from the 10-year old Criterion DVD. Everything is visually superior in the 1080P transfer, more layered contrast, sharper, a hint of textured grain, more information in the frame etc. Audio goes linear PCM in original mono and Masaru Satô (The Lower Depths, Hidden Fortress, I Live in Fear etc.) score sounds excellent, if predictably flat. As with the DVD Criterion offer two different subtitle translations - Hoaglund and Richie's. The former more classical and literal. It's nice to have the choice as it's akin to watching another film - the translations can be that different.

Criterion include the older audio commentary featuring Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck, a 22-minute documentary on the making of the film, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create and a trailer. The package has one Blu-ray and one DVD, with all content available in both formats and there is a liner notes booklet featuring an essay by film historian Stephen Prince and notes on the subtitling by Hoaglund and Richie.

It was very pleasing to see this again in the higher resolution and uncompressed audio. I look forward to more of Criterion's Kurosawa library reaching Blu-ray. This is a powerful film and an easy recommendation!

***

ON THE DVDs: How many ways do you want the Criterion to be better? The picture has immensely better contrast... a sharper image... removable subs... better extras... almost double the bit-rate. So this comparison is kind of a no-brainer. On a down note for Criterion; their image appears slightly cropped on the left edge... but if you weigh this factor against the others, it means nothing! the BFI has excess contrast boosting. The Criterion is more money, but its worth every penny.