Number 196 on IMDb's Top 250
In fog-dripping, barren and sometimes macabre settings, 11th-century Scottish nobleman Macbeth is led by an evil prophecy and his ruthless yet desirable wife to the treasonous act that makes him king. But he does not enjoy his newfound, dearly-won kingship...Hilarity ensues, oh and it is set in Japan and the main character is not an 11th-cetury Scottish nobleman named Macbeth, and the king wasn't named Duncan, and the Lady Macbeth wore a kimono and din't have any eyebrows, and the three witches have become only one ugly lady/spirit (I though she was a man, baby!) but besides that, it is the same story.
Trivia: Originally, Kurosawa was planning on building merely a facade castle for the film, but this proved to be an impractical step, prompting the building of full-on castle sections to use in shooting. These were built with the help of United States Marines who were based in the area. The famous arrow scene near the end was in fact done with real arrows. That is, the arrows hitting the wooden planks were not done with special effects, but rather choreographed with archers. Mifune waves his arms to brush away the arrows sticking from the planks, indicating to them that he wanted to go in that particular direction. The real arrows were included to get Mifune's facial expressions of real-life fear, which is exceptionally hard to imitate. Of course, the arrows that hit the Mifune character were bamboo fakes.
This is the only Akira Kurasawa film on the list that I haven't seen until now. As you can tell from the description it is a pretty straight forward adaption of Shakspeare's Macbeth set in feudal Japan. I was very impressed with Kurasawa's use of fog to give the impression of the supernatural. It is by far the best adaption of Macbeth that I have ever seen, to bad it is also the only one I have ever seen.
Next Up: The 400 Blows
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