Throne of Blood

[MichaelB]

UHD release and separate BD reissue on 19 May 2025:

A new 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s astonishing film that’s considered to be one of the great adaptations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

A truly remarkable film, Throne of Blood manages to combine beauty and terror to produce a mood of truly haunting power. Starring the irrepressible Toshiro Mifune as the doomed warlord Washizu and a wonderfully creepy turn by Isuzu Yamada as the Lady Macbeth-inspired Asaji, the film shows Kurosawa's familiar mastery of atmosphere and action combined with the savagery of war.

• Restored 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Audio commentary by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck
• Other extras tbc

[andyli]

This is from Toho and they have not got around to do it yet. Interesting…

[midnitedave]

My face when I saw this thread!

[rapta]

Did not expect this so soon, wasn't aware Toho had a 4K restoration already. Surprising if they gave it to BFI first, but I suppose they might just be in the right place at the right time!

PS: Guessing BFI are kicking themselves a bit for not doing High and Low 4K...I suppose they might consider an upgrade when they do the next batch of Kurosawa titles in a year or two?

[domino harvey]

My face when I saw this thread!

[MichaelB]

PS: Guessing BFI are kicking themselves a bit for not doing High and Low 4K...

Trust me, they're not.

For all its critical standing, High and Low really isn't a particularly high-profile or commercially attractive title as far as the UK market is concerned, where Kurosawa is seen as a samurai director first and foremost and his films in other genres are generally regarded as niche curiosities. And since the BFI has released it it on more than one occasion in the past, they know precisely how popular it is because they have concrete figures to back this up.