There is, of course, no such thing as the best ending ever but I will make my humble opinion public that the last 10 minutes of Throne of Blood constitue one of the most stunning, most awe-inspiring, most incredible endings to a motion picture that has ever been conceived.
And the whole movie just builds up and up and up to it. A simply perfect conclusion to a nearly perfect film.
why?
shareBecause I cannot recall another movie where the ending left me as speechless and humbled as this.
Not only because the technical realization of the marching forest and the arrow scene were so brilliant but because of the emotional impact it had (on me at least).
So Washizu believed he was invincible, his pride and ambition grew higher and higher. He thought he would rule the world. And then...he is drowned in arrows by his own people. It's hard to explain and I'll have to watch the movie again but I thought that it succeeds exceptionally well to make the point that it wants to make. Namely, where ambition and violence lead to. And this is due to the outstanding ending (which would not have this kind of impact if the previous one and a half hour would not have set the stage appropriately).
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Kurosawa's movies tend to have awesome endings like this one. I'd name examples, but that'd be some massive spoilerage for someone. Hehe.
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I truly love how Akira Kurosawa altered Shakespeare's story, especially the ending where EVERYONE seems to just kill Macbeth, instead of one person just chopping his head off.
It was in fact one of my fav endings to a movie ever, but it is not THE BEST, because there simply IS no "THE" best. THis is truly one of the top ones though.
The rain of arrows was beyond insane, and I actually gasped when the killing blow hit. Didn't expect to see something like that from a fifty year old film, but Kurosawa does it again.
The way he hits the ground... It is almost as if they have slain a monster, a true beast.
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Exactly! No CGI here. Real arrows and Mifune truly, truly scared (he would have nightmares because of this).
Director Arthur Penn has stated that it was this scene that inspired him to do something very similar - his bullet-riddled death sequence in BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967).
The ending is also a pretty clear influence on Al Pacino's "Looking For Richard"
I wonder, given Kurosawa's interest in American cinema, if his idea was to create a medieval variation of the typical gangster movie ending from films like Little Caesar and the original Scarface?
Also worth noting, in a similar vein; I finally saw 'Ran' a few weeks ago, which had possibly the single most spectacular decapitation in cinema history (and it's offscreen, too. Makes it an even more impressive accomplishment)
Speaking of realism, when the king slays the guard in the castle after the feast, I thought to myself: "How fake. Oh well". Then I read Mifune actually struck the actor through a piece of wood and scarred him for life! :D
"Mnomostrovic domovan mother*****rs!"
-Borat on Uzbekis
The arrow scene clearly influenced also, Frank Miller comics!!! If you read his Electra or Daredevil, you can see this scene over and over again. I have just watched Throne of Blood and I've been very impressed.
Kurosawa forever!
Regardless of how many of these movies I've seen, I would still feel incredibly unqualified to call any one ending the best. That said, I would recommend that the end of Masaki Kobayashi's Samurai Rebellion is a contender. (DEFINITELY DON'T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT. MAJOR SPOILAGE.) The movie builds up at a perfectly constant speed, helped along by Toru Takemitsu's brilliant score, until all hell breaks loose in the end. I still believe the duel between Nakadai and Mifune at the end is the best I've ever seen. And when Mifune is finally killed, he has almost as many bullet holes in him as he has arrows in Kumonosu jô, which was made ten years earlier. That is the best example I've ever seen of a movie-long build-up of tension that ends in a climactic release.
-J
That said, I would recommend that the end of Masaki Kobayashi's Samurai Rebellion is a contender.Try also his "Harakiri", which also happens to be one hell of a movie, being far better overall then "Samurai Rebellion" IMHO. It is, in fact, in my "Top Five All Time Greats".
Yes I have seen Seppuku/Harakiri and I agree with you on most counts. Seppuku is a better film, I think, overall. It doesn't have quite the same build-up and release of tension. Instead, Tatsuya Nakadai just kind of loses it. He goes nuts. And, in addition, there is that last little bit in Seppuku after Nakadai's rampage when they discuss what will become of his story. So there is a very short denoument. Samurai Rebellion doesn't allow for that. It goes straight through to the end. I need to see them both again, though. I only saw each one once, but both of them in theatres last year, so it's time to refresh myself. However, I had forgotten about Seppuku in this discussion, so thank you for that.
shareHe goes nuts.That's putting it mildly
And, in addition, there is that last little bit in Seppuku after Nakadai's rampage when they discuss what will become of his story.And very chilling it is too. share
I agree. I went to see the film last night for the first time in years (I recall having seen in on TV way back in time) - and people around me did gasp. Unforgettable.
shareThe death scene was well-done but I didn't get one aspect of the ending: after that particular scene, we see the invading army make its way to the castle and then the castle fades to mist with the grave we see at the beginning shown again. What I like to know is, did their appeasement plan work or did the conquerors just slaughter everyone regardless for helping a "traitor"? If the castle was razed to the ground, the second part of the spirit's prophecy is rendered meaningless so I would like someone to clear that up. Sorry in advance if I missed anything too obvious.
share"The tyrant's people on both sides do fight" - we can suppose the invaders took over with little trouble.
As to the castle, nothing suggests that the invaders destroyed it. Miki's son went on to rule it, then it became decrepit or met with some other misfortune.
On a technical and aesthetic level the ending was fantastic. Great use of mise en scene and cinematography especially when Washizu collapsed to his death.
"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not".
My top 5 film endings (last 10 minutes or so) of all time in my opinion,
1. Throne of Blood
2. Blade Runner
3. Seven Samurai
4. Star Wars
5. Gladiator
No.
That was the worst part of the movie. I almost started laughing at this extended sequence of arrows and him stumbling through half of the fortress at that moment.
I didn't understand, how suddenly they knew who had killed the Lord. And neither, why and how the fortress was leveled, since there was no more need and they could have surrendered easily. Missing is the destiny of his wife, too.
The moving trees and branches were okay, but not more.
Mind-blowing ending. I did not expect to see the moving trees since it was the 50s and I thought there was no way to pull that off.
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