All eight reviews are positive, with most critics praising Kurosawa’s adaptation of Macbeth for its atmosphere and its translation of Shakespeare into a Japanese setting. The praise centres on the visual storytelling: camera movement, eerie sets and charged imagery make the struggle for power tense and unsettling. Several reviews regard the film as an unusually successful screen adaptation, finding that the move to feudal Japan gives the tragedy force rather than merely a different backdrop.
The differences are chiefly in the strength of the enthusiasm, with scores ranging from 70 to 100. Radio Times acknowledges weaknesses in the dramatic structure but finds the atmosphere powerful enough to outweigh them. Eye for Film offers a more qualified response, finding the film initially odd and sometimes difficult to follow, while still praising its visual imagery and eventual force; there is no outright dissent in this selection.