Ran Reviews

Classic Last Shout for Kurosawa

Ran is Akira Kurosawa's 1985 epic adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear. Like Lear, Ran is about a king's (in

this case ageing Japanese Lord Hidetora, played by Tatuya Nakadai) arrogance & his eventual downfall due to

his pride.

Kurosawa was himself 75 when he made Ran & was perceived as a great director on the decline. The auteur of such

classics as 'The Seven Samurai', 'Rashomon' & 'Hidden Fortress' was again to prove his ditractors wrong with

this classic, sweeping samurai masterpiece. It is said Kurosawa saw something of himself in Lear, or at least

feared it.

Given an R rating, his goriest movie was a critical & commercial success, proving his fear's unfounded. Even

more hard to believe was this acheivement, given he was almost blind.

Lord Hidetora, decides to divide his land between his 3 sonsToro (Akira Terao), Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu) & Saburo

(Daisuke Ryu), with the elder receiving the greater portion. Saburo sees the stupidity & folly of his father's

decision & is banished for saying so. Hidetora is then rebuffed by the other, corrupt & evil sons. A battle

ensues when Hidetora, residing at Saburo's deserted castle is attacked by the combined armies of Taro & Jiro,

who have now through their actions divorced themselves as his children. Forced to flee & wander the hills with

only his jester Kyoami (an actor merely referenced as Peter!) & faithful old assistant Tango (Masayuki Yui) he

slowly goes mad.

First Taro is killed in battle due to the machinations of Lady Kaede (Mieko Harada), seeking vengeance on

Hidetora's entire family for stealing her birthright. She then plots to marry her dead husband's brother, Jiro.

She seduces, threatens & eventually kills Jiro & finally inherits her family's castle. But even at this point

the story is not over. Saburo, the good son is kiled in battle & then Lady Kaede is murdered for her plotting

(again, another gory scene). Chaos, the direct translation of the film title is indeed what has happened as

almost all the main characters die, including Hidetora.

I liked this movie alot. The battle scenes serve their purpose but are not allowed to dominate or compensate

for good plotting & character development (did someone mention the over-hyped Tarantino?). This is a case of a

well-crafted stylised movie BUT not one of style over substance.

Kurosawa sticks to the main themes of Lear; blindness, nothingness, treachery, madness & foolishness without

the movie feeling bound by them. The last shout of a truly great director.

The dvd features were non-existent but for such a great movie this is more than forgiveable.

A Beutiful and Epic Tale

Kurosawa's adaptation of Shakespears King Lear is a sight to behold, shot against an amazing back drop and steeped as ever in the culture of feudal Japan this film manages to be both highly dramatic and intensely personal.

While it does take some liberties with the bards original story Kurosawa manages to translate the tragedy and grandeur of the original with the grace and feeling you would expect of a master film maker.

[Highly rated reviewer]

RAN--run way!!!

This film was reviewed in a book called 1001 films to see before you die.

It said that RAN was a classic, with near perfect acting and a fantastic story.

I must have watched a different film!

The acting was over the top, and the story boring.

The only saving grace (worthy of 1 star) was the few (very few) action sequences.

Avoid, and get HERO instead!

Boring

Not the best Mandarin movie.

A Beautiful Film

My only hesitation in using the word 'masterpiece' to describe Ran is that the term is so often used without cause.

Kurosawa's reading of King Lear is an insightful and moving adaptation of Shakespeare's most grueling work. As in Throne of Blood, the director interprets the text and creates an original work from his reading of it.

Kurosawa's palette progresses from stunning, vibrant colours toward ever more desolate shades - until black and white dominate the screen.

With only 250 words to review this film, I must be brief. Anyone interested in Kurosawa's work, in King Lear or in seeing some of the best battle and troop movement scenes on film should rent this DVD today. Fantastic!!

one of ak's best

highly enjoyable ak movie - one of his best. okay so it's a shakespearian plot but it transfers really well into fuedal japan - and let's face it, no one makes japanese films better than ak! enjoy.

classic cinematic shakespeare

King Lear transposed to feudal Japan, The Chief Warlord has 3 sons of whom the 2 eldest are constantly praising him while the youngest is seemingly only eager to criticize. However as soon as the Kingdom is split between them then there starts a power struggle between the two eldest and evreything the youngest one warns of come true. Epic cinema combining full scale battle scenes with small scale dramatic scenes. All guided by the eldest sons wife who has her own hidden agenda.

Beautifully filmed with a powerful cast. The plot twines in and out keeping you at the edge of your seats in a power struggle between brothers. Excellent.

Clever and Enjoyable

Another masterpiece from Kurosawa. I?ve always loved King Lear, and this ?Japanified? version is a wonderful and clever take on the story.

Long, but worth the effort!

East meets west in master director Akiro Kurasawa's take on Shakespear's King Lear story.

An ageing lord, tired of the fighting and intrigue in which he has spent his life, divides his realm between his sons and watches all that he has worked for fall apart.

This is one of Kurasawa's later films, and is perhaps rather less accessible than 'The Seven Samurai' or 'Yojimbo'. Nevertheless, it has much to offer.

The Kurasawa 'trademarks' of pace and depth are evident. Do not expect a film that rushes through from one action scene to another, this is more contempative, examining the motivation and development of the characters. The action when it comes is beautifully photographed and directed however. Indeed, like all his work, almost any frame from the film would make an arresting still photograph. Although the pace could be described as slow and contempative, for me it never dragged.

Like so many films that have rightly been described as 'great' each scene is given the time which it requires rather than the more frenetic pace of the majority of more recent Hollywood output which panders to the the 'MTV Generation' and conceals a lack of substance with surface froth.

For some this controlled pace and the subtitled Japanese dialogue may prove too much of an obstacle, this is, after all, a long film! Once you overcome this, you will be amply repaid with a rich and deep treatment of a story which transcends culture.

I first saw this film nearly 20 years ago - it still is as fresh today as it was then!