Ran

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Ran

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Ran

Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada

A version of Shakespeare's "King Lear," set in feudal Japan where aging ruler, Lord Hidetora, unleashes a power struggle amongst his three sons.

Id: 10902796

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Ran Recent Reviews
  • flixsterman
    December 13, 2009
    flixsterman
    This may well be the best epic film ever made. It's certainly amongst the best I have ever seen.
  • AgentLexi2132
    December 4, 2009
    AgentLexi2132
    ''Men prefer sorrow over joy... suffering over peace!''

    An elderly lord abdicates to his three sons, and the two corrupt ones turn against him.



    Tatsuya Nakadai: Lord Hidetora Ichimonji

    Born in 1910 Japan, Akira Kurosawa first studied painting before movin...( read more)g into film in the late 1930s. A well-known director in Japan throughout the 1940s, his 1950 production of Rashomon launched him to international acclaim; and throughout the remainder of his long career he was widely acknowledged as among the world's greatest film directors. The creator of such films as The Seven Samurai, Throne Of Blood, and Yojimbo. Released in 1985, RAN would be among his final films and is generally felt to be among his finest.

    Kurosawa often borrowed plot lines from Western literature, and with RAN; the Japanese word translates loosely as chaos.
    He integrated the basic story guidelines from William Shakespeare's King Lear. In Kurosawa's retelling, the Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) divides his kingdom between three sons: Taro (Akira Terao), Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu) and Saburo (Daisuke Ryu). When youngest son Saburo upbraids his father for foolishness, Hidetora banishes him; only to find Taro and Jiro turning against him just as Saburo predicted. Kurosawa shapes the Shakespearean story to 16th Century Japan, so it would be easy to belabor comparison with the original; at the same time, however, it is worth pointing out that he actually captures the story more effectively than any western filmmaker has to date.

    As in many Kurosawa films, Ran alternates moments of great stillness with rapacious action, enclosed spaces with wide vistas. In stillness, the film focuses upon its actors and their intrigues; perhaps most notably the perfidious Lady Kaede, a truly dark character frighteningly realized.
    I was personally interested with the character of Lady Kaede played to perfection by Mieko Harada. All through history women can be so much more manipulative than any man can dream of being. Some of the world's most notorious and great figures in History have sometimes been driven to make choices not of their own making due to a manipulative wife. Little suggestions or murmurs from their partner; influencing ideas within their minds that otherwise wouldn't have been thought of immediately. You can trace this recurring theme right back through the ages tracing back to present day.
    Indeed, all the cast is remarkably fine. But the great centerpiece, and the great performance, of the film is Tatsuya Nakadai's Lord Hidetora, whose mixture of good intention and folly leads first to humiliation and then to madness.
    Hidetora Ichimonji played by Tatsuya Nakadai is instantly recognizable as being an Award winning performance in our eyes. The transition that goes on during the film's running time is mind blowing incredible. We see a man lose everything, we see his own past and his rise to power; the many people he has effected by his bloodthirsty actions, by his untamed goal for ultimate domination and power. Women who have lost their families and homes, been claimed as the victors wives, a boy has his sight taken and home destroyed along with the suffering of his sister.
    The victims only peace is to pray to Buddha...but as RAN tells us, Buddha left this place a long time ago, to the world of men who ravage the lands with war and blood.
    Perhaps the single most stunning moment of the film occurs when Hidetora, betrayed by his sons, walks down the tower steps of the third castle following a vicious battle. It is difficult to imagine many actors who could perform such a scene; it is equally difficult to envision many directors who could achieve this greatness from their acting cast.

    Few directors are able to convey the sense of chaos, destruction, and fear with which Kurosawa endows battle scenes, and RAN is no exception. There are several worthy circumstances, and the battle of the third castle (in which Hidetora is attacked by sons Taro and Jiro) is easily among the finest battle sequences of Kurosawa's career. Presented without any sound except a simple, eloquent music score, flash-cutting between different groups in the struggle, the result is a unique mixture of beauty and horror; in my opinion unequaled by any other film I've seen.
    The cinematography for 1985 is unrivaled, having that timeless and radiant glow of legendary significance. Costumes and battle gear really are flawless; the calvary and infantry simply are jaw-droppingly inspiring to watch. Combine the visuals with a very Japanese primal score of music, strong emotionally charged performances and you have a winner. The cast doesn't just say their lines, they bark them with a daunting, charged tone that screams believability and finesse.

    It should be noted that RAN, unlike Rashomon, Throne Of Blood, Yojimbo and many other Kurosawa films, RAN is in colour. I have long been used to the remarkable shading of Kurosawa's black and white projects, and I missed it; but only for a moment. Kurosawa proves no less adept in colour than in black and white format, and RAN's use of colour is beautiful. For this reason I particularly recommend the Criterion Collection edition of the film over any other; it is impeccably fine. But regardless of the particular version, this is a film which must be seen by anyone who appreciates Asian or world cinema; truly a masterwork by a great master, Akiro Kurosawa.

    ''Are there no gods... no Buddha? If you exist, hear me. You are mischievous and cruel! Are you so bored up there you must crush us like ants? Is it such fun to see men weep?''
  • garyX
    November 28, 2009
    garyX
    After a lifetime of conquest, ageing Lord Hidetora hands the reigns of power to his eldest son, but banishes his youngest when he questions the loyalty of his two brothers. When Hidetora is betrayed as Saburo predicted, he is left to wander the desolate lands his armies had ravag...( read more)ed in earlier times. Ran was the last of Kurosawa's great epics for which he was forced to seek financial backing outside of Japan where he was considered too old-fashioned. It is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear and was clearly a very personal project for him. Unlike Lear, Hidetora is shown as a man repenting his past crimes, and on his wandering is constantly reminded of the life of conquest and butchery he had led up until this point. In fact everyone involved whose interests are in power and material wealth inevitably meet a sticky end and only his victims are shown to achieve any kind of peace. It is impossible not to compare Ran with his earlier works, and because he was virtually blind by the time this film was made, it misses his keen eye for composition and photography; despite the epic scale and colourful costumery, I personally preferred his black and white photography of his classics. The sets and costumes are as epic as the themes and it avoids the sentiment of a lot of Kurosawa's work, but I found Tatsuya Nakadai's performance a little too ripe for my tastes, and is as theatrical as his rather severe make-up. On the other hand the most formidable personality is to be found in the shape of Lady Kaede played by Mieko Harada who, unlike the coquettish Lady Asaji Washizu of Throne Of Blood, is a strong willed and wily adversary whose role turns the entire chain of events on its head. My criticisms are only born of the incredibly high standard of the rest of Kurosawa's work, and by any other it is a majestic period drama full of lush imagery and dark themes that leaves a lasting impression.
  • organgrinder136
    July 11, 2009
    organgrinder136
    akira kurosawa.... philosophy at its finest. obviously a shakespeare story as there's more killing than in a abattoir. such a great japanese adaptation
  • ohagankieran
    May 3, 2009
    ohagankieran
    Akira Kurosawa does The Bard?s King Lear (with sons rather than daughters) with some of the director?s greatest battle sequences, but also delivers a telling meditation on loyalty, revenge, power and war.
  • ahhh1989
    December 15, 2009
    ahhh1989
    A true tragedy, to be sure, but one that always manages to get me in a tremendously deep way. By far my favorite film of Kurosawa's.
  • ElCochran90
    November 27, 2009
    ElCochran90
    "The failed mind sees the heart's failings..."

    RAN (1985)


    Director: Akira Kurosawa
    Country: Japan / France
    Genre: Action / Drama / War
    Length: 162 minutes

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    Ran is a triumphant masterpiece for the modern era. Following the steps that Akira Kurosawa had left behind since 1957 when he had adapted Macbeth in his film Kumonosu-jou (1957), Ran is noticeably different. Both projects are quite commonly compared, yet their respective focus and intentions are highly independent. It is also considered as one of the best and most ambitiously groundbreaking Shakespeare adaptations ever committed to celluloid. Such statement is not derived from the truth, and the main reason can be found in Kurosawa's visionary brilliance and inspirational originality. The attention towards action has considerably increased, imitating the epic samurai films he had created in the past; however, the power of this arguable opus has certain moralistic lessons that can still be applied to the audiences that nowadays abound in the world. That is the main source of Shakespeare's transcendent talent, and that is the main source of Kurosawa's unparalleled direction. With theatrical performances, thought-provoking brutalities and accurately sincere truths, it is one of the best Japanese films ever made, leaving aside its notoriously tragic atmosphere.

    Ran is Kurosawa's treatment of King Lear set in sixteenth-century Japan. The Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji decides to abdicate to his three sons, Taro, Jiro, and Saburo, dividing his fief among them. His last wish is to live out his remaining years as an honored guest in the castle of each of his three sons in turn. However, the older brothers Taro and Jiro conspire against their father, trying to take advantage of Hidetora's retirement and attempting to even take his title while vying for power. On the other hand, the younger and honest son Saburo warns his father and receives hatred and mistreating for trying to confess the truth. The film received 4 Academy Award nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography and Best Director, winning the first award and losing the last one against Sydney Pollack for his overrated film Out of Africa (1985). Surprisingly, the film won 25 wins in total and received 15 other nominations in several film festivals around the world.

    This could be fairly called as Kurosawa's last masterpiece. During the 80s, he had the specific characteristic of making each subsequent film as if it was his last one. In Ran, we witness the graciousness of a talented adaptation in order to represent the usual human faults that have always plagued the human nature throughout the decades. However, the typical introspectiveness of Kurosawa is lost; we are no longer taken into the middle of the action, and the minimalism of his past projects has been transformed into cinematic ambition. The main thematic elements of the film are mindless governments, the senselessness of careless overpowerment, madness, ambition, the power of family and the tragically negative implications of the lack of loyalty towards the family. Ran incarnates a modern society where the very nucleus of the society, that is the family, is destroyed, ensuing unstoppable and painful chaos and destruction. Tragedy derived from betrayal is portrayed as a monster that does not need any clear motivations whatsoever; the inexplicableness of human cruelty is the main source.

    As Kurosawa explained in a 1985 interview, the secret subject of Ran is the threat of nuclear apocalypse, treating such subject matter as a contemporary edge. It is suggested that the totalitarian control of masses and a violent war as the most necessary and supposedly adequate means to gain power, control, influence, admiration and land are the events that have led the characters (and us) to an inescapable catastrophe and a cruder recent reality. The glorious colored cinematography tries to retake the marvelous technical roots that always mostly defined action-oriented films like Shichinin no Samurai (1954) and the more contemporary Kagemusha (1980), fusing the dazzlingly varied colors of the last film mentioned with the tragic self-destruction of Kumonosu-jou (1957). Moreover, such tragic proportions have been ultimately maximized to an almost never-imagined degree, adopting a filmmaking style of noticeable stillness derived from prolonged shots. These shots hide a very discreet, yet very precise editing, this time taking us out from the middle of the action and witnessing the bloodily visual spectacle from an omniscient point of view, like if God was judging every single action of murder, betrayal, deception and developed warfare.

    As one may be led to think, the film is heavily oriented to action, and the notorious dose of violence display is visually charged with spellbinding artistry and significant substance. However, audiences curiously looking after this film specifically because of the action will be disappointed because of their interest being based on the wrong reasons. It is mainly composed by two major battle scenes. Usually the most famous scene and the one that usually stands out is the destructive attack at Saburo's castle. Ran is a parable for the actuality set in the Sengoku period of predominant civil wars, contrasting gorgeously-looking blood sprays with undeniable philosophy and hidden layers of complexity. In the process, a perfect balance between analytical character development and breathtaking action is created, spending more time in the first difficult task. However, the film adopted a much more tragic tone, even scratching the typical realm of melodrama. This outcome is not distractive, and the fact that this masterpiece is directly implying that, considering humankind's lust for power, we could be driven today to similar events to the consequences depicted here, is the true source of terror that asks us to consider that the technological advancement is a much bigger threat than it was before. Madness and insatiable power is just trigger's sparkle.

    The extraordinary costume design and the spellbindingly colorful art direction are just visual incentives that end up strengthening the ideals of Ran, "Ran" standing for "chaos". Once more, the concept of "antagonist" is subject to debate and the film itself is an extensively provocative analysis of the implications found inside a lustful, bad-intentioned family. Remarkable and theatrical performances decorate the madness and mayhem ensued from the decisions taken by the three sons, including the one that incarnates human's sincerity, not to mention the makeup that enhances Tatsuya Nakadai's desperation. It is also a testament against political insanity and the ridiculousness that the desperate attempts of family and social redemption involves, especially when an unstoppable chain of reactions has already been irreversibly unleashed. Despite the fact that Kurosawa was aiming towards a much more pretentious material, the power of Ran and its influential capacity has remained intact, orchestrating an opera of heavenly collisions between violins and pianos, and warfare of steel, fire and powder. It is one of the best films of all times. This is Kurosawa's furious manifesto.

    100/100
  • mrchewbacca
    November 4, 2009
    mrchewbacca
    This epic is visually
    magnetic!
  • caiojeremy
    November 1, 2009
    caiojeremy
    Grande épico. Uma adaptação de Rei Lear do Shakespeare nos moldes do Japão Feudal.
  • SonOfBacchus
    September 19, 2009
    SonOfBacchus
    excellent movie. good job akira
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