Ran (1985)
Grade: 88
In 1957, Japanese Director Akira Kurosawa borrowed from Shakespeare's "Macbeth" for his film "Throne of Blood". Nearly three decades later, Kurosawa returned to the setting of medieval Japanese armies at war, this time adapting plot elements from Shakespeare's "King Lear". "Ran" is the Japanese symbol for chaos, an apt description of the story: the disintegration of a family dynasty through ambition, treachery and war.
Elderly warlord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to cede power to his eldest son Taro (Akira Terao). Middle son Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu) approves, but youngest son Saburo (Daisuke Ryu) objects, suggesting that the family will be destroyed by the rival ambitions of the older brothers. Hidetora banishes his impudent son, but his prophecy quickly comes to pass. Hidetora is turned out by his sons, becomes lunatic, and hides in the countryside aided only by court jester Kyoami (Peter) and loyal servant Tango (Masayuki Yui). Meanwhile, Taro's wife Kaede (Mieko Harada) uses Taro and Jiro in her machinations for revenge against the Ichimonji family, leading to a disastrous war with Saburo's soldiers and allies.
As in "Throne of Blood", the destructive ambitions of the warlords are stoked by the schemes of a woman (Kaede). The battle scenes, the sets, and the cinematography are all excellent. Just one complaint: there must be a hundred warriors shot down from their horses, but not once does a horse fall. I am not advocating cruelty to animals, but medieval marksmanship couldn't have been that good!
Hidetora has two distinct personalities: the bold, ruthless warlord, and the lost, cowardly madman. It is to Nadakai's credit that he plays both roles well. His character's wild mane of white hair perfectly matches his pathos. The effeminate supporting character of Kyoami is the most interesting: the court fool can say things that, if said by others, would be treasonous. But it is advice worth considering.
With the help of the Internet Movie Database, I did some quick research on Kurosawa. Sixteen films that he directed have received at least fifty votes. All sixteen films average between 8.0 and 8.9 (out of 10), an extremely impressive record of consistency. Kurosawa, who was 75 years old at film's completion, also edited and co-wrote "Ran" (with Hideo Oguni and Masato Ide). It was at the time the most expensive Japanese film ever made. It was nominated for four Academy Awards (unusual for a foreign-language film) including Best Director and Best Cinematography (Takao Saito, Masaharu Ueda, Asakazu Nakai).
kollers@mpsi.net http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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