Friday, November 6, 2009

Akira Kurosawa's Ran


"Ran (乱?, "chaos" or "revolt") is a 1985 film written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. It is a jidaigeki (Japanese period drama) depicting the fall of Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai), an aging Sengoku-era warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. The story is based on legends of the daimyo Mōri Motonari, as well as on the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear." [wiki]

I think if I were to teach a class on Shakespeare's King Lear, I would also make Ran required watching. It's magnificent and epic. The use of color is astounding. It's like watching a moving painting.




2 comments:

Dan said...

Agreed. I'd go as far to say that Ran is Kurosawa's masterpiece.

Jay said...

The scale is incredible. It's a bit slow in the beginning (I almost gave up on it) but that last act is unrelenting!