Review of Ran (1985) by Damjan R — 08 May 2014
The circle of violence and vengeance has to be completed and when the final shot is shown & the final question is asked this is what Ran so expressively does and on such a grand scale. The direction from Kurosawa is excellent once again with every shot being a little composition masterpiece.
the film looks great with the production sparing no expense in the epic battle scenes. But more importantly, this is once again a Kurosawa character study done by way of Shakespeare, where loyalty & ambition clash in such a violent way it can only end one way.
The story weaves, twists and turns only to come back to the source of the problem for Lord Hidetora, who endures the fate he has inflicted on others, with his family in shambles and his enemies triumphant.
At the same time, the story does suffer from pacing issues and occasional forays into melodramatics and the acting is uneven at best. Recommended viewing, especially for fans of high drama and high stakes.
This review of Ran (1985) was written by Damjan R on 08 May 2014.
Ran has generally received very positive reviews.
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