Review of Ran (1985) by Michael Y — 06 Oct 2010

Well. This movie scares the fuck out of me. As if Shakespeare's "King Lear" wasn't brutal enough, the world famous Akira Kurosawa, a man known for making depressing and violent movies has tackled this tragedy.

Ran, based on King Lear, is about an aged warlord who passes on his land and rule to his sons. But his youngest son rejects his offer because of his belief that his father's violent and bloody past has affected the minds and fates of his family. And how right he is. From then on the story is all about greed, trechory, murder, and the father's descent into madness. Though there are many changes and the story is more simplified compared to King Lear, it does not hurt the movie at all. Kurosawa's vision of King Lear in an Ancient Japan setting gives the story a new respectable look. This movie not only hightens the feelings and lessons of King Lear, but Kurosawa's also focuses on a "godlessness" theme which becomes incredably horrifying.

Akira Kurosawa is one of, if not, the greatest film director of all time. And he gives it his all in this movie. With a greater budget than his other films, everything in this movie is perfect. Unbelievable costumes details, fantastic makeup, chilling music score, and not to mention the movie's achitecture and sets, one tower which was built just for the purpose of burning it down. That's commitment. All combined with Kurosawa's years of filmmeking knowledge to make this movie an epic like no other. And not to mention the wonderful and haunting preformances, especially from the ones who played the scary Lord Hidetora and the femme fetal Lady Kaede.

Kurosawa's inspiration knows no bounds for he is the one who created modern cinema. With his representation of the world in his films, he not only opened new bounds in storytelling to touch, but new ways to show them. Though Ran is one of his latest, it is still just as impressive as any other of his films and a must see for movie buffs.