Wow, what a film. If any of you have read "King Lear" (my personal favorite work of literature ever) you'll understand how hard it is to put the words to an actual performance ... it's in fact notorious for its difficulty to capture all of the essential elements of humanity that Shakespeare planted.

Kurosawa decided to tackle this mighty work at the end of his life. Having already done great movies like Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Yojimbo during a career that spanned decades, Kurosawa basically established himself as the Japanese Kubrick. It would probably be better to say that Kubrick is the American Kurosawa.

The film itself is shot in beautiful Japan, with rolling images of the gorgeous countryside opening the movie and continuing as a scintillating background throughout. The Shakespearean element is altered a bit, as the three daughters in Lear turn into three sons in Ran. but the premise is still the same: an old, maddening king divides his lands among his children, leaving out the only one who truly loves him.

Magnificent wars ensue, and the movie has a breathtaking scene where an entire army stops and lets the broken, deposed king pass unscathed. Other moments both amazing and wretched fill the 160 minutes of this film. Without revealing too much, the last two scenes are among the saddest I've ever seen put to film.

I'd advise all of you to see Ran, and Kurosawa's other magnificent films. It's worth it.

For those of you who have seen: discuss.

Ah yes, this is on my list, thanks for the reminder



Kurosawa is a god

Remember the final scene with the blind man?

That's the single most frightening scene I've ever witnessed in film.

RAN is a work of pure genious.

Kurosawa is the second best director in movie history.

or

That's the SECOND greatest director I've ever seen!