What's Hot: Add New Fall Shows to Your Watchlist; Arrow Season 2 Villains; CBS Pulls Mike & Molly; Fall TV Day-By-Day Grid

Ran

1985, Movie, R, 160 mins

Ran: Review

At age 75, Akira Kurosawa, Japan's greatest living director, created one more magnificent work that will surely stand the test of time. In RAN, Kurosawa turned to Shakespeare for inspiration--as he had in THRONE OF BLOOD nearly 30 years before--and chose to film a Japanese adaptation of "King Lear." Set in 16th-century Japan, RAN (the Japanese character for fury, revolt, and madness--chaos) begins as Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai), an aging warlord who has acquired power through 50 years of ruthless bloodshed, announces his intention to divide his kingdom among his three sons, each of whom will live at one of three outlying castles. While the elder sons thank him for the honor, the youngest calls his father senile and mad, noting--prophetically--that it will only be a matter of time until the ambitious brothers begin battling for possession of the whole domain. In the process, Hidetora and his kingdom are consigned to a tragic and spectacular end. For more than 10 years, Kurosawa wanted desperately to make RAN, and, on the strength of KAGEMUSHA's success, he was finally able to obtain funding for this, the most expensive film ever made in Japan (though the $11 million budget is small by Hollywood standards). Partly shot at two of that country's most revered landmarks (the ancient castles at Himeji and Kumamoto; the third castle was constructed of plastic and wood on the slopes of Mount Fuji), RAN is a visually stunning epic, containing some of the most beautiful, colorful, breathtaking imagery ever committed to celluloid. As he grew older, Kurosawa began to shoot his films in a more traditionally Japanese style (static takes, little camera movement, no flamboyant editing). Here, especially in the battle scenes, he adopts a detached, impassive camera, heightening the tragedy by giving the audience a godlike but powerless perspective on all the madness and folly unfolding onscreen. At the same time, Kurosawa infuses the film with deep human emotion, aided by uniformly superb performances. The work of a mature artist in complete control of his medium, RAN is a true cinematic masterwork of sight, sound, intelligence, and--most important--passion. leave a comment

Are You Watching?

Ran

Loading ...

Shop

Buy Honey, I Ran Over the Kid from Amazon.com
(Amazon Instant Video)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy New: $1.99 (as of 05/21/13 2:33 PM EST - more info)

Buy When Time Ran Out from Amazon.com
From Warner Home Video (DVD)
Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy New: $4.99 (as of 05/21/13 2:33 PM EST - more info)

more Ran products

Our Partners

Who Won 'DWTS'? PublishDate = 5/21/2013 6:57:50 PM
Back For More PublishDate = 5/21/2013 2:03:53 PM
'Girls' Adds To Season 3 Cast PublishDate = 5/21/2013 11:49:08 AM
Before They Were The Bluths PublishDate = 5/21/2013 7:07:08 AM
CBS Pulls 'Mike & Molly' Tornado-Set Finale PublishDate = 5/20/2013 2:22:12 PM
Jon Stewart Lampoons Toronto Mayor For Allegedly Smoking Crack: Maybe He’s Personally Cleaning Up The City PublishDate = 5/22/2013 3:37:04 AM
Coulter And Hannity Tear Into Obama Admin. For Systematic Targeting Of Conservaties And Fox PublishDate = 5/22/2013 2:41:05 AM
'Return of the Jedi': 25 Things You Didn't Know About the Original 'Star Wars' Trilogy Finale PublishDate = 5/21/2013 3:09:37 PM

Ran

1985, Movie, R, 160 mins

Ran: Review

Shop

Our Partners

Related Websites

Most Popular TV Shows

Most Popular Celebrities

Most Popular Movies

Top Videos