As critic Roger Ebert observed in his original review of Ran, this epic tragedy might have been attempted by a younger director, but only the Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, who made the film at age 75, could bring the requisite experience and maturity to this stunning interpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear. It’s a film for the ages–one of the few genuine screen masterpieces–and arguably serves as an artistic summation of the great director’s career. In this version of the Shakespeare tragedy, the king is a 16th-century warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai as Lord Hidetora) who decides to retire and divide his kingdom evenly among his three sons. When one son defiantly objects out of loyalty to his father and warns of inevitable sibling rivalry, he is banished and the kingdom is awarded to his compliant siblings. The loyal son’s fears are valid: a duplicitous power struggle ensus and the aging warlord witnesses a maelstrom of horrifying death and destruction. Although the film is slow to establish its story, it’s clear that Kurosawa, who planned and painstakingly designed the production for 10 years before filming began, was charting a meticulous and tightly formalized dramatic strategy. As familial tensions rise and betrayal sends Lord Hidetora into the throes of escalating madness, Ran (the title is the Japanese character for “chaos” or “rebellion”) reaches a fever pitch through epic battles and a fortress assault that is simply one of the most amazing sequnces on film. –Jeff Shannon
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Ran – Criterion Collection was pleasurable! You have to look this movie! A unspeakable performance by Tatsuya Nakadai & Akira Terao make Ran – Criterion Collection a “have to occupy” movie!
The mind-boggling cast includes Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada. This cast just make Ran – Criterion Collection the more wonderful!
Bj Penn Vs Diego Sanchez
Bj Penn Vs Diego Sanchez
