Kurosawa's best film (Ran (DVD))

Member Name: gillberg

Product:	Ran (DVD)
Date:	08/02/01 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A piece of art you can watch for 160 minutes

Disadvantages: The "camp" court jester not being killed

I have no idea about King Lear which this film is based on and after watching the film I'm not really bothered. Knowing that it is a re-telling of Shakespare's plot is a mere pub quiz trivia note. The film is magnificently told and even though it is 160 minutes long, I watched most of it again straight after my first sitting. The wonders of DVD.
The story concerns Lord Hidetora giving control of his kingdom over to his eldest son. When your watching this you're thinking, alright so he divides the land what could possibly happen. Well, all hell breaks loose! His three sons (Saburo, Taro, Jiro) are uneasy when they are told what their father is planning. It is Saburo who actually tells his father that he is making a foolish decision. Jiro and Taro try to keep him quiet and tell their father how good he is. Saburo doesn't let up though and is promptly told to leave and never return. It's when the Lord Hidetora goes to Saburo's now empty castle that the film steps up a level. The battle (massacre) at the castle is wonderfully filmed. There are unusually no sound effects, you only get the score, which increases the emotional feeling that Kurosawa is putting across. This betrayal by his sons drives him insane and this is his state for most of the film.
Ran is not a one dimensional action movie. It is telling a much deeper story. You feel sorry for what is happening to Hidetora and his family but not as much when you find out what they have done to others. Revenge is one of the key aspects in the film.
The battle sequences are beautiful and filled with pure horror as well. As I mentioned the massacre at Saburos (?) castle is really vivid. You just know that Hidetora is out manned but his men never give up.

As with other Kurosawa films it is speaking about how we as human beings treat each other. Always fighting and killing each other. Tango's speach at the end fits in well with what we have watched. Yes, the character i
s called Tango.
The costumes throughout the film are gorgeous and the samurai uniforms are absolutely tremendous. You really feel that you are in feudal Japan.

If you can get the video. There's a documentary about the making of the film. It shows how much effort Kurosawa put into making the film. A true classic, almost as good as Seven Samurai.

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