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Ran (Masterworks Edition) Actors: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu Director: Akira Kurosawa Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Color, Widescreen, Dolby Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Running Time: 160 minutes Studio: Wellspring Media, In Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-04-15 Buy from Amazon |
 "Overrated"As a South-African, I have been more or less unaffected by the Kurosawa hype that seems ubiquitous in the United States of America. I happened upon copies of two of his more revered works, "Ran" and "Seven Samurai", and have to say that was resolutely dissappointed. Ran is ponderous and pulpily paced when there is no battle taking place. The film seems to have been designed solely around the epic battle scenes, which are magnifiscent. The "King Lear" intertext is well imagined, but tenuously arranged, merely fascilitating the films expansive raison d' etre. Contrary to what many people believe, Kurosawa directed and designed his films with a shrewd eye for the American public and its perceptions, while adding elements of Noh Japanese theatre to taint the efficacy of such accusations. His choice to adapt "King Lear", as well as "Macbeth" for "Throne of Blood", was unfortunate and caused widespread dissatisfaction within his native country especially towards the end of his life, although the films were devoured by American audiences. His work is just as much a gateway into Japanese culture as the "Mr. Bean" series is into U.K. culture. "Seven Samurai" is a copy of the Western prototype, bloated by an hour and a half. "Rashomon"'s central conceit is not nearly as revolutionary as it at first seems. For authenticity, try the films of Yasujiro Ozu (grim social realism) or Masaki Kobayashi (gripping surrealism, esp. on "Kwaidan").  "Good restoration project - but beware the subtitles"I'd give this DVD of RAN 5 stars for the film itself, a terrific adaptation of Shakespeare's KING LEAR set in feudal Japan. The restoration, though, rates a little lower at 4 stars. The movie itself has been remastered from a 35mm print, resulting in more vivid colors and greater image detail, although some Kurosawa enthusiasts may be put off slightly by occasional dithering and shimmering glitches that plague some restoration projects such as this. The sound, including the haunting orchestral score, have more presence and depth than in my old VHS copy. Now for the bad news - this DVD only gets 2 stars for an amateurish subtitling job. It's obvious that the English subtitles were simply lifted from the theatrical release without much care, and too many misspellings abound, including one incident where Saburo was once named "Suburo." (What next - "Subaru?" Will Lord Hidetora watch as his most abrasive son morphs into a Justy and spirits him off to safety?) Fortunately, the subtitles can be turned off. Rounding up the scores, 4 stars to this DVD release. A film like this clearly deserves to be treated with much more care and respect when being translated for non-Japanese speakers, especially since Kurosawa has now passed away. If the folks at Wellspring Media want to prove to Kurosawa's fans that they're not "gaijin no baka," they'll offer free replacement DVDs with the errors corrected. But that's just me.  "Beauty in Chaos"This is, quite possibly, the greatest Japanese movie ever made. The late, great Kurosawa was, and is, the primer filmaker of modern-day Japanese cinema. This take of Shakespeare's King Lear is full of heart wrenching betrayal, unrequited loyalty, and a bloodlust for power. With a film score by the peerless Toru Takemitsu and the hawk-eye of the wonderful Asakazu Nakai, Ran tells the tale of a old king, abdicating his throne to his three sons, who then squabble over the remains of the kingdom. Set in fedual Japan around the 17th centuary, I assume, Ran is a masterpiece any gormand of Japanese cinema should at least once. Multiple times if you can afford it. "Ride into battle with the old man""Nobody does action like Akira Kurosawa," says Stephen Prince, one of two commentators on "Ran." The film shows that the master had lost none of his touch for mayhem, even as he reached his mid-70s. "Ran's" battle sequences were so convincing that Japanese press reports claimed he used as many as 120,000 extras as soldiers (really about 1,400). "Ran," in the 1.85:1 ratio that Kurosawa adopted in his later years, also posts improvements in image quality, as demonstrated on a restoration-comparison feature. Still, the film quality has suffered over the past 18 years, with a fair amount of instability in the images. Even stationary objects seem to quiver at times. The 5.1 surround mix sounds terrific, elevating the experience without calling attention to itself. The music of Tori Takemitsu is in full force during the famous battle scenes. Prince, author of "The Warrior's Camera," about Kurosawa, spends much of his talk on the director's signature techniques such as shooting scenes from afar with multiple cameras fitted with telephoto lenses. "His long lenses transform space, completely changing realities as they existed in front of the camera," Prince notes. "Ran" is filled with amazing performances. Tatsuya Nakadai plays Lord Hidetora (King Lear), whose three sons battle for his kingdom. Mieko Harada plays his daughter-in-law Kaede, one of Kurosawa's most powerful characters, male of female. Check out the astonishing scene as she dominates one of the sons -- mentally, physically and sexually. A second commentary, by Japanese culture expert Peter Grilli, is largely ancedotal, telling of the difficulty Kurosawa had in raising funds for the film. His talk is interesting, but a bit strange as he settles for extended silences throughout. "Ran Movie Review for Asian History 4th Quarter Project""Ran" is a Japanese Samurai movie directed by Akira Korusawa. It is about a powerful Japanese warlord who is nearing the end of his life and is ready to divide his land and power between either his sons or his peers. Hidetora, the lord chooses to divide his belongings between his sons, Taro, Jiro and Saburo Taro and Jiro are the two eldest sons respectively, and they look down on Saburo. They treat him like an ignorant boy. They are do-gooders, and kiss up to their father even when he isn't even listening to them. Saburo has more sense than Taro and Jiro, and he thinks about things before he decides to believe them. He knows how relationships work, rather than how they're expected to. Hidetora gives Taro supreme power and the first castle with its surrounding lands. Jiro gets the second castle and its surroundings, and Saburo gets the third castle and its surroundings. After Hidetora makes this announcement, he presents a metaphor to his sons', which states that a single arrow is weaker than a bundle of three arrows. Taro and Jiro easily accept the metaphor. Saburo, after thinking about it and applies its meaning to real life decides it wouldn't work in his and his brothers situation and defies his father by showing that it's possible to break three arrows together, and says that the sons will not get along if sharing land and power. After this act of disrespect, Hidetora banishes Saburo and this later on sparks civil war between the three sons. Taro (yellow), Jiro (red), Saburo (blue), and Ayabe (black) all eventually go to war for the lands, and in the end Ayabe wins after the deaths of all the brothers. "Ran" is the Japanese version of Shakespeare's "King Lear". The plot is good, partly because it is based on a great play, but overall, I didn't enjoy the movie. It looked as if Hidetora was wearing a phony mask, or had a very overdone make-up job. The acting was very forced and seemed staged. The way the speech sounded was also forced, and nothing seemed natural to the actors. The fight scenes, which I will admit were cool at first, went on way too long, and were just the same thing over and over again. They became redundant and boring. All of the battles had tons of blood. The blood looked like cheap paint, and it dominated many of the shots. There would be ten men all piled together, looking like they were marinated in paint after a fight scene. Each shot was about a minute long, which seemed like an eternity for most all of them, and it made the movie much longer than it could've been. One thing I liked was to see how everything came together in the end in the deaths of all three brothers and the father, and the victory by Ayabe and his army in the civil war that took place during the bulk of the movie. Another thing the movie did well was display the life of a Samurai in Japan. Although they were kiss-ups, Taro and Jiro showed great respect, and patience with their father. Saburo showed great thought, and comprehension of situations. Hidetora was very wise and respected. He was a great warrior, which is an inference I picked up when I learned he owned three castles and their lands, all of which he gained through war. All in all, I didn't like "Ran". If I ever want a story like it again, I'll go ahead and read "King Lear", but if you've already seen or read "King Lear", and want a different point of view from a different society, then "Ran" may be a great movie for you. |
