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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 |
 "Technically Brilliant, BUT"tedious and rather academic. The battle scenes are the stand out in this beautiful but flawed film. It's said that Kurosawa worked on this film for 10 years. Maybe he tried too hard! Perhaps that is why it is over blown and tired at the same time. Lacking the rich characterizations and humanism of Kurosawa's earlier works it entertains but in the end leaves you cold. It could have used a big dose of Toshiro Mifune!  "I WISH PETER JACKSON WOULD REMAKE THIS!!"This is a good action epic for the time it was made (the 1980s) but I wish that Peter Jackson (Fellowship Of The Ring) would remake it in English - he's our finest epic filmmaker right now and he could make this story both more exciting and more emotional (this version lacks feeling). Also, modern day special effects would allow for bigger battles and more realistic violence. Yet this version is still worth a look if you are into epic action movies like "Braveheart" and "Lawrence of Arabia". Peace.  "One of the greatest movies of all time"If Mr. Blakes_Angel from PA (review) thinks Fellowship of the Ring is more exciting or emotional than a movie like "RAN", then God save us. RAN and Kurosawa's other epics are way above the rest. His movies leave a lasting impression that one carries for a long time. But I guess nowadays the mentality of movie watching has dropped down to 12 -14 year olds, and indeed epics like RAN would appear boring to those people. A thousand times recommended for those who like movies with depth and are interested in fundamental human psyche. "Excellent film, mediocre DVD package"While i don't necessarily agree that this is Kurosawa's best film (for me that would be either "Seven Samurai" or "Kagemusha"), it is huge, brilliant and gripping. As with "King's Ransome", the the American "police procedural novel by Ed McBain that he adapted to modern-day Japan, Kurosawa finds themes in Shakespeare's "King Lear" which, while arguably universal, resonate particularly well with Japanese ideas and ways. Tragedy is set in motion when Lord Hidetori, who has spent much of his life in the saddle, amassing a large fiefdom by conquest, decides that he is too old to rule properly and steps aside in favour of his eldest son, planning to settle lands and castles on his other sons, as well. And thus into the familiar story from Shakespeare. The sheer size and scope of this film are amazing; the design is incredible and the battle scenes are overwhelming. And Kurosawa's directorial bravura is always amazing -- in his next previous film, "Kagemusha", he had staged the battle that destroys a powerful clan almost totally with sound effects and reaction shots of officers and others watching from the hills above. In, on the other hand, "Ran", the battle for a castle is filmed in horrifying detail of gushing blood, dismembered wounded, fire and terror, but staged in complete silence... Until the shot from ambush that kills a Lord rings out, and then the full sound suddenly batters the viewer until the battle ends. Brilliant, beautiful, huge and moving, this is a film for the ages. Unfortunately, the DVD package doesn't live up to the film -- aside from a theatrical trailer, the only "extras" on the disc are text-only partial flimographiesof Kurosawa and star Tatsuya Nakadai. Such a huge and special film deserves a special package, but it fails to get it here. If the film were any lesser in stature, the sparse DVD extras might lose one star for the package as a whole; but this one gets five stars in spite of its lacks. ((Luckily, i understand that a much-more-extensive package, including another feature film and extensive other material, will be out in the near future.)) "Dark Masterpiece"This movie is a masterpiece. But it's not for people who are looking for light entertainment. Based on Shakespeare's King Lear, the film may leave you with a feeling that there's no hope left in the world. The battle and massacre scenes at one of the castles are stunning. It's what I imagine Dante's Inferno would look like. And the images of the old lord leaving the burning castle are truly unforgettable. Tatsuya Nakadai plays the lead character, Lord Hidetora. He starred in dozens of movies, many of them classics. But he gives perhaps his finest performance in Ran. It's also worth seeing this movie just to watch Lady Kaede, played by actress Mieko Harada. She is the one person everyone will remember. Kurosawa has a knack for creating female characters who can make their macho samurai husbands look like wimps. If you've ever seen Throne of Blood, then you'll know what I'm talking about. The scene where Kaede finds a bug on the floor is not to be missed. |
