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Summary: hey
Review: does anyone else think lady kaede is pretty ugly?
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Summary: great...but a question
Review: First, let me say I found this film amazing, though I only saw it once. Now, does any one else agree with me that the painfully long scene involving Heditora and the jester rather...boring. I'm sure many of you feel Kurosawa is the greatest filmaker of all time, and can surely give me some input as to the importance of this scene. I thought the point was made much faster than the part lasted. Contact me atchatham@baka.com
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Summary: Visual Poetry From The Master Of Japanese Cinema
Review: 'Ran' was not Akira Kurosawa's last film but it grandly serves as a fine epitaph for one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. It was his last epic film and, by far and away, his best. This adaptation of Shakespeares 'King Lear' is both tragic and touching, warm and heart-breaking. It moves along at a somber pace, as if it didn't know where it was going. We watch the fall of a king, the manipulation of another, a family destroying itself, blood being spilled, loyalties being torn apart... and we feel it happen to us. Kurosawa's greatest gift was to attach the audience to his characters. By the end of 'Ran' we have been devastated and redeemed. The true human aspects of the story never take second place to the pure spectacle on the screen. With an outstanding group of actors at his disposal, Oscar winning Costume Design, and the sheer beauty of the setting, Kurosawa creates his greatest film of a long and gifted career. A film for true followers of the medium by a man who not only worked in it but perfected it as well. A true masterpiece.
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Summary: Samurai Shakespeare
Review: This is supposed to be the story of an actual Medieval Japanese Warlord who divided his realm among his sons. It looks suspiciously like a reworking of Shakespeare's "King Lear". Kurosawa has borrowed from Western literature before: "Throne of Blood" reworked "MacBeth"; "Yojimbo" was derived from "Red Harvest"; and "Seven Samurai" patterned itself after the Hollywood Western. Hollywood, of course, repayed the complement with "The Magnificent Seven". The familiar story of Lear is well-told, the cinematography is spectacular, and the battle scenes are absorbing. The subtitles can be somewhat off-putting, but once you become engrossed in the story, you willingly cope with the minor inconvenience. Actually, the subtitles add to the artistry of the movie. Dubbing would have made the show look like one of those B grade Kung Fu movies.
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Summary: Finest Movie Ever Made
Review: If you have yet to see Akira Kurosawa's Ran, then go buy it. Now. This is, in the opinion of many, the finest movie ever made. It is easy to see why so many hold this view, as it combines great writing (It's based on Shakespeare's King Lear afterall), incredibly cinematography (the reason it is ONLY availible in widescreen in that Kurosawa is one of the only directors who knew how to use the letterbox format), and great action. At the time of it's filming it was the most expensive Japanese movie ever made, and it shows. The costumes were given great attention, as were the spectacular battle scenes, all involving thousands of fully costumed extras. The battle scene in which no sound effects were used creates an incredible amount of tension and shows the collapsing mind of King Hidetora literally. All in all this is one of the best movies ever. Buy it NOW!
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Summary: GREAT MOVIE, HORRIBLE DVD
Review: Terribly dissapointing - the picture quality is flat, sort of dead, maybe the worst picture I've seen on a DVD and yes, I have seen Scarface. It doesn't end there - the letterbox is pushed all the way up the TV screen! It's really sad that Fox Lorber is releasing classics by Kurosawa and Truffaut - I know that in the not too distant future someone else will release the versions of these films we deserve and I'll be stuck. Ran has been re-released to theatres in Sept. so maybe a good Ran is on the way - do yourself a favor: WAIT
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Summary: I wanted a DVD RAN - but not this one.....
Review: I strongly agree with those who were as disappointed that the quality of the digital transfer did not match the greatness of this film. It was a big turnoff. I remember so clearly what it looked and sounded like on the big screen. This wasn't even close!
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Summary: Quite possibly the greatest film ever made
Review: ..... Or, to say the least, one of the greatest, doubtlessly. Akira Kurosawa, perhaps best known for his big, daring Samurai epics, once again provides the audience with a piece that is both rich in human content whilst technologically empowering with mind numbingly beautiful camera work, a masterful score and amazing, consequence-showing battle scenes. Once instance is in which an entire battle (very one-sided, as well) takes place with no sound effects, rather Toru Takemitsu's ingenius score. The film itself is the Feudal Japan equivalent of King Lear, with small subplots and a reverse. The lord distributes his land among his three sons rather than his three daughters, as is the case with King Lear. I will not divulge information about the plot, it's very complex and very... um... see it for yourself. My only regret is that the film's amazing score is not currently in print.
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Summary: wow
Review: This is an amazing movie. Amazing battle scenes. Amazing visuals. Powerful depiction of loyalty and treachery among brothers, husband & wife, etc. Calm turns to chaos as the plot escalates. And it completely blows my mind to think of how they got all those people and horses to make those unbelievably vivid battle scenes. Wow. The main female character is amazing, too. This is definitely an epic movie. It'll take a while to watch (3+ hours?), so set aside time for it.
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Summary: Despite a minor flaw, Akira Kurosawa's Ran is magnificent
Review: Ran is a great film, infact, possibly the best foreign film I've ever seen. It has a great plot and great battle scenes. It's about an old ruler name Hidetora who wants to divide his power equally between his three sons. While he announces that he is going to give most of the power to his oldest son, the youngest sun, Saburo, disagrees. He then insults his father. Hidetora then banishes him. After that... in fact, I'm not going to tell you any more. Let's just say that the plot thickens as Hidetora goes to his oldest son's castle. Things end up with Hidetora fighting his sons, and his sons fighting each other and it's simply chaotic. Ran means chaos is Japanese. The battle scenes are good, too. The castle siege is great, despite the fact that the sound is cut out for almost the whole battle. The scene where Jiro, the 2cd oldest son, attacks Saburo (the youngest son) is great, too. The only flaw is that you get annoyed very easily by Hidetora after the castle siege. He becomes mad and is just very annoying. But that's a very minor flaw. All in all: PROS: Great story; Nice battle scenes; an "epic" quality throughout. CONS: Hidetora gets really annoying. BOTTOM LINE: Another great film by Akira Kurosawa. Possibly his best.
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