A film that truly lives up to the word "Epic"

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2014)

Akira Kurosawa is one of the greatest filmmakers ever and his last epic film Ran is often considered one of his best, an adaptation of King Lear. Ran is a visually striking, thematic epic that Kurosawa's fan will love. Ran is glorious to look at, having fantastic colours, costumes and cinematography of the Japanese plains and mountains. The characters are rich, major and minor as well defined and have a role to play with their character dynamic. Tatsuya Nakadai as Hidetora is a character who goes through the ringer as he descends into madness, face all his sins when he rose to power and goes into a mental and physical void as he ends up in a wasteland. The battle of Third Castle was a terrific sequence as a small force are in a last stand against massive army attacks, using arrows and muskets. It was beautifully shot battle, showing the scale of the army and showing the carriage as Hidetora's mind cracks.
A theme of power corrupts as Hidetora seek power as his sons want to have complete control of the land. All the characters have their own agendas and the only ones who are loyal to Hidetora are the ones he rejected. All the characters in the power struggle are all trying to play one against the other.
Kurosawa direction is superb, a great looking film and he allowed scenes to play out in long takes, allowing the drama to play out and adds to the theatrical nature of the acting and story. Kurosawa even uses the weather to great effect to enhance the emotion and turmoil the characters and world suffers, much like Rashomon and Throne of Blood.
Ran is typical Kurosawa.