Samurai Legends Meet Shakespeare

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2014)

An elderly lord abdicates to his three sons, and the two corrupt ones turn against him.
Is this Kurosawa's masterpiece? One would think the title of masterpiece ought to go to "Seven Samurai" or "Rashomon", and they are probably right. But an argument can be made for "Ran". The blend of traditional Japanese storytelling with Shakespeare? The years Kurosawa put into this, story-boarding every detail? And those hundreds of colorful, handmade costumes? Certainly this deserves recognition.
If nothing else, we can probably say this is Kurosawa's finest film in color. He may have been more influential in the 1960s, but this does not mean he ever stopped making great films.