A legend???

Rating: 7/10 (16 March 2005)

If you know even the smallest bit of information about film making you will have heard of Akira Kurosawa. To call him a film director is somewhat mistaken as his movie making reflects his writing and cinematography as well.
His influences on the film making world are great as well as happily being able to be inspired by many different sources. When Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola admire you enough to have a quick whip around with the hat to raise enough money so you can make a film, the term legend is not strong enough.
He has made 16th century Japan his most popular subject both because this period represents the height of purely Japanese culture (becoming unique from Chinese culture and only just beginning to encounter western culture) and because it was a time of great conflict.
Ran is based on a range of different sources. Those who think this is a Japanese version of Shakespeares "King Lear" are sadly mistaken. Yes, throne of blood was a remake of "Macbeth" but this movie uses a number of different inspirations. Yes, there is King Lear in there and that story is the main guide for Ran, but with many different developments. The primary inspiration for the story is from a real Samuri who split his empire between his 3 sons. Only in reality the 3 sons ruled happily and this story the opposite happens. He also manages to integrate elements of traditional Japanese No theater into the mix. He did this with throne of blood, but here it is seamless.
The story starts with with the old war lord leading a hunting party. Afterwards he seems to fall asleep. My view is that he is not really asleep but dead and what we see later is his Ghost. He has a dream and when he "wakes up" he decides to split his kingdom between his sons.
Then things go wrong. The sons fight each other and him. He is a man condemned to a hell where he sees the empire he has built ruined by the hate and betrayal of his life.
A great epic tragedy. Perhaps many people will watch this movie after reading reviews wondering why people seem to think this movie is so great. Kurosawa is one of the most innovative film makers of all time. If you are interested in film making then his movies are a must. But those who complain that he never had enough main stream exposure, get over it. Americans took his innovations, slicked them up for a mass audience.
Watch it, enjoy it, feel moved, analyze it, probably fail to get all the ideas, then watch it again. It is probably a little bit long and spends too much time on the ex-warlord going mad scenes and the ending is a bit of a fizzer.....(hmmm.......I can here the angry cry of a thousand angry film school students)....but it is still the work of one of the greatest geniuses in film making.
And don't forget to watch the DVD comments, but seriously I don't think they really understand Kurosawa's real genius (for example, he tends to film the people listening rather than those talking, why, the talking is merely giving information, it is the reaction of the listener that is the most important).