RAN Movie Review
1985 Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa's mature masterpiece is an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, with strong elements of his own Throne of Blood, itself a version of Macbeth. Such comparisons apply only to specific plot elements. In every respect this is one of the most significant achievements of world cinema—an epic of war, betrayal, madness and family.
As an old man, Lord Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) has consolidated a vast kingdom out of the confusion of feudal Japan. (The title refers to a Japanese character which translates, in part, as “chaos.”) One afternoon after a tiring hunt, he decides that he will turn over his authority to Taro (Akira Terao), the oldest of his three sons. Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu), the middle son, agrees, but Saburo (Ryu Daisuke), the youngest, says no, claiming that the old man is sowing the seeds of discord among them. Enraged, Ichimonji banishes Saburo and divides his kingdom among the other two. Of course, he'll keep his personal guards, his concubines, his titles, his honors, etc. etc.
The only people who remain faithful to him are the sturdy vassal Tango (Masayuki Yui), and Ikoma (Kazuo Kato), the wise fool. The two sons immediately begin to plot against each other, though it's immediately apparent that Lady Kaede (Mieko Harada), wife of Taro, is the most Machiavellian, and perhaps the most powerful force in the kingdom. As their various schemes are spun out, the depths of Ichimonji's own cruel history is slowly revealed. At the same time, he could reverse his folly and atone for his sins if he only chooses to do so. But this is a classical tragedy—the story of a powerful man brought down by his own failings, even when he is given every chance to redeem himself.
Though the cast members are probably unfamiliar to most Western viewers, they manage to give these potentially stiff, cold characters believable personalities. The most memorable of them is Meiko Harada's Lady Kaede, who makes Lady Macbeth look like a Girl Scout.
Shakespeare purists may be put off by Kurosawa's vision of the Bard, but it's absolutely true in spirit. Instead of attempting to bring the poetic language directly to the screen, he translates it into image. Ichimonji's madness and terror are as real and as heartfelt as Lear's, and the reasons behind them are even more horrible.
Kurosawa carefully balances the incredible natural beauty of the Japanese mountains and its historic castles with the destruction of war. He tells the story in long, slow, virtually motionless takes, usually involving no more than two or three characters. When the wars begin, the action becomes graphic, bloody, beautiful, and terrible, with huge forces coursing against each other in vast tidal surges. The proverbial cast of thousands has seldom been put to better use. Kurosawa's mastery of the heavily populated panoramic shots is the equal of Eisenstein's in Battleship Potemkin. The first big battles are presented without sound, heightening the power of Toru Takemitsu's evocative score. The more limited scenes of violence are stomach-churningly realistic and frightening, though the passion of the concluding battle in Seven Samurai has been replaced by an older master's calm precision. That lack of conventional emotionalism is a criticism that could be extended to the entire film, but Kurosawa is looking for a deeper, more profound reaction from the audience. He deliberately distances the viewer from much of the action, often presenting it as a stylized ritual, not as a realistic narrative. That's completely appropriate to the universal themes he is dealing with—characters and conflicts that rise above cultural and nationalistic differences. He succeeds so brilliantly that, for all practical purposes, Ran is a great film that's above criticism.
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai (Lord Hidetora Ichimonji), Akira Terao (Tarotakatora Ichimonji), Jinpachi Nezu (Jiromasatora Ichimonji), Daisuke Ryu (Saburonaotora Ichimonji), Meiko Harada (Lady Kaede), Hisashi Igawa (Kurogane), Peter (Kyoami), Kazuo Kato (Ikoma), Takeshi Kato (Hatakeyama), Jun Tazaki (Ayabe), Toshiya Ito (Naganuma), Yoshiko Miyazaki (Lady Sue), Masayuki Yui (Tango), Norio Matsui (Ogura), Takashi Nomura (Tsurumaru); Written by: Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Masato Ide, Masato Ide; Cinematography by: Asakazu Nakai, Takao Saito, Masaharu Ueda; Music by: Toru Takemitsu. Producer: Serge Silberman, Masato Hara, Herald Ace. Japanese, French. Awards: Academy Awards '85: Best Costume Design; British Academy Awards '86: Best Foreign Film; Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards '85: Best Foreign Film; National Board of Review Awards '85: Best Director (Kurosawa); New York Film Critics Awards '85: Best Foreign Film; National Society of Film Critics Awards '85: Best Cinematography, Best Film; Nominations: Academy Awards '85: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Director (Kurosawa). Boxoffice: 3.52M. MPAA Rating: R. Running Time: 160 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta, LV, Letterbox, Closed Caption, DVD.